Mental Health Charity Programs

What inspires you to be a miniature Artist? 

This is quite a broad open question and it's tricky for me to answer without writing a big essay. Even with this stipulation I think this will end up being a bit of a read. 
If the question is about what inspires me to be a miniature artist right now, it is about my love for the medium. It really fits with some of my health issues and in that regard it has even helped me greatly. I love painting and producing models and artwork. I am constantly inspired to create more things and have many ideas flowing into me all the time from where I don't know. I seem to have far too many ideas than I can keep up with truthfully. This inspiration comes from all around me, from some of the amazing friends who I have made in this incredible worldwide community, to my family and the outside world around me. Sometimes it can come from books or movies though I consume more books these days as I listen to Audible while painting. I have a deep love for miniatures building, creating and painting them. I am in the process of trying to learn how to sculpt and create my own miniatures from scratch but this will probably take me many years, but I believe it is the logical next step on my journey.

What inspired me to be a Miniature Artist in the beginning well it's a whole other long story! I had been going through a very deep depression after some things happened to derail the way I expected my life to go. During this time of deep depression I came back to tabletop war gaming because I remembered that I used to love painting the Warhammer models and Fighter Planes from different eras in my childhood days. During this early period of my return to the world of miniatures I didn't love the tabletop side. I was very lucky to have the opportunity to attend a painting class with Meg Maples and discovered that painting miniatures for the sake of collecting, display and just art was even a thing and I think I was almost instantly hooked. In many ways I can say that miniature painting has saved my life, it has turned me around and taken me to places I could have never imagined.  I have never sought for people to be interested in my work but it happened anyway and so I am very deeply appreciative of the support network I have from my family that has allowed me the incredible opportunity to devote my life completely to miniature art and I wouldn’t have it any other way.  


What does being an artist mean to you and helping MHCP?

I’m not a wealthy person, and I have certain issues with my health that preclude me from living a normal life. I have excellent family support and I feel constantly honoured and lucky to have been born into such a family and such circumstances. We were never rich, my dad came from a small country town in a place called Tongala and came from absolutely nothing. He worked very hard his entire life so that his sons could have the opportunities that he did not. I think this meant that I grew up in a way that would be considered thoroughly middle class. My brother and I went to a good private Lutheran school and have been raised to be (we hope) good people. During my late teens and early twenties I believe I was a bit of a privileged little snot, I hadn’t seen what the world had to give just yet and it gave me much more than I ever saw coming. This includes issues with debt, addiction and very deep depression though it wasn’t all bad. 

What does this have to do with being an artist and helping the MHCP?

Well, it’s a very brief summary of the context. I feel very lucky to have come out of the other side of these things and be the person that I am today. Without my families close support I don’t know if I would have made it. I don’t have a lot of money but apparently I can paint a decent miniature! This means the world to me because I can paint something to give away to a charity to help causes that I have experienced myself and whom I support wholeheartedly.  

I have given away multiple valuable miniatures through my painting career to various causes and I hope to keep being able to help this way as it’s the best I can do. It’s also part of the reason I try to help as many people learn to get better at miniature painting as I have the spare time for. I find a lot of comfort in helping people to paint miniatures especially because I know how common it is for people to seek miniature painting as assistance for mental health issues. If you’re reading this and going through mental health issues and are thinking about painting some minis, I’ll be happy to hear from you if you reach out on social media I’ll do my best to help guide you in whatever small way I can.  Sometimes, it can be a big help to have someone with similar interests to talk to.

Thank You David For Sharing Your Story With Us.

Prince
MHCP Founder

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