In her own words, she thought she had landed on life's scrap heap.

But the illness has given her an inspiring new view of the world – and the delightful discovery of an unexpected talent.

Though her hands constantly tremble and she is restricted by a wheelchair, Joan is an artist. And a remarkably good one.

She was in despair when MS was diagnosed in 2001, but was persuaded to attend art classes for the disabled. That's when she first became aware of her ability at painting and drawing.

"I suffer from primary progressive MS," said Joan, who is married with two teenage sons, "so I get no remissions.

"It has destroyed my family life but allowed me to discover art."

Joan, 54, of Folders Keep, Burgess Hill, continued: "Perhaps it was always at the back of my mind, but now painting and drawing has become the driving force of my life."

So much so that she is dismissive of assisted suicide in cases involving MS victims. "It has given MS a terrible notoriety," she said. "I wonder now if the illness is a ghastly wake-up call, telling sufferers to look at their lives again."

She now teaches art herself, has found a local outlet for her work and hopes to sell her watercolours and acrylics online shortly.

"I would never have done any of this if I hadn't got MS," she added.

Her paintings have been printed as greeting cards and have proved enormously popular at Chestertons, in Ditchling High Street, where they have been stocked for a year along with original artwork.

"Joan is inspired by nature and her work is so diverse," said Tina Porter, who runs the shop, restaurant, tea rooms and art gallery with her husband Steve. "It sells very well.

"She obviously puts her heart into it and her humanity shines through."

Tina commissioned an abstract – which proved a challenge. "I found it hard work at first," said Joan, who used to work in PR and marketing. "I normally do things I can actually see."

New at Chestertons for the festive season is a range of three different Christmas cards painted by Joan - Noel, Mother and Child and Teenage Madonna - which retail at £2.25 each.