A Co Armagh woman has picked up her paintbrushes and pencils again after the loss of her son in a collision.
Barbara Blemings, who lives in Lurgan, has always had a passion for art, with her mother saying she was born with a pencil in her hand.
But as she grew up and began to raise a family, it took a back seat in her life - after the death of her son Taylor, in a road traffic collision, art was a coping mechanism for her.
Read more: NI woman diagnosed with chronic illness after feeling embarrassed about symptoms
Speaking to Belfast Live, she said: "Taylor loved his motorbike and had just had his new bike about seven weeks before he died.
"Unfortunately he was in a collision with a tractor and trailer on Thursday, September 19, 2019.
"Taylor was very much into his heavy metal music, like myself. We would have gone out a lot for rock nights. He was just a great character and his nickname in the motorbike club was Hollywood because he was always smiling.
"He always had a smile on his face and was always laughing and joking and it was tragic what happened. It was two weeks before his 34th birthday.
"It just hit very hard. I was feeling very depressed and nothing seemed to lift my mood. It sent me down a very dark road and it hadn't been for the painting, I just might not be here. That's the long and short of it."
Barbara has now turned what was her husband's 'man cave' into a room where she can close the door behind her, turn on her music, and paint.
With her beautiful work proudly placed on the walls within her home, Taylor is never far from her mind.
She says finding her creative spark again has helped with her mental health and mood after Taylor's death, but that she always wonders 'is it good enough?'.
"I was always drawing as a child," she added.
"Even if my parents had went away I would have been waiting on them coming home because I knew there was paper and pens coming home with them.
"I have had a love for art from I was a child and that developed as I went along. It's ok doing these things when you are at school but once you get out into the real world and start working, life takes a different turn.
"I was watching TV one day and there was a programme on doing water colour and from that, I started doing pieces and people started to see my work.
"I did a painting for Jillian of the Potato Bar in Lurgan, which is her shop. I gave it to her as a present and she put it in the shop and then people started asking would I do their businesses too - it started from there really.
"I then decided I would try acrylic, because I had never worked with it before. I gave it a try and well, you can see the results today.
"I'm not great at putting myself out there. My son told me, get out and showcase your work, put them in galleries. I just think 'is it good enough?'
"There's that impostor syndrome and I need to get past that - it is hard. Really hard. It's one of those things, you don't have to be good at it to do it.
"Even if you slap a bit of paint on a canvas or a bit of paper, there are so many different forms of art. My style is just one of so many forms.
"Who is to say it is good or bad? What people do is down to their own interpretation and other people will interoperate it in different ways.
"Just give it a try, you might surprise yourself."
Video feature by Belfast Live videographer Harry Bateman.
Read more: I hit rock bottom: Belfast funeral director's mental health journey
Read more: Belfast hub delivers 1,000 hours of free mental health support in first months
To get the latest breaking news straight to your inbox, sign up to our free newsletter.
