About 10 years ago I developed arthritic hands and wrists which over the years has become steadily worse. It appears it is quite common with people as they get older and, short of surgery, needs to be managed with pain killers or a variety of compression straps. In my case, as both an artist and a musician it could be argued it wasn’t helped by repetitive use. As a musician I no longer perform live but when I do choose to play I often use a keyboard instead of a guitar. Creating visual images now takes me longer to paint or draw as (due to pain) I take longer breaks. However, I have found digital art quite a good substitute as a creative outlet albeit I have a lot to learn before I can give my work more detail.

In this piece of digital art I have tried to show the pain experienced those with a similar condition to mine.