I'm Cathy Wild, a contemporary visual artist based in Norfolk, UK, working primarily in charcoal and gold leaf on wood panel.

After living on a small island in Indonesia for eight years, an earthquake unexpectedly brought that chapter of my life to an end and led me back to the UK. During the years that followed, creativity became a way of making sense of everything that had changed.

I didn't go looking for charcoal. In many ways, it found me.

At a local craft fair, I noticed a tin of handmade willow charcoal sitting beside some paper on a stall. The maker explained that he made it for his wife, who was an artist. It was the first time I'd ever said the words, "I'm an artist too." He handed me a tin of his charcoal and I went straight home to try it. From the very first marks, it felt completely natural. I loved the freedom it gave me, the simplicity of the medium and the fact that it was simply burnt willow. Looking back, it feels less like I discovered charcoal and more like charcoal discovered me.

Since then, I've come to realise that I work almost entirely by instinct. An animal will often keep appearing in my mind and then, almost as if it's following me, I'll start noticing it everywhere. Eventually I begin drawing.

I rarely begin a piece knowing where it's going.

I don't sketch beforehand or plan the composition. I simply respond to what feels right in the moment. It's usually only once a piece is finished that everything seems to click into place. Looking back, I begin to understand why that particular animal appeared, why the gold leaf sits where it does, or why a butterfly found its way into the composition. More often than not, the artwork reflects something I was moving through at the time.

Foxes, hummingbirds, butterflies and other wildlife appear throughout my work not because I consciously choose them, but because they seem to arrive when they're needed. Over time, creating in this way has become an exercise in trusting my instincts and allowing the work to reveal itself rather than trying to control it.

Each original artwork is created by hand in my Norfolk studio using charcoal and gold leaf on wood panel. Alongside original works, I also create bespoke commissions and a small collection of limited edition fine art prints, each hand embellished with gold leaf.

I hope my work offers not only something beautiful to live with, but also an invitation to trust what feels true.

Represented by Red Dot Gallery in Holt, Norfolk. My work is held in private collections in the UK and internationally, and I continue to create bespoke commissions for collectors and retreat spaces.