mindset

How to Grow in Confidence and Skill as an Artist

How to Grow in Confidence and Skill as an Artist

I believe that talent gets you to the Art Table but there are 5 essential skills you need to make good art, and talent isn’t one of them. When I started to paint seriously in 2017 I had very little self confidence and only a little more technical skill and knowledge. Now I create my own authentic art confidently and with a lot more joy in my practice. How did I transition from those insecure beginnings to where I am now? In this video I reveal what I believe I needed to acquire or practice in order to grow as an artist and establish the practice I enjoy today.

The BEST Way to get INSPIRED again with paint

The BEST Way to get INSPIRED again with paint

When life gets in the way of our art, it’s easy to lose our Mojo, find ourselves procrastinating and doubting our ability. Here’s a simple way to get back into your work as an artist and find the joy and love again. Watch as I explain why this happens and how to overcome negative feelings by playing a simple game with paint.

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About Winning Art2Life 1st Prize

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About Winning Art2Life 1st Prize

So last Wednesday when I sat at my computer on that Zoom call and one by one watched the other Artists get their awards and then finally when the 2nd place was announced and I knew I had won – I heard a whoop from my partner in the bedroom - and I cried…

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Selling Your Art

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Selling Your Art

SELLING ART. With the knee-wobbling price of art materials and given that none of us are going to stop producing it’s something that we have to deal with, like it or not. I‘ve learnt that selling Art is a long game. Read my 5 tips for selling your Art.

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Perspective

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Perspective

How do you achieve Perspective in your practice? I’m not talking perspective achieved by ruling lines and identifying vanishing points. I’m talking about how you keep a healthy balance between the good and the not so good that happens along the way in your Art Practice.

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Is there ‘Precious’ in your Studio?

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Is there ‘Precious’ in your Studio?

Finally, the insistent call of the outside world drags us away and we close the studio door on that tangled grid-locked mess of paint, hope, and self-belief. As we square up to the dishwasher and the dusting that secret smile is now a nagging sense of dread. Am I good enough? Why can’t I figure this out? I’ve killed my precious ….

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Finishing a Painting

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Finishing a Painting

Watch the finishing stage of this mixed media painting with photo collage. In this video I demonstrate how I finished the painting, analysed what it needed and made final changes.

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Learning to make Art without Fear

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Learning to make Art without Fear

So how do we get the confidence in the beginning when we don’t know that much? We have success. How do we have success when we’re beginning? We need bite-size chunks, roadmaps, guides – frameworks that keep us on track, keep us safe while allowing us to make decisions and learn.

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My Why - Why do I paint and Why do I teach?

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My Why - Why do I paint and Why do I teach?

When I was growing up there was no such thing as a ‘why’. Well, we didn’t know we all had one or at least there was no drive to examine our motives and find out. I remember doing quite a lot of motive examination directed by the nuns – but I always fell short and found myself counting down to the next confessional to cleanse my soul.

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To Change or Not To Change Your Painting?

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To Change or Not To Change Your Painting?

What do you do when you have a painting that is ‘ALMOST ‘ right? I had changed my mind about a painting, I liked a lot of it, but there was something not quite right….

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Stop trying to finish your paintings?

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Stop trying to finish your paintings?

the more I know about my practice the more I realise it’s important not to THINK about finishing while I’m painting, and actually to defer finishing for as long as I can.

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Be Battle-Ready with your Painting Process

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Be Battle-Ready with your Painting Process

Another confession: when I stepped into the studio yesterday on our return and looked at my 4 large paintings leaning against the wall, I felt slightly anxious. How can I move them forward? how can I find some clarity? Can I actually do this?

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How A Self-Doubter Became A BELIEVER

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How A Self-Doubter Became A BELIEVER

At what point did I decide to stand up, fluff up my feathers and start squarking? (Is that a word?) On reflection two momentous events happened that woke me up. Firstly, my father died.

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Criticism and Creativity – Can they Co-exist?

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Criticism and Creativity – Can they Co-exist?

When I was 11 it was my legs, in my teens it was my freckles, my boobs – or lack of, my teeth, certain aspects of my parents, our religion and the family car. In my 20’s still the boob thing, lack of career direction and my inability to hook a decent man. My 30’s saw the concern about the man intensify.. In my 40’s it was a general lack of organisation, uncontrol of my two young children – (yes, I managed to find myself a man.) My 50’s has been all about my internal thermometer control and sleep – both far too erratic. What has all this got to do with Abstract Painting?

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Finding Your Style

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Finding Your Style

You don’t have to know what your style is when you embark on your artists journey. When you are further down the path, you can look back and you will see the clues. Colours, marks, techniques you have favoured. Combinations of shapes and preferences for compositional arrangements that seem to keep popping up in your work.

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Unfinished Paintings

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Unfinished Paintings

This last week I’ve been creating content for my new course FIX & FINISH. In this course I will equip my students with a process so they can expect to finish all their paintings and be happy with them. They will start a painting knowing that they will be able to navigate to the end and solve any problem they encounter on the way. In the back of my mind I can hear the doubters saying “Wow, that’s a tall order. Every painting?” Yes, EVERY PAINTING!!

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The Top Tool in my Paintbox

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The Top Tool in my Paintbox

This belief is more important to the creation of good Art than the best quality paints, substrates or the size of your studio. So how do you manufacture this mindset? Like everything else you want to get good at, you practice.