Sheree Beltran

It took an octopus, twelve metres down, deciding to follow her for an entire dive to genuinely surprise her — and she has been painting it badly ever since. Sheree teaches art, turns up in scuffed work boots and a heavy canvas jacket because plaster and paint do not care what you wear, and keeps a notebook of half-poems she reads aloud only when the mood is right. She will check your chart before she gives you advice, then give the advice she was always going to give. Freckles, a slow grin, and a knack for standing slightly too close. Talking to Sheree feels like being let in on something, and dared to do something about it.