Free Inspiration
Little-Teeny-Tiny Steps
If I had a nickel for every time I couldn’t move forward because of money, or because there simply wasn’t enough time… but I decided to stop letting those things that I cannot control decide my
Artist: How Will You Know When You’ve Made It?
How do you define success as an artist? It’s a difficult question to answer because everyone’s artist dream is different. How I define success by my standards may not align with yours. And that’s perfectly ok.
It Was Every Artist’s Dream
It’s every artist’s dream, but I was shocked when it happened to me. While in Arizona a couple of years ago, I decided to visit the local art museum, Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA). It’s one of my
How to Support Artists in Ukraine: Part 1
On the 24th February 2022, Russian forces invaded Ukraine without provocation. I think I speak for a lot of my fellow artists when I say we strongly condemn the Russian government’s decision to invade Ukraine and
Being Called To Be An Artist
What does it mean to have a ‘calling’ as an artist? Who’s calling you? What exactly are you being called to do? Artists aren’t the only ones who feel called. When a person dedicates their career
The One Word That Changed Everything
Like so many artists, I was working hard. Submitting, proposing, applying. But it seemed nothing was going my way and I was totally stressed. Have you ever felt like this? I phoned my Guardian Angel. It
Squashed: 7 Artist Myths
For as long as artists have been creating there have been myths about what it means to be a professional artist. Stereotypes of the ‘starving artist’ or the ‘eccentric weirdo’ seem to follow us wherever we
How Working Artists Survive Rejection
Rejection is an important part of being an artist – or any creative field actually. So it’s something that you need to learn how to handle with some resiliency. As an artist and as a writer,
My Experience with B-School
When I worked as an art dealer, my schedule was relentless with travel, openings, and sales. I didn’t have time to make my own art. Instead, I wrote all my hopes, dreams and creative aspirations into
He was my competition. And then he was my friend.
The scariest thing happened when I started working as an Artist Coach ten years ago. Back then, the space was brand new. I thought I was pioneering online artist coaching –until one search changed everything. There was
How I Learned To Be An Artist By Going To Church
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been curious about the religions of the world. I started visiting different churches when I was a kid. I wanted to explore the beliefs and rituals and stories
The First Artist I Ever Met
I told Andy about the special place where I ride my bicycle each day. It’s a tiny island in the middle of a pond. I explained how it’s been my destination for years; it’s where I
Do They Like Your Art?
My favorite college professor taught art history. He’d started out life as a photographer, a lifelong dream since he’d mixed his own chemicals in a homemade darkroom under his parents’ stairway. As a young man he’d
The Artist’s Mantra
There are several definitions of artists that I personally subscribe to, but my favorite is this: artists are alchemists. During the Middle Ages, an alchemist was known as someone who could transform base metals into gold. I
The Procrastinating Artist
Is procrastination preventing you from creating a successful art career? Here’s how to fix it. Many artists I know (including myself occasionally!) struggle with procrastination. Especially when it comes to doing the boring stuff that
The Artist’s Dance
We all know artists who do incredible work, but fail to achieve their professional goals. It’s tragic and feels unfair. At the same time, I’ll bet you can also name several artists who enjoy great commercial
To Stop Wishing And Start Doing
For years I wished that I could be a writer and an artist. I wished on every shooting star, straining my neck from the constant upward gaze. I threw a small fortune of pennies into wishing
Framer to the Stars
Though he called himself “Framer to the Stars,” I never saw any stars in Bill’s Custom Frames. But I did see plenty of artists. Every artist has their favorite framers, and ever since I was in