Before: One of Pip’s efforts before her concussion (Picture: Caters)

As a teenager, Pip Taylor dreamed of being an artist – but by her own admission she was hopeless.

Her attempts at sketching faces were ‘terrible’. Even her teachers advised her to think of a different career.

But more than 30 years later she has discovered she is a talented artist – after falling down a flight of stairs and cracking her head.

After: A new-found ability to draw faces has won commissions (Picture: Caters)

Ms Taylor, 49, recovered from bad concussion with the ability to draw perfect images of people and animals.


‘It is just extraordinary. I have always loved drawing but I was never any good,’ she said.

‘I used to draw cartoons and the only thing I could really manage was Snoopy. I wanted to take art as an O-level, but my teacher advised me not to.



‘I dug out my old notepad from when I was 16 and cringe at my attempts at drawing people and faces.’

Pet subject: Ms Taylor can sketch perfect copies of dogs and other animals (Picture: Caters)

Ms Taylor, from Birkenhead, Merseyside, suffered serious bruising to her brain after the fall at Chester racecourse in May 2012. Told her recovery would take six months, she found herself at home and bored.

‘I hadn’t drawn for years but I bought a pencil and a sketch pad,’ she said. ‘It felt really natural in a way it hadn’t before. I began to realise I had a real skill in being able to copy things accurately.’

Inept to expert: Pip Taylor now draws every day (Picture: Caters)

She is now compelled to draw every day in case her talent disappears as quickly as it came. ‘I am terrified of losing my skill,’ she said.

Luke Griggs, of the brain injury association Headway, said a blow can have ‘surprising and unexpected’ effects. ‘It is difficult to pinpoint the exact reasons behind Pip’s fabulous new-found artistic ability but we are delighted she is enjoying her new hobby,’ he added.