For the first half of her life Sam Jevon’s best attempts at art were matchstick men. But after she almost died in a car crash, the Enfield resident picked up a pen and began to draw.

Today she creates amazingly intricate artworks in black and white that capture people, places and objects in minute detail. And she has just launched her first ever exhibition of her work.

It has been a long, hard road for the mother-of-two who was on her way to the shops in June 2006 when the car she was a passenger in was hit from behind.

Sam was not wearing a seatbelt and was flung from the vehicle and suffered multiple injuries including a severe head injury.

She was in a coma for two months at the Royal Free Hospital where doctors had to remove a bolt from her head and a piece of skull and replace it with a titanium plate.

The former Lavender Primary School pupil says: “After my injury my dad was talking to my doctor about whether I’d make it. The doctor said ‘If anyone will, she will’. I’ve always been determined.”

Seven years ago Sam became a member of Headway East London, a charity supporting people affected by brain injury), and started drawing regularly in their art studio. What slowly emerged was a very distinct style of illustration. Using black pens in varying thicknesses, she would challenge herself by drawing images based on pictures with huge amounts of detail in them.

Enfield Independent:

Enfield Independent: The accident has left Sam with facial palsy, a limp and vision in only one eye, which makes creating her art a challenge. It can take from two weeks to four months to create a piece but Sam says she is driven on by the desire to capture every tiny detail.

She says: “I’m very proud of what I have achieved. Art has given me a lot of confidence and a lot of patience.

“I do not think I would have started drawing if it wasn’t for my accident.

“My art gives me a sense of achievement - you can do something you never knew you could do.”

Sam Jevon: Pictures in Detail , Outpost community hub, Holloway Road, Islington, until April 30. Details: peterbedford.org.uk/outpost