Paint What You Love (And Ignore The NaySayers!)
Friday, 25 August 2023
36 Comments
How the story behind The Vesuvius Ladies collection of paintings proves the importance of this idea!
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Why Are We So Hard On Ourselves? One Thing That May Help
Monday, 7 August 2023
22 Comments
As artists, it’s amazing how hard on ourselves we can be! Just a few mistakes, just a few missed days in the studio and bam, and we are beating ourselves up. Here’s one thing to do about that!
Taking Small Steps: The Key to Achieving Your Art Goals
Sunday, 5 March 2023
24 Comments
We all know that, for us, art-making is our way to express ourselves. It’s how we explore our creative side. But, for many of us, finding the time, motivation, and skills to make art can be a challenge. That’s why taking small steps is so important. It’s by taking small steps that we travel our
The Art of Procrastination…Can Procrastination Be a Good Thing?
Friday, 7 May 2021
36 Comments
I’m an expert procrastinator. I freely and utterly admit it. I have procrastination down to an art! And yet, I’m often congratulated on how much I get done. A paradox yes? What is procrastination? It’s simply the act or habit of delaying or putting off something. There’s nothing negative per se in this meaning and
Putting Yourself Out There – Demoing in Public
Friday, 4 December 2020
21 Comments
One of my HowToPastel subscribers recently reached out to me. She’d been invited to demo in an open space, with COVID-19 precautions in place, but was feeling too afraid to do it. (Her fears weren’t related to the pandemic.) Because I’d recently demoed at Peninsula Gallery where my mini solo show was hanging, I knew
Six Ways To Prioritize Art-Making
Friday, 6 November 2020
12 Comments
We’ve just finished HowToPastel’s 5th Annual 31-pastels-in-31-days Challenge held throughout October. The Challenge is always an opportune time to prioritize art-making. A few days after it ended, however, I began seeing the odd post that expressed feelings of withdrawal and a bit of anxiety and sadness because someone is missing painting every day or they
Action Is The Antidote To What Ails You!
Friday, 15 May 2020
42 Comments
I don’t know about you but for the past few days, weeks even, I’ve been feeling a bit listless, a bit blah, a bit draggy. Sure I have work to keep me occupied, for instance, the work I need to do preparing classes, critiques, and demos for my IGNITE! membership, and the work I’ve been
Trust Your Impulse!
Friday, 29 November 2019
16 Comments
You know when you’re painting and it just isn’t working out? Then perhaps you get a sudden impulse to do something, make a mark for instance, but your mind stops you saying, “No, no! not a good idea.” I want to encourage you to trust your impulse! Let me tell you my story of doing
Focus On Process Not Outcome
Friday, 2 August 2019
43 Comments
Before every workshop I teach, I have students read a blog I did some time ago called the 14 Ways To Get The Most Out Of A Workshop. I ask each participant to choose one of the points that they know will be a struggle for them. At my most recent workshop (in Gibsons, BC,
Show Up And Get To Work!
Thursday, 31 January 2019
59 Comments
I’ve been away from my studio for far too long so in the next few months, I plan to get into my studio on a regular basis and for longer periods of time. Show up and get to work right? That’s my plan. So a couple days ago, I headed into the studio with vim
