Bright canvases fill the walls, paint pots and crayons scatter the tables and a cat called Pablo Picasso is curled up sleeping in a corner.
Louise Allen’s colourful, bohemian home is an homage to all things artistic. The 52-year-old is an illustrator, artist and author, her husband Lloyd, 56, is a graphic designer, and their two sons aged 15 and 12 are named Jackson (after Pollock) and Vincent (after van Gogh).
Surprisingly, however, Louise’s passion for beautiful things came about because of her exposure to ugly abuse as a child. And now, as a foster parent, she uses the healing power of art to benefit the vulnerable children in her care. ‘Art was the one thing that saved me throughout a very difficult childhood,’ explains Louise, who