“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 great gift ideas for artists
For the last few years I've shared a list of gift ideas for artists for the festive season, and since it's that time again, behold! I bring tidings of great joy. 😊 Whether it gives you ideas for your own list, for your artist friends, or to let your loved ones know...

Drowning in your own artwork? What to do with what you make
A very common question asked by artists - often in slightly panicked tones - is, what do I do with it all?! 🤯 I know. When you love what you do and you're endlessly curious, those creations can stack up in your creative space until you find yourself squeezed into a...

The magic of artistic experimentation – a tip to take into the studio
Today's Happy Artist Tip: ✨Try making experiments a cornerstone of your practice.✨ Why? Because experiments are: 👍 forgiving 👍 fun 👍 a fantastic way to find out what's 'yours' as an artist If you have an idea, and have or can create the means to try it - try it!...

The path of a happy artist
What does the path of a happy artist look like? Although we're all walking the artist path, and many of us go through similar ups and downs, each of us experiences it differently. And knowing that other artists out there {*waves hands around vaguely*} feel the same in...

7 new ways to think about a ‘failed’ painting
Let's have a quick chat about something we can all relate to - the 'failed painting' conundrum.😉 Whatever words you use - disaster, crap, a mess, a waste of materials - we all know that that kind of thinking leads nowhere helpful, and yet it can be so easy to slip...

How to be a successful artist
How to be a successful artist. I love the title of this blog post.😊 If you've landed here for the first time and are not familiar with my work, you might be wondering what secrets I'm going to tell you that will guarantee career success as an artist. If you've been...

9 ways to make the most of studio time as an artist
How often have you finally got some precious studio time, then found that you frittered it away? Maybe you didn't know where to start... so you just kind of didn't, and then ran out of time. Or you got in there, saw all the half finished projects and different art...

10 reasons to love the Painted Postcards online workshop
“I thoroughly enjoyed this workshop. It has the perfect balance of giving a real insight into your process in 'real time' and a very practical and repeatable exercise in creating small works of art. I also think the approach can easily be extended and scaled up, by...

How to deal with the challenges of being an artist
I recently wrote a post sharing some things I've found to be essential as an artist. One of those things was something I call a Demon Management System™. {Not an actual trademark, obvs. Maybe it should be?!🤔} When I shared the post on Instagram, I got some questions...

10 things you don’t need to be an artist
I recently wrote a post exploring 10 things you need to be an artist, and then had the brainwave that it might also be helpful to talk about some of the things you don't need to be an artist. Because there are an awful lot of 'rules' and unspoken assumptions out there...