Biography

Isel is a neurodivergent artist, neuroscientist, and founder of NeuroConscious Realism — a visual movement emerging from the convergence of sensory experience, spiritual presence, and inner perception.

She trained at Cumbria College Of Art & Design, and her early work was represented by Percy House Gallery.

She first became known for her hyper-realistic botanical paintings: intricate, precise, and rooted in a deep connection to the natural world. These works celebrated her ability to see and render form with extraordinary detail and emotional resonance, and a small collection of limited edition prints are still available here.

However, prior to turning fully to art, Isel followed another passion and trained and worked internationally as a Neuroscientist for 20 years in the development and understanding of neural plasticity. Her research explored the deep relationship between brain function, sensory input, and consciousness and can be viewed in her art and writing of NeuroConscious Realism.

As an autistic woman, her perception of the world has always been heightened, immersive, ultra detailed and nonlinear—qualities that deeply inform both the content and process of her work that has developed over time.

Now, her practice is evolving into something more interior and transcendent. Through NeuroConscious Realism, she paints what is seen with ‘closed eyes’—images born from silence, stillness, and nervous system states. Her paintings are often meditative, layered, and emotionally evocative, inviting viewers into a felt, liminal space between body and soul.

Isel’s work bridges science and spirit, intellect and intuition, realism and revelation. It is both a personal language and a broader invitation: to witness the unseen, to feel the sacred within the sensory, and to honour the truth of neurodivergent experience.

She lives and works Cumbria with her family, surrounded by quiet, fields, trees, and the animal companions who walk alongside her path.