Anna-Louise Felstead

You'll see her on the concours circuit, rendering the scenes surreal in ink or paint

- JAMES ELLIOTT

I KNOW EVERYONE says that no two days are the same in their life, and that's true, but it would be more accurate to say I have two completely different lives. I have my single-mum life when I am at home in Fulham, London, with my autistic son Freddie, and I have my classic car life when I could be anywhere in the world, painting live at Historic festivals and attending events. Neither is a life I could have imagined 15 years ago.

I was born and brought up in London but went to boarding school in Eastbourne from the age of seven. I was always obsessed with drawing and art and the facilities at St Bede's were superb, so I totally immersed myself in it. I went on to Francis Holland, did my Foundation in Brighton, on to Central St Martins and then the Royal College of Art for my MA. As graduation neared in 2003 I panicked about what I was going to do, then I was advised by the late, great war photographer Tom Stoddart to find a niche. I have always been good at drawing mechanical things and people, and my style has always been very reportage, so I started doing themed exhibitions on London's Glamorous Restaurants or behind the scenes at London Fashion Week.

At that point I had a day job at Reed Exhibitions, but I was always drawing people: in the hair salon, at the dental surgery and even strip clubs. Having arranged to do some live drawing at Stringfellows I turned up and Geoff - Peter's brother - said: 'Hello love, are you here for the audition? Get your kit off and let's see what you can do.'