That feeling when you smoke that sticky icky 

I painted this portrait because I wanted to show a personal, vulnerable side to me. It’s taken from a reference photo that I took on one of my first dialysis sessions in Hospital. It was an emotional time for many reasons, I felt scared, bewildered, exhausted and sad but also relived to be getting the treatment as it would make me feel better over time. When I got home after the first few sess...

I was first diagnosed with CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease) in 2003 out of the blue after a random cholesterol blood test. They told me my kidneys were working at 30%. I didn’t really understand what this meant at the time, as a young person, I was fortunate not to have any symptoms throughout my illness, including the year I spent on dialysis in 2009-2010.On 28th December 2010 I got multiple phon...

Electricity courses up my left legLeaving a trail of staticThat plucks at random strings of sinewWater droplet slides down the side of my face I go to wipe it away My hand comes back dryFormication My brain is cheating on me With my sensesAll the while The bones in the balls of my feetGrind into the concrete Despite the padding of the insolesJammed into my shoes Another pair to despairAll the w...