I hate people who ask for discounts on original art.

So, yeh. Do I look like Camden Market? Your local carboot sale? For sure, I may be a little shabby around the edges, but I do have a certain sense of dignity, people.

Everytime somebody comes into an art exhibition (which I have to pay to have by the way) and they look at my paintings (which are all original pieces of art I have spent hours slaving over to create in the first place) and ask if they can have a discount, a little piece of me dies inside.

It sounds totally lame but when you paint a picture you literally pour everything of yourself into it. Maybe other artists know what I mean?

Anyway, imagine you do this- you create something which contains a little bit of you, an essence of what you are. Then you offer it for sale at a price which is already a steal- but we all have to be realistic, I accept that. And I am trying to build a business here. And after all that malarky, someone moans that £90 is too much and can they have a discount?!

URG. As a young struggling artist with very few beans in my purse, you often feel like you have to go along with it, simply to try and make some sales. And trust me, that money doesn't go into fancy shoes or pints of beers- it goes on canvases and towards paying for the next exhibition hall rent.

So if you want a discount, bugger off to the carboot. Or just stop being so bloody tight!

I'm left feeling a little down by the state of the world sometimes...

So, generally, when I paint or draw pictures and the like, I very much try to concentrate on the simple joys and beauties in life. Some of my work may be somewhat dark, but vitality is what essentially drives me. A celebration of just being here.

There is so much evil in the world, why on earth would I draw even more attention to it in my work? Some do, some make important statements and messages, and that's spiffing. But it aint for me.

And then things happen which just dampen your spirit.

I don't know what sort of beef (yes, I'm cool) all these people who idolise Moat have with the police, but reading about all this malarky over the past few weeks has left me feeling inexplicably sad.

Do people forget he shot and killed an unarmed innocent man? Yes he had been in prison, but people also seem to have forgotten he was in there for a reason- he had hurt a child. And now he's a hero?

I am left agasp at the reactions of these few people across the country, and yes, maybe they have their reasons. But I can fathom no reason to excuse this behaviour.

Definition of He·ro (hîr-o)
n. pl. he·roes
1)A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life.

Martin Luther King was a hero. Full time carers are heroes. Every soldier who fought in the Somme was a hero. Nurses are heroes.

I believe people need to rethink what a hero actually is, and the selfless acts they are known for.
And that 'person' was certainly no hero.