She encourages artists to focus on the process rather than the final outcome, sharing practical tips and inspiration for staying motivated, productive, and connected to their creativity. Helen also reflects on how balancing structure with innovation has helped her keep her teaching fresh and engaging.
The post Relying on Intermittent Daily Practices for Creative Progress with Helen Hiebert (213) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>As an artist, the idea of committing to a daily practice forever can feel overwhelming.
But what if the answer isn’t about doing something every single day, but instead adopting an intermittent daily practice—one that fits into your life while still fueling your creativity and growth?
In this conversation on The Art Biz, artist, teacher, and paper enthusiast Helen Hiebert and I explore this very concept. Helen shared how her own creative journey has evolved, and how her approach to intermittent practices has not only enhanced her art but also shaped her teaching.
Here are three key takeaways from our conversation.
- Experimenting with intermittent daily practices can jumpstart creativity. Helen’s 100-day paper weaving project helped her build discipline, develop momentum, and overcome creative blocks. She now encourages artists to adopt shorter, manageable commitments, like her annual 30-day “Weave Through Winter” class.
- Balancing structure while innovating. Helen has discovered that maintaining a consistent class structure allows her to creatively evolve the content, keeping it fresh for herself and engaging for her students.
- Focusing on the process over the outcome. Helen emphasizes the value of being present in the act of making, rather than worrying about the final product. This approach fosters growth, discovery, and creative courage.
Whether you’re looking for new ways to invigorate your creative practice or strategies to keep teaching fresh, Helen’s insights offer plenty of inspiration.
Listen
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Helen Hiebert Quotes
“If I’m doing them every single day, they’re not all going to be perfect. They’re not even, they’re not all going to be my favorites. But the process of doing them, I feel like I get something out of it every day.”
“ Being creative is as important as waking up each day.”
“All of these things happen when you just do the work. And then, if you start talking about it and sharing it, things will happen that you can’t even imagine because people are looking at your work online.”
“There are so many layers to something really sinking in and becoming concrete rather than abstract.”
I really want artists to understand that if they are trying to sell their work, promote their work, show their work, that it is a daily practice as well.
—Alyson Stanfield
Watch
Mentioned
Janie McDonald’s daily practice mentioned in The Times (London)
Helen’s Weave Through Winter February class
Related Episodes
Other episodes with artists who discuss their studio practices.
About My Guest
Helen Hiebert is a Colorado artist who constructs installations, sculptures, films, artists’ books, and works in paper using handmade paper as her primary medium.
She teaches, lectures, and exhibits her work internationally and online, and is the author of several how-to books about papermaking and papercrafts. Her next book is about weaving with paper and relates to her popular online class, “Weave Through Winter.”
Follow Helen on Instagram: @helenhiebert
Don’t miss new articles, podcasts, programs, and some of my favorite discoveries.
Sign up for my weekly newsletter.
The post Relying on Intermittent Daily Practices for Creative Progress with Helen Hiebert (213) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>I wanted to talk with Tracey because every encounter I have ever had with her as a member of our Art Biz Connection community has been positive. She is funny, warm, and generous. And she knows how to live life to its fullest.
The post Thriving as an Artist While True to Your Rural Roots with Tracey Hewitt (192) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>What would your art business look like if you lived in a remote area?
The middle of nowhere. Farm country. Rural America.
Or any country for that matter.
Originally from a large metropolitan area, Tracey Hewitt married a rancher and, like Lisa Douglas in Green Acres, said goodbye to city life.
But she never said goodbye to her art.
I wanted to talk with Tracey because every encounter I have ever had with her as a member of our Art Biz Success community has been positive. She is funny, warm, and generous. And she knows how to live life to its fullest.
Tracey helps run the family cattle business in the Australian bush, which takes up a good hunk of her time. (I had to look up bush to make sure I was using it properly. We in the States would probably call it farmland or the middle of nowhere.)
Aside from her duties on the ranch, Tracey is and always has been an artist, though the label of “artist” wasn’t easy for her to adopt—a hurdle I have discovered many artists must overcome.
[ See How Do You Know When You’re an Artist? with James Holmes]
Today, through her teaching and life coaching practices, Tracey helps other artists get comfortable with their creativity and, if they like, with calling themselves artists. I hope you are inspired by her optimism.
Listen
In this episode of The Art Biz, I’m delighted to introduce you to a longtime, valued member of our artist community.
If you’re looking to grow or maintain your art business, being around like-minded artists who understand your journey is essential. Our Art Biz Success community is committed to personal and professional growth, offering structured programs led by experienced professionals.
Explore the different levels of support we offer through our community, classes, and coaching opportunities. Join us and connect with artists who are as dedicated to success as you are.
Mentioned
Martha Beck’s Wayfinder Life Coach Training
- Beef Week Australia
Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages from The Artist’s Way
Highlights
3:00 Tracey’s artist journey and teaching
6:00 Finding exhibition opportunities in her rural area
10:44 Balancing art and life coaching
12:29 Tracey’s training with Martha Beck’s Wayfinder life coaching program
18:30 Tracey’s practical outlook on balancing her time commitments
24:24 Though she is fortunate not to have to make money from her art, Tracey shares her income streams
34:56 The intersection of art, coaching, and agriculture
Tracey Hewitt Quotes
“I was going to be a high school art teacher until I discovered that 14 year old boys are way more interested in drawing penises on desks than they are in actually painting art.”
“I abandoned painting because painting with small children is like taking your own appendix out with a fork.”
“You have to create opportunities rather than just lamenting the fact that you are not in the capital city or an art capital of the world.”
“I am existing in perpetual creative response to whatever is present.”
Related Episodes
These are conversations with other teaching artists.
Also of note: I asked artists in rural markets for their insights
About My Guest
Tracey Hewitt is a visual artist, art teacher, and life coach with a special interest in the healing and therapeutic benefits of creativity.
She lives in the Aussie bush by a billabong, near Theodore in central Queensland, surrounded by her farming family. Together with her husband, she has raised three lively sons and grown a family farming business while honing her creative skills.
Driven by her purpose to know peace and to bring peace, her mixed media art explores themes of the things we sense but cannot see, and her coaching work is dedicated to supporting people to find their own well of inner peace while successfully navigating change.
Follow her on Instagram @traceyhewitt
In this episode of The Art Biz, I’m delighted to introduce you to a longtime, valued member of our artist community.
If you’re looking to grow or maintain your art business, being around like-minded artists who understand your journey is essential. Our Art Biz Success community is committed to personal and professional growth, offering structured programs led by experienced professionals.
Explore the different levels of support we offer through our community, classes, and coaching opportunities. Join us and connect with artists who are as dedicated to success as you are.
The post Thriving as an Artist While True to Your Rural Roots with Tracey Hewitt (192) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>Ali’s dedication to her patrons and students shines through as she shares insights from the past five years of her career.
The post The Joy in Artist Community and Paring Back Obligations with Ali Cavanaugh (ep. 190) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>Some artists wait for things to happen to and for them.
Others take charge. They don’t buy into to other people’s definitions of success. (Listen to episode 165 for more on that.)
Taking charge means they figure out what they want and how to get there—taking all aspects of their life into account.
Ali Cavanaugh, my guest for this episode of The Art Biz, is in the latter group.
For some background, listen to last week’s episode (ep. 189) which is an encore of a 2019 interview I did with Ali when she was making big changes in her work life.
In this episode, Ali and I catch up with all that has transpired in the last 5 years. We discuss:
- Her booming Patreon community that gives her so much joy. [See also ep. 156 with Kimberly Santini.]
- How she has pared back on the demands for her art and the boundaries she put in place to allow her to do that.
- The recent release of the Ali Cavanaugh Portrait Colors Set from Golden Artist Colors.
- The upcoming retrospective of her work, made possible because she has withheld prized pieces from sale to keep in her private collection.
Ali is incredibly generous. As you’ll hear, she is utterly devoted to her patrons and the success of her students.
Listen
Highlights
04:01 Building a thriving artist community on Patreon
06:55 Ali’s shift towards online art education
15:01 Ali’s approach to selling art and embracing a new business model
19:53 Reflecting on gallery relationships and the future of art business
23:12 Galleries and art fairs
24:31 The cost of art fairs
25:12 Partnership with Golden Artist Colors
28:09 Royalties, brand deals, and ambassadorships
31:40 Upcoming retrospective and personal projects
36:01 Balancing art and family life
39:40 What’s coming up for Ali
Quotes
“Within the first month I was making money and had a lot of followers and I couldn’t believe it.”
“I want [my students] to have their own ideas. They have their own ideas. I want them to be able to access that.”
“My role is encouraging others a lot more and just not so much about sales.”
“I’m very inspired by the artists in our community.”
“I don’t miss giving [galleries] half my money.”
“My prices were able to really go up because my work became more collectible when I moved into the Immersed paintings.”
”Too many paintings, not enough time.”
Related Episodes
These episodes feature artists who teach.
About My Guest
Ali Cavanaugh (American, b. 1973) is an internationally collected fine artist and author of the book, Modern Fresco Paintings. She studied painting at Kendall College of Art and Design. Her work has been featured on magazine covers and countless internet articles. Her most recent project is a brand collaboration with Golden Artist Colors as they have designed her exclusive 6 color portrait set; a universal skin tone palette for all complexions. Four years ago she founded the Aligator Watercolor Community, which is an international group of watercolorists that focus on portraiture using alternative substrates.
Follow her on Instagram @_alicavanaugh_
The post The Joy in Artist Community and Paring Back Obligations with Ali Cavanaugh (ep. 190) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>Something wasn't right. Ali started pulling away from galleries and reconsidering not just her business model, but the art itself.
The post Reinventing your art career with Ali Cavanaugh (189) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>In 2014, Ali Cavanaugh had 11 galleries representing her work throughout the U.S. and even overseas.
It was all she could do to paint fast enough to supply these galleries with new work.
What a great problem to have, right? But something wasn’t sitting right with Ali, so she started asking the galleries to return her work.
One by one the galleries returned the few paintings that remained in their inventories.
There was no animosity. Ali greatly appreciated all the work the galleries did on her behalf, but she was no longer satisfied with the status quo.
She had begun to reconsider not just what her business model looked like, but the art itself.
Listen
In this encore episode of The Art Biz from 2019, you’ll hear about:
- Why galleries weren’t interested in work behind glass.
- How Ali took 6 months to teach herself a new watercolor technique and why it was important to do this.
- How Ali used her blog to attract press coverage and interest from galleries.
- How Ali has expanded her audience using social media.
- Ali’s philosophy of the artist’s journey and micro-evolution.
- Why it’s critical to challenge yourself as an artist.
- Why Instagram is the perfect platform for getting affirmation for your work.
- The reason Ali pulled her art from galleries and what happened to those 25 pieces.
- How Ali began raising her prices and why art fairs were the best venue for the new prices.
- Ali’s monograph that was published by Unicorn Publishing in 2019.
- Details of Ali’s intention to renovate a property in the small town of St. Genevieve, Missouri.
- Ali’s upcoming plans for Patreon.
In episode 190, I talk with Ali about how life and work have evolved since this interview.
Ali Cavanaugh Quotes
“Your art can get really boring or anything that you do can get really boring if you’re not adding those challenges and you don’t have a teacher to give you the incitement, so you have to do it some way.”
“I have deep, devout relationship with God. And that that’s what works for me—and through prayer. He just helps me all through all the stages of my work.”
“I’m not feeling it here. I’m just not challenged. I need to do something different with a watercolor.”
“My point is there that you don’t have to be in Santa Fe. You don’t have to be in New York.”
Related Episodes
These episodes feature the journeys of other self-representing artists.
About My Guest
Ali Cavanaugh studied painting at the Kendall College of Art and Design and the New York Studio Residency Program in New York City, earning a BFA from Kendall College of Art and Design in 1995.
At the age of 22, she co-founded an atelier—The New School Academy of Fine Art—in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico in 2001. It was during her six years in Santa Fe that she developed her modern fresco process on kaolin clay.
Her paintings have been the subject of numerous national and international solo and group exhibitions. Cavanaugh’s paintings have been featured on book covers, countless internet features such as the Huffington Post, Fine Art Connoisseur, Artsy and in numerous print publications including The New York Times Magazine, American Art Collector, American Artist Watercolor.
She has painted portraits for TIME magazine and The New York Times. Her work is featured in more than 400 private and corporate collections throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. She currently lives in St Louis, Missouri.
In 2019, the gorgeous monograph Ali Cavanaugh: Modern Fresco Paintings was published. It is now a collector’s item.
Follow Ali on Instagram: @_alicavanaugh_
The post Reinventing your art career with Ali Cavanaugh (189) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>Sally and I discuss her income sources before and after Covid, the skills she had to acquire to teach online, how she attracts new students, and how she manages to maintain her studio practice with her busy teaching schedule.
The post Maintaining your studio practice with a busy teaching schedule with Sally Hirst (164) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>Years ago I was teaching in a small mountain town and popping into cute shops, art galleries, and boutiques during my free time.
In one of these spots, an experienced shopkeeper, obviously used to tourists, asked about my purpose for being in town.
“I’m at a conference,” I said.
She responded that she hoped I learned a lot there. Arrogantly presuming that her comment needed correcting, I replied that I was the one teaching.
“Well,” she said, “you probably learn a lot from your students.”
Mic drop. Truer words have never been spoken and I have never forgotten that conversation. I needed to be reminded of why I enjoy teaching live and interacting with students, like in the current Create Opportunities Challenge. A good teacher learns from their students.
In this episode of The Art Biz, I talk with Sally Hirst.
Sally was born to teach, and she was also born an artist. Like most of us, she adapted to the new reality that she was faced with at the beginning of the pandemic. Well, actually, she did more than adapt. She took the challenge head on and has been thriving ever since.
Sally and discuss:
- Why it’s no longer feasible for an artist in the UK to sell in the EU market.
- How she selected her teaching platform and the skills she has had to acquire to teach online.
- Her video setup.
- The breakdown of live versus on-demand classes that Sally teaches.
- How she attracts new students.
- How she uses an assistant.
- How she manages to maintain her studio practice with such a busy teaching schedule.
Listen
Mentioned
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. (affiliate link)
Sally's Advice for Would-Be Teachers
- You have to want to do it. You have to know that you are good enough at something to be able to break it down into bite-sized chunks.
- Ask yourself what kind of a teacher you want to be and how you want to engage with people.
- Once you have some people who are interested, run it with a pilot with them.
- Just go for it, but start small.
Sally Hirst Quotes
“I don’t walk away from anything. I’m gonna have to do this now.”
“I just jumped in the water and thought, what’s the worst that can happen? The worst that can happen is no one likes it, and I’m talking to myself on video. But at least it’s keeping me amused.”
“You gotta have a passion to impart and to engage with people.”
“They’re paying for the content. They’re not paying for the quality of your video.”
“I think about going back to the reasons why people liked it. I think there’s an authenticity. I am who I am.”
“I learned very quickly that key to a good course is you don’t get the questions. It’s all in the course. They don’t need to ask me questions.”
“My mantra through all my teaching career has been everyone can paddle, but some of them will swim. Everyone can achieve something.”
“I’m not a great believer in things like talent, because if you say it’s about talent, then actually you are saying there’s a whole percentage of the population who have no access to that because they don’t feel they have the talent.”
About My Guest
Born and bred in London, Sally Hirst now lives in Norwich in the United Kingdom. Her studio is in the city centre of this historic city and she loves hearing the medieval church bells ring every hour and the chatter of shoppers in the nearby marketplace.
As well as being a professional artist educated to Masters level, Sally is also a qualified teacher with many years of teaching experience. She currently teaches a range of online courses that enable her to reach students at all stages of their creative journey, worldwide.
Follow her on Instagram @sallyhirstart
The post Maintaining your studio practice with a busy teaching schedule with Sally Hirst (164) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>You just knew that this one direction was the path you needed to take. And you might have ignored that it wasn’t working or didn’t feel like the right fit. Adele Sypesteyn discusses adjustments she has made to her art business over the years.
The post Leaving gallery representation to reach more art buyers with Adele Sypesteyn (163) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>This episode is a remix of The Art Biz episode 36 from 2019. It is such an inspiring interview that I wanted more people to hear it.
Adele Sypesteyn has been making a living from her art for four decades. In this conversation, she takes us through her journey of selling her art—from the traditional process of applying to galleries to a more strategic approach that involved teaching herself about business and pivoting in the face of economic downturns.
Adele reveals how she transitioned away from galleries to the antique show in Round Top, Texas, where she made excellent connections with hundreds of interior designers.
Adele discussed testing a new concept for teaching art to children and shares her approach to teaching herself about business, especially during the recession.
You’ll hear about how she embraced the concept of viewing her art as a product, combining creativity with research to make her work more marketable.
The people who go into galleries are 1% of the population.
I wanted to reach the other 99%.
Finally, we discuss how Adele adapted her income streams, shifting from relying 100% on gallery sales to focusing on events and online classes. She talks about how she used YouTube as a lead magnet to grow her business and her strategy of connecting with people to learn what they want and need from her art. Market research!
"
Adele Sypesteyn Quotes
“You have to match the gallery with the style you know of what you’re doing. So you have to really do a lot of searching and discovering for yourself as an artist.”
“[The recession] really made me think what can I do? What can I do to work that hard for myself as my business?”
“The people who go into galleries are 1% of the population. I wanted to reach the other 99%.”
“I put all my effort into really being clear about who my market is, which are interior designers, who have, who buy repeatedly because they have clients.”
“I’m 65 years old, I never thought I would be doing a video. I do not like to be in front of the camera, but my passion for teaching, like all I’m focusing on is what I can teach. These tips.”
Mentioned
- Jan McCarthy Jan is also featured in episode 158 of The Art Biz
- Round Top Antiques Fair (Texas)
- ReworksHOME
- Sunny Leonarduzzi (YouTube mentor)
- Adele’s YouTube Channel
About Adele Sypesteyn
Adele Sypesteyn is a New Orleans-born artist whose architecturally influenced abstract work is distinguished by multiple layers of texture, color and pattern. She draws inspiration from her surroundings, particularly the weathered walls of New Orleans and elements of nature. Her abstract art combines warm textures with aged patinas and writings, and utilizes her unique technique developed over three decades as a practicing artist.
Adele’s art has been displayed in galleries across the country, and can be spotted in world-class magazines, including Veranda and House Beautiful.
Adele made the decision in early 2019 to focus on expanding her teaching practice and grow it into a major source of income. See her art and get info about learning from her at AdeleSypesteynStudio.com.
Follow her on Instagram: @AdeleSypesteyn
The post Leaving gallery representation to reach more art buyers with Adele Sypesteyn (163) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>We talk about the features of her Patreon tiers, how her workflow keeps aligns with her studio practice, and how she differentiates the content for patrons from the content she creates for her blog, newsletter, YouTube, and social media.
The post The Art Biz ep. 156: Using Patreon as a Teaching Platform with Kimberly Santini appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>Like so many artists, Kimberly Santini began thinking differently at the beginning of the pandemic—out of necessity. Her calendar, like all of ours, was suddenly empty of obligations.
Rather than panic, she viewed it as an opportunity.
In this episode of The Art Biz, Kimberly and I start off discussing how she used Covid as a sabbatical to figure out what she really wanted from her art.
We touched on her dedication to blogging since 2006, and why she maintains the habit after so many artists have given up or neglected their blogs.
[ The Benefits of Blogging About Your Art with Lisa Call ]
The bulk of our conversation focused on how Kimberly uses Patreon to teach and build a community of artists.
We discuss:
- What Kimberly charges for her Patreon patron tiers.
- What each tier receives for their patronage.
- What her workflow is like.
- Why it’s important that what she shares on Patreon is closely aligned with what she is doing in the studio.
- How she differentiates the content for patrons from the content she creates for her blog, newsletter, YouTube, and social media.
Is Patreon for you? Kimberly has some answers.
Listen
Mentioned
Kimberly Santini Quotes
“The pandemic wiped my calendar clean in a matter of a week … so I used the time as a little sabbatical.”
“I [used to love] color for color’s sake … Now I’m seeing color more as a harmonic journey….”
“I’ll check [my blog stats] periodically, but I really don’t wanna use it as any sort of religion or anything to steer business decisions too heavily with.”
“My problem is that there are so many shiny things that it’s really, it can be difficult for me to narrow down and choose something.”
“You have to show up regularly for your supporter base.”
“My biggest secret [for using Patreon] was trying not to create extra work for myself. The fewer barriers between my creative process and the delivery of that content to … my supporters, the easier it is for me.”
Kim painting with kitty daVinci’s help.
Related Episodes
These episodes also focus on artists who teach using platforms other than Patreon.
About My Guest
Kimberly Santini‘s career began at the kitchen table during her children’s naptime. She started daily painting in 2006 and continues to be committed to this habit—instilling it in her students on the Patreon platform.
Working directly and spontaneously, Kim is sensitive to color and her subject while never certain of where the next painting will end. She was the official artist of the 2015 Kentucky Derby, has worked with the American Kennel Club, and installed solo shows across the country.
Kim serves on the boards of the Romeo Guild of Art and The Detroit Society of Women Painters and Sculptors.
Follow her on Instagram @kimsantini
The post The Art Biz ep. 156: Using Patreon as a Teaching Platform with Kimberly Santini appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>Cathy Nichols went from 5,000 to 107,000 Instagram followers in 3 years by researching who they were and why they were following her. She shares valuable insights about how she continues to grow her art business with joy and authenticity.
The post The key to success on social media with Cathy Nichols (154) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>You already know that your art won’t resonate with everyone, but have you truly embraced the almost unpalatable concept that there are a ton of people out there who simply aren’t interested in the work you make? (Stick with me here.)
Or maybe they’re like me. I’m interested in a lot of art, but let’s face it: I can’t possibly buy every piece of art I fall in love with.
It’s understandable to feel disheartened when people pass by your booth without stepping in, or when your show doesn’t draw the crowds you hoped for. And let’s not forget the frustration of not seeing the returns you desire from your social media investments.
Or how about this complaint I often hear: All of my followers are artists! I want buyers and collectors as followers. How do I get more of them?
What if you stopped trying to fight the gifts that are given to you because you think you want something else?
Imagine how liberating it would be to fully embrace what already exists. To dive deep into understanding those who genuinely adore your work and focus on keeping them delighted.
In this episode of The Art Biz, I introduce you to Cathy Nichols. A few years ago, she dug into the statistics of her Instagram followers, and the insights were eye-opening.
Within just three years, Cathy’s follower count skyrocketed from 5,000 to an astonishing 107,000 as of the airing of this episode. (That’s an increase of 1,000 since we recorded this interview not too long ago.)
It all began when she investigated her followers in order to truly comprehend the reasons behind their loyalty.
What I absolutely love about Cathy is that she embraced these revelations and committed to understanding their implications. She continues building her art business with joy and authenticity.
Listen
Mentioned
- River Arts District, Asheville, NC
- Cathy’s Joy of Painting community
- Cathy’s aprons (not bibs!
)
Cathy Nichols Quotes
“There was a turning point when I decided that I should delve into who the people were that actually were enjoying and buying and looking at my art.”
“I’m going to go with what is bringing me joy, which is painting. Florals and botanicals.”
“I didn’t realize that this amazing source of information was just sitting right there.”
“I don’t worry about people stealing. I worry about people seeing, I want them to see my work. So I tried to just take it with a neutral mindset, which is, this is information that people following me are artists.”
“You have to decide who you are, too, and what you feel comfortable with.”
“There are so many different ways to see and learn more about your people, but I think when you make a point of interacting with them in person, you can really learn a lot.”
About My Guest
Cathy Nichols is a mixed media artist specializing in lush florals set within lyrical layers of text, pattern and color that combine to create dreamlike landscapes for the viewer to explore.
Her goal is to promote a vision of kindness, love and interconnectivity in her work using paper, paint, archetype and, always, a bit of magic.
Follow her on Instagram @cathynicholsart
The post The key to success on social media with Cathy Nichols (154) appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>Kristen O'Neill and I discuss what she hoped to get from this challenge, how she organized it, how much of it was planned ahead, and what her workflow was like, including all of the platforms she used to share the content, and what she would do differently next time.
The post The Art Biz ep. 145: Gaining Marketing Skills Quickly by Leading a Creativity Challenge with Kristen O’Neill appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>In art school, teachers and professors give provocative assignments to help students explore materials, methodology, and subject matter. To push them.
After school, and without this instruction, we’re left to our own to experiment. To find inspiration. To source ideas and material worthy of our attention.
We must recognize on our own when we’re in a rut and need fresh insights.
We have to, in a sense, create our own assignments to keep us engaged with our work.
In this episode of The Art Biz, I talk with Kristen O’Neill, who has been a team member of mine for 5 years. In the Art Biz Connection community, Kristen serves as an artist mentor to help answer questions and share her experience.
Kristen is an accomplished artist and, like me, a former museum educator. In January of this year, she created a 30-day challenge for her online followers to help kickstart the New Year.
As you’ll hear, the challenge consisted of daily art lessons for those who took her up on it. But I’m not sure if it was more of a challenge for them or for her.
Kristen and I discuss:
- What she hoped to get from this challenge (and if she got it).
- How she organized the many moving parts.
- How much of it was planned ahead.
- What her workflow was like—including all of the platforms she used to share the content.
- What she would do differently if she were to do it again.
Listen
Please join me in the Art Biz Accelerator
for busy artists who like knowing there is someone nearby to help
Highlights
- Details of Kristen’s 30-Day Art Challenge and what she hoped to get out of it. (1:29)
- How Kristen shared the challenge while honoring her email list expectations. (6:10)
- Creating and organizing a workflow that worked all month long. (10:42)
- The time commitment and unexpected challenges behind the challenge. (16:35)
- Lessons learned from the challenges of this challenge. (22:25)
- Staying motivated and accountable throughout a challenge. (27:52)
- Tracking the participation, success, and results of the challenge. (30:15)
- The value of Pinterest for artists. (38:30)
- What Kristen would do differently next time. (41:07)
Kristen O'Neill Quotes
- “I’m always looking for different opportunities and ways to reach out to more students and interact with more painters.”
- “It’s really important to honor what you say you’re going to do with your list.”
- “I picked up lessons more quickly than had I done the same amount of work spread over a longer period of time.”
- “If you haven’t figured out your system ahead of time, it’s going to be harder than it needs to be.”
- “Often we spend so much time guessing what is the right way to do something, and we could put that energy into just doing it.”
Related Episodes
These artists have challenged themselves with their art and getting it out in front of people.
Need to get your systems in order before undertaking such an enormous challenge? See ep. 78 How to Increase Your Productivity with Art Business Systems.
About My Guest
Kristen O’Neill paints the essence of landscapes based on real locations, including those from recent collaborations with long-distance hikers. Her Oregon Coast Trail series was also featured in a solo exhibition at the Grants Pass Museum of Art.
Kristen graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and now lives in Southern Oregon where she has become passionate about teaching art. She teaches both online and in-person, leads a field trip program that has taught art history to thousands of 5th graders, and is an Artist Mentor for Alyson Stanfield’s community.
Follow her on Instagram @kristenoneillart
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]]>Or you feel like it’s easier if you just do it yourself.
But if you want your business to grow, there comes a point at which you must hire to support that growth. And the wisdom is to hire before you think you can afford it.
In this episode I talk with Angela Fehr and Robin Edmundson.
Angela had been building a thriving business teaching heart-led watercolor since 2013, while leading a community of artists to support one another on that journey. She knew she needed help, but she wasn’t prepared to struggle to find that help. She was content in setting her intention and being open that the right person would come along.
Enter Robin—a student that Angela had her eye on. And, I’m kind of proud to say, a member of my former Inner Circle program for artists.
You’ll hear us discuss how Robin was and is the perfect fit for Angela, and vice versa. They’re building a team using Robin’s unique talents to support her in this process. We talk about the technology they use, how they work with other team members who have since come on board, and how they communicate with one another to stay on top of tasks.
Highlights
- Angela and Robin both focus on watercolor and Angela’s teaching offers regular lightbulb moments. (1:43)
- How Angela’s approach to watercolor has grown her teaching business. (4:45)
- Building a thriving business while raising families and connecting in the artist community. (9:09)
- At what point do you know it’s time to get help? (11:15)
- Finding the best fit—from both Robin and Angela’s perspective. (13:25)
- Learning how to hire correctly while trusting and protecting your values. (16:22)
- Finding assistants that have the skill set you might be lacking. (19:35)
- Building a support staff as your art business needs expand. (24:13)
- A typical week in this thriving art business. (29:32)
- The first step of a journey might be a boring one, but it can lead to a great adventure. (32:18)
- Email support, tech support, and everything you might want to hire an assistant to do for you. (34:54)
- The policies and procedures that keep a sustainable business running smoothly. (39:18)
- What are the rewards and challenges of supporting another artist? (43:32)
Quotes
“Long before I got help I knew that what I was doing was not sustainable.” — Angela Fehr
“One of the hardest things about starting a relationship like this is that you may not know what you need.” — Robin Edmunson
“Trust that what you need will come to you.” — Angela Fehr
“I’m able to delegate certain tasks, but I also need to recognize that I need to take ownership of my position of authority.” — Angela Fehr
“We all need to be in a position where if we need to take two weeks off, things will continue on without us.” — Angela Fehr
“One of the challenges was learning the balance between handling things, and I can actually do a lot of stuff without taking over.” — Robin Edmundson
“We try to bring out the best in each other and in our students.” — Robin Edmundson
About My Guests
Angela Fehr first picked up a watercolor brush as a shy teenager newly returned to Canada. During her teen years she’d lived in a remote village in Papua New Guinea, and the solitude had cemented a passion for art that she was excited to pursue. She quickly realized that watercolor was a perfect fit, and along the way, realized that she wanted something more for her paintings than simply to copy what she could see with her eyes. Angela aims to show her heart in her paintings, to pair the beauty of the world with a loose, intuitive, heart-led style.
She launched her first online course in November of 2013, with the goal of teaching technique and empowerment to help painters become their own favorite artist. Angela shares her home in northern British Columbia with her husband and three teens. The beauty of the Peace River and northern Rocky Mountain region serves as the main source of inspiration for her paintings.
Follow Angela on Instagram: @angelafehr
Follow Angela on Youtube: Angela Fehr Watercolour
Robin Edmundson paints everyday rural things in new ways with bold and unusual colors, using simplified shapes and lines to emphasize the patterns and rhythms of rural life. Robin grew up in northern Indiana in an old farmhouse on a property full of old farm buildings. Her early goal was to learn as many languages as she could. In college, she quickly found Linguistics and earned a Ph.D. in that field. She taught in various capacities at Indiana University for twenty-seven years. Always looking for creative outlets to balance her academic life, she learned to dye and weave and became an award winning fiber artist.
In 2011 she began blogging about rural life in southern Indiana. It took her a while to realize that she was still searching for a language that could express some things she wanted to say about life in rural southern Indiana. Imagine her surprise when she finally figured out that the language she was looking for was one of paint, color, and line instead of words. Nothing makes her happier than to communicate through her paintings her deep love and respect for the unruly places and people of rural Indiana.
Follow Robin on Instagram: @robinjedmundson
The post The Art Biz ep. 104: Trusting Another Artist to Help You Run Your Art Business with Angela Fehr and Robin Edmundson appeared first on Art Biz Success.
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