Hello, and welcome to Behind the Canvas

I’m Natalie — an expressive painter, mum and wife from the North East of England, and until recently, a midwife. For many years, I poured my heart into supporting women and families at some of the most important moments of their lives. Midwifery gave me purpose, identity, and joy.

In 2021, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. For a while, I believed I was through the hardest part — but four years later, I learned it had metastasised. Alongside living with ME/CFS, this has reshaped my life in ways I never expected. At 40, I had to take early retirement from the career I loved, not because I wanted to, but because illness left me no choice.

Losing midwifery felt like losing a part of myself. For a time, I drifted, unsure of who I was outside of being a midwife, a mother, a wife or a patient. I even tried to become a Celebrant, but the unpredictability of living with ME/CFS posed too many challenges. But slowly, I found my way back to something that had always been there — my art.

Painting became my lifeline. It is how I speak when words fail me, how I reclaim fragments of freedom when illness confines me. My canvases are born from longing, survival, and the need to transform pain into colour, movement, and light.

This blog is where I’ll share behind the canvas moments: the stories, processes, inspirations, and even the struggles that shape my art. You’ll find glimpses into my creative practice, reflections on living with illness, and the ways art continues to give me both purpose and voice.

If you see a part of yourself in my work, in the colours, the themes, or the silences, then my art has done what I hoped it would: connect.

Thank you for being here at the very beginning.

Welcome to my canvas.

Natalie