Painting transports me to a different world. As the business owner for Trinity Arts Studios, having to run two galleries and art studios, life can get quite full on. We run various shows and exhibitions through Trinity Art Gallery as well as collaborations with other arts organisations via Unity.London and Unity Arts Festival.

Thought processes can be cluttered with a wide variety of general small business concerns like cashflow forecasting, exhibition logistics, building maintenance, staff management etc, all these things are important to get done if you want to achieve your goals. 

When I paint it just takes me out of all that stuff, it removes it all. There is no past and there is no future. Just the here and now. And the here and now is great!  I have lived for almost 52 years, had a lot of adventures, opportunities that I have flown with and others that have passed me by. The mixture of everything that we experience going through life doesn't matter when you're painting. Just to be alive is enough. Painting gives me that. We've made it through the most extreme randomness to simply be stood in the skin that we are in to experience this very moment. Painting takes me into that world of wonder and appreciation. I feel thankful to the forces of nature and creation. The incredible intelligence that exists in the universe and flows through us. I always think of that when I am painting. I start with no set agenda or direction and just go on a journey. 

I encourage people to express themselves through any means they find appealing, whether it is cooking, sports pursuits, gardening or any type of making. Be alive and in the moment. 

Ian Felton is an artist and gallery owner of Trinity Art Gallery. Recently the gallery collaborated with the University of East London to document some of the interesting people within the University for the Docklands People exhibition.