“We do not always create works of art, but rather, experiments.
It is not our intention to fill museums. We are gathering experience.”
Josef Albers

10 things you need to be an artist
What are the things you need to be an artist? And - much more importantly - what are the things ✨YOU✨ need to be an artist? Today I'm sharing a non exhaustive list of things I've found to be essential on the artist path - and they might not all be what you'd think....

How to feel confident calling yourself an artist
So let me ask you the question of the day - do you feel confident calling yourself an artist? If not, you'd probably be shocked to discover how not alone you are in that. After a very unofficial - but very telling - bit of research on Instagram, I discovered that so....

The Artnotes Collection: Letters from an artist’s life – now in paperback
I've been writing Artnotes for 10 years this year. They haven't always looked the way they look now, of course. I tried a few different approaches before I started honing them into the hilarious, wise, erudite missives they are today. {If you're new here, I do very...

10 quick tips to improve your art
Want to improve your art this year? Course you do. 😁 Yes, there are lots of obvious ways to do that - take a class, practice a lot, learn a new skill or technique. You know what to do. But sometimes that's a bit vague and abstract, and easy to keep pushing into the...

3 approaches to filling the creative well
As artists and humans, we all know the importance of filling the creative well in order to stay engaged with our work and sustain our practice. We've all heard the metaphors - put your oxygen mask on first, you can't pour from an empty cup, etc. In fact maybe we've...

8 Presents for Artists
At this time of year, I like to gather together some of my favourite and most recommended ideas for presents for artists - whether that means the artists you know and love, or the artist you are! {Or both!} So here are some of the discoveries I made this year, some...

The Artnotes Collection: Encouragement and Inspiration for Artists
⭐️ OMG SO EXCITED RIGHT NOW! ⭐️💃 🎉 This has been a long time coming, and HOORAY! It's finally here! What is it though? It's a new book! A book containing a selection of the best of the much loved Artnotes, which, if you've been hanging out here for a while, you'll...

6 things I did to become a happy artist (and you can too!)
I talk about being a 'happy artist' a lot. It's in the name of my membership for artists, the Happy Artist Studio. So what do I really mean when I say that? It looks different for everyone, but I've noticed over the years that while we each have a completely unique...

What does it look like to become a happy artist? :: Anna’s story
I talk a lot about the Happy Artist Studio. I mean, of course I do, it's a big part of my work! And I love it and think it's brilliant, but then I'm pretty biased. 😉 But sometimes, especially if you're considering joining us, it's good to hear from someone who's...

Struggle to call yourself an artist?
This post is all about the 'I am an Artist' challenge. Although the live session has now passed, you can still take the challenge in your own time. Click here to do that. ~~~~ Back in 2013, I had a conversation that, little did I know at the time, was going to change...