Art Scene

February 28, 2025 – Published in Design & Decor Autumn-Winter 2024 issue

“I believe we are eternal spiritual beings living a temporary human experience” – Anna Nightingale

Words Anna Nightingale

Photography Samuel Masini

Anna Nightingale is an abstract expressionist artist, born in Cheshire, England. She has resided in London, Luxembourg, and on the Maltese islands, and she constantly seeks to impart a deep message with each piece of art she creates. Today, she lives with her cherished 11-year-old son, James, and their rescue dog, Roxy, in their serene home in the northern part of Malta. This is her inspirational story.

I grew up in the English countryside surrounded by animals. I love it when I’m in nature, which is why I am extremely happy to be living in Malta among the trees. My grandmother grew up here, and we had a family house in Gozo for decades, so I’ve been visiting since I was 7.

I graduated from Central Saint Martins, lived in London and Luxembourg for some years, and then worked as a teacher at Malta’s QSI International School for a year—but then, I realised I needed to concentrate on my painting, which I’ve been doing all my life.

I’m 50 now, and I’ve survived cancer twice! When I relapsed, I was in Luxembourg, and I received pioneering treatment which, thankfully, cured me. But it made me dig deep into my life and question why I had relapsed. I embarked on this journey of spiritual enlightening and discovered I had a build-up of childhood trauma, lack of self-worth, and even self-sabotaging thoughts.

We often carry stress and fear throughout our lives, and this probably played a part in my illness.

Nowadays, more doctors and neuroscientists are talking about how stress can manifest itself physically. So, I set to work on my inner self through various techniques, including meditation and Reiki, to release these traumas. At the time, my oncologist also told me I should return to Malta, to be in the place I love, and even though I was initially scared to leave her, finding this place in the countryside helped me decide. And it’s been three years now since I finished my treatment, and I believe it won’t come back.

Being a cancer survivor changes your life and how you think. It makes you realise you have to heal from the inside as well. It took me a while to work out who I am. I had to understand what my values are, be based around truth and authenticity, and live from a place of gratitude. I went on a path of forgiveness and let go of any bitterness towards people who had wronged me. And I do believe this released the extra trauma inside and gave me a lot of peace.

My art is my story and my personal diary.

My Breathe collection from two years ago was all about surviving cancer and rising from that. In spite of what I had lost, I’d look in the mirror and be thankful for everything I still had. And I named my recent collection, Love Yourself Above Anybody Anyday, because it was something I learnt I needed to do.

I didn’t get it at first. Was I supposed to love myself more than my son? Today, I realise it’s not about being selfish. If you don’t love yourself, you can’t love anyone else or be in a healthy relationship. I was a people-pleaser, which was terribly self-destructive. 

I used to love every man in my life more than I loved myself. I thought it was the right thing to do and that it would make me happy. 

Through meditation and healing, I connected to my higher self, represented by the woman in my paintings. She’s the one who made me realise that I can shine; I can be strong and courageous. It’s all about letting go of anything and anyone that lowers my vibrations; to be the hero of my own life.

It was such a revelation to realise I can feel love inside myself. 

Fundamentally, when I dug deep, I realised I am love; we all are. Too few people awaken to that awareness! You need to become conscious of the unconscious thoughts and patterns in your head. Thoughts are a horrendous curse for humans. They can block you and make you believe you’re not worthy of good things.

And that’s where the love comes in; the wisdom of deciding to put yourself first and not let anyone ruin your day—or your life! We’re only here for a very short time to work out who we are, face our challenges, and evolve from life’s lessons, emotionally and spiritually.

I think I can now say I have arrived at this place where I want to be, of knowing who I am and being true to myself, of being in the now. Before I sleep, I let go of the negative thoughts that could ruin my day; I just say to myself, you did really well today. And when I wake up every morning, I say, thank God I’m alive. The more grateful you are for what you do have, the more opportunities come in—it’s so simple!

I can only change my own situation, to give out love, and what I embody will then spread to people around me—and in turn, the more it will flow out into our planet and its environment! 

Anna Nightingale

anna@annanightingaleart.com / info@annanightingaleart.com 

+356 99864616 / +35 2661448854

Website: https://annanightingaleart.com

FB: https://facebook.com/anna.nightingale.5

Insta: https://instagram.com/nightingale.anna 

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