I'm Vanessa, and I paint from my home studio in Switzerland, where I grew up.

I never went to art school. I started painting because I needed a way to express what words couldn't. Over time it became the thing I do every day — my way of making sense of how I feel.

My paintings are abstract. They come from whatever mood I'm in — sometimes calm, sometimes restless. I don't plan much. I pick up a brush and see where it goes. The colours and shapes find their own way.

Switzerland is home. The lake, the light, the quiet mornings — it all finds its way into the work, even when I'm not trying.