A YOUNG artist with a crippling spinal condition has broken through the pain barrier to create a remarkable body of work.
Emma Scott-Smith, 21, has had back pain since experiencing an allergic reaction to an antibiotic when she was 12-years-old.
Despite the pain, and with no formal training, she has produced more than 100 paintings - some of which have sold for #2000 each - and is now set to become one of Scotland's most talked about young artists.
Many of her paintings depict naked females with taut muscles, an image she says symbolises her own pain.
The Alloa artist said her work has raised a few eyebrows at the Stirling Council members' corridor where it is currently being exhibited. ''Some of the councillors have said, 'Oh, gosh, you'll give us a heart attack.' They are not all pretty pictures but I can't change the way I paint because it comes from within.''
Ms Madeleine Cosgrove, her former evening class tutor, said: ''You don't see this kind of painting every day, especially at that age. There's something very special about Emma. Some people are born artists, and she is one of them.''
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