If you've ever taken the effort to learn how to market your work, the first thing the experts will tell you is that, instead of talking about how it was made, you want to talk about your "why." Essentially, they suggest that if you communicate the purpose behind your art, it will resonate with people who share those values, and you'll have an audience of people who will connect with your work and want to own it.
Which sounds great, but for one problem.
Read MoreIt's going to feel chaotic, incomplete and aimless, but when you are watching the paint move and letting yourself engage instinctively with the painting, you are developing your intuitive painting strategy and it cannot help but impact your art and style.
Read MoreHow could an artist choose, years before creating a project, to "tease out" that project with imagery and symbolism? Is that level of planning even possible?
Read MoreI was so disappointed to see how my painting disappeared on the wall of the gallery. After labouring over that little painting for hours, I felt like I had something beautiful, and I did, but in contrast to the painting beside it, it was all but invisible.
Read MoreThere was a time when you couldn't have paid me to do a preliminary sketch before starting a painting. Value studies, ditto. I just couldn't muster any interest or focus to follow their lead and do preparatory work that felt tedious and disconnected from my painting practice.
Read MoreLet's take a walk along Lake Como in beautiful northern Italy! I want to paint you a picture of an Italian lake holiday palette, colours of experience, beauty and adventure. Shockingly, on my first trip to Italy I barely touched my favourite Cobalt Teal Blue, but I did find in my palette a handful of colours that beautifully describe what Italy has to offer.
Read MoreIt's my birthday today, and I'm celebrating a new beginning, introducing my brand new passion project, the Heart-Led Artist Journey. It's not an online course, it's a new way of sharing the artist's process and offering encouragement and insight to artists of all levels & artistic disciplines.
Read MoreAre you looking back at your art practice in 2023 and feeling regret? Determining that this year you’re going to make art a more consistent part of your life, or follow through on the goals you haven’t met?
I’m going to share my own guide for evaluating and celebrating the year that’s ending, and then use that as a template for setting goals for 2024. And none of these goals will require you to become a different person; these are goals that reflect who you are and the values you want your art to show.
Read MoreSometimes there are reverberations to a painting session that seem to hold a note of meaning that endures beyond the time spent painting. Have you experienced this? I'm feeling it after Friday because the words I opened the session with came back full circle as the final painting emerged.
Read MoreIt’s been a tradition for several years now that I share a gift guide for artists. This is so fun for me because it’s often an opportunity for me to introduce you to small businesses that put heart and intention into creating their products…Let’s start with the products I want to share because I’ve been a part of their release in some way:
Read MoreThis is one of my favourite photos.
Read MoreThe problem with "if only" and "when" is that both of these preface statements. Statements of judgments about your work that make it very clear that you don't get to feel good about what you're doing right now. There's no room for negotiation.
Read Morethere was a time when my future as an artist seemed unnavigable and impossible to penetrate. Surely it would be easier to succeed and grow as an artist if the obstacles were taken away; if I experienced the "flat land" of a more artist-friendly region, if I had furthered my art education, if I didn't have to juggle parenting and art, if I could paint full-time instead of in the margins.
Read MoreYesterday I wrote an email sharing insights regarding inviting change into your art practice. It isn't just how I view my art, but having openness to change affects my life and business too. This year has been full of change and I need to to tell you about what that is looking like for my business.
Read MoreI believe that any change - even a drastic change to medium or style - probably won't be as dramatic as you think. The essence of your style is YOU, and that cannot be abandoned, not even if you try!
Read MoreThe different shifts in artists' styles are usually described as "periods.” When I look back at my art journey, I see two distinct phases of development, separated by a pivot point when I realized that everything was going to change from here on out.
Read MoreIt might just be the hardest part of making art - figuring out how to sort, store and categorize the paintings I make. Evaluating whether or not a painting is successful takes time. I don't usually know if a painting is good based on my first impressions, and so I never rush to judge a painting, and I throw very few paintings away.
Read MoreWhat happens at an in-person workshop with Angela Fehr? Here’s a recap of my recent adventure in Tucson, Arizona.
Read MoreI used to get so frustrated when a drop of paint would fall in the wrong place while I was painting. My control-oriented style didn't allow for a single misplaced mark or drip. How the times have changed!
Read MoreArtists often perceive an expectation to paint in a consistent style. As I look back over the paintings that I painted last year, I see three distinct styles that categorize my work, and I'm not mad about it. Just as my personality is complex and nuanced, unable to fit neatly under a label, my art can be too.
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