July 2019 - Alice Sheridan: contemporary artist

Summer sketchbooks and charity donations [28]

We discuss our different approaches to summer – Louise doesn’t slow down in summer and in fact, her online course is about to start which means she is working even harder. Alice has children, which means her summers have always been a time for family. So how do we fit art in to that?!

Keeping creative through the summer

Even with the best will in the world, it’s almost impossible to work while caring for young children so I have always had to find ways of creating which could be squeezed into the gaps around family time. This has included other creative projects including home decor, gardening, cooking, and reading the art books that I usually don’t have time for.

We also discuss sketchbooks and the different ways we have both used them, including how we divide ideas up vs a scrapbook model and an idea for a sketchbook-in-a-day project if you like a deep dive! THIS is the simple sketchbook I mentioned and would recommend if you would like to have a go at this.

print sketchbook Alice Sheridan — Does thinking about it as a scrapbook make it less precious?

Oh, and also we started a hashtag for sharing how you are keeping in touch with your art practice over the summer!! Simply use #artjuicesummer over on Instagram

If you would like to join Louise for her “Find your Joy” FREE mini course which kicks off on 2nd August there is still time to join.

Audience Question

Our audience question is about charity donations: The listener wrote:

“Had my fill this week! Would make an interesting podcast. The tactics they use to get free artwork. How to say no. How to not feel guilty. If I’m targeted then others artists must be too.”

We have a slight reframe on this one … rather than seeing it as a bad thing, we talk about how to approach these requests in a more positive manner.

Perhaps you can split the proceeds? Perhaps you can choose a charity you feel strongly about and donate to that. Maybe the charity has high net worth donors and this might be a good marketing opportunity? Perhaps, as Alice has, you can find a more creative way to raise money than just donating a piece … but we both agree that there is no need to feel guilty about saying no. The charity has to ask for donations – it’s what they do – but you do not have to make them, any more than a local business has to give a gift voucher if they don’t want to.

If you have a question you’d like us to discuss, click here to send it to us

If you are enjoying the podcast this is an easy and inexpensive way to help support it and ensure it continues. The demands of making it each week can be challenging. Your support is allowing us to hire some editing help. If you’d like to help out with a one-time or a monthly donation, you can “buy us a coffee” us at Ko-fi.com

Contribute to the podcast here:

Follow Alice on Instagram @alicesheridanstudio
or Louise @louisefletcher_art

Credits
“Monkeys Spinning Monkeys” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Navigating Change in our Art [27]

podcast episode

This week we’re talking about transitions – those times when our work moves into a new phase.

When do we need to activate change in our art?

Perhaps it comes upon us almost without us noticing – perhaps we make a conscious decision, but either way, change can be both exciting and unsettling.

Louise is preparing to start new work in a few weeks time, and feeling pulled in several directions which feel unrelated.

Alice has started new work that could be seen as re-visiting and earlier interest. We talk about letting ideas go, and giving them time to develop, how you can recognise transition moments. And when you should be on alert that perhaps some new transition is needed to fire up your creative life again.

If this is something you would like to explore, then join Louise for her “Find your Joy” FREE mini course which kicks off on 2nd August

> Find out more and join here <

Audience Question

I’m impatient in terms of wanting success with my art. I am in the early stages (exhibited for first time last year and sold fairly well) In your own experience and knowing other artists how long did things take to start gaining momentum in terms of sales and can you see what this was linked to?
@helenlong.artist via Instagram

We share our experiences of growth and what made a difference – easier to tell looking back!

If you have a question you’d like us to discuss, click here to send it to us

Both of us are recognising our own intuition – but note how it can takes time to become clear enough to act decisively….Louise: “Asking for what I want instead of accepting what is offered and/or being swayed by others’ views. SO huge for me and a win for intuition over thought.”
Alice: “visiting the Barbara Rae exhibition – showed me what direction I want to go in.”

If you are enjoying the podcast this is an easy and inexpensive way to help support it and ensure it continues. The demands of making it each week can be challenging. Your support is allowing us to hire some editing help. If you’d like to help out with a one-time or a monthly donation, you can “buy us a coffee” us at Ko-fi.com

Contribute to the podcast here:

Follow Alice on Instagram @alicesheridanstudio
or Louise @louisefletcher_art

Credits
“Monkeys Spinning Monkeys” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

How to be a Happy Artist and Find your Voice [26]

podcast episode

This one is a biggie… What does it mean to find our voice as an artist? How do we discover what we want to create? Especially as that may change over time.

This week

At opposite ends of the spectrum, Louise has been preparing her new course and accepting that she may not paint as much for the next few weeks. Alice has enjoyed delivering a painting to a new home and getting stuck in to her self-set painting challenge.

Finding your artist voice

Louise believes the answer lies in following what you love. To do that you need to learn to play, which is something many people struggle with. Alice wonders what happens when you enjoy the process, but not the end result? She believes you may need to let go of some ‘rules’ so that you can discover your own questions; questions that will guide your art as you develop your process.

If this is something you would like to explore, then join Louise for her “Find your Joy” FREE mini course which kicks off on 2nd August

> Find out more and join here <

Audience Question

Hi, not sure if you have covered this yet on your podcasts as I only discovered them recently and still playing catch up ! Is it a good idea to have many same sized canvases or panels when working ? I would like to invest in quite a few to build up a body of work to show to galleries and I always have a dilemma on what size. Do galleries want a body of work all of the same size ? This was a theory a gallery said to me a few years back, ‘ if you can produce 20 or thirty paintings like this then we can sell them!’

So, do we have any theories and experience on what size panels or canvases sell best in a gallery setting or to clients? Well, we have some ideas of how you could think about this, but it may not be what you expect…

If you have a question you’d like us to discuss, click here to send it to us

This week we are both inspired by the power of re-juvenation! Louise by shorts bursts of one hour painting sessions, and Alice has been re-fuelling bottles and using paint like it’s free…. (I know, if only! but this may help you use it a little free-er)

If you are enjoying the podcast this is an easy and inexpensive way to help support it and ensure it continues. The demands of making it each week can be challenging. Your support is allowing us to hire some editing help. If you’d like to help out with a one-time or a monthly donation, you can “buy us a coffee” us at Ko-fi.com

Contribute to the podcast here:

Follow Alice on Instagram @alicesheridanstudio
or Louise @louisefletcher_art

Credits
“Monkeys Spinning Monkeys” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

A Splash of Colour! Personal and Practical Approaches to Colour Mixing [25]

podcast episode

There is so much to mixing colour… it is one of the pure joys of painting, but it can be a little overwhelming. We share some ideas about our own colour habits and ways you can re-invigorate your own colour mixing.

This week

Louise has found someone to help with the technical aspects of her online course, and is now working on a marketing plan. Alice has been fuelled by discovering where her mystery buyer came from and the power of follow-up.

How do you choose colour for your palette?

This week’s main topic was inspired by a question from Janes_artscapes on Instagram. She asks:

“I was hoping you could talk about colour mixing as opposed to buying already mixed colours. I want to invest in new paint, I’d just like to hear your opinion on different paints & colour mixing”
Jane

Find Jane’s work here: www.instagram.com/Janes_artscapes

This question led us into a discussion of colour and the way we use it in our work. For both of us, it is quite an important focus, but our preferred palettes are quite different. We discuss the emotional resonance of certain colours; the power of surprising ourselves with something different; the freedom that can come (paradoxically) with a limited palette; and mixing colours versus using them straight from the tube. We also discuss the relativity of colour, and Alice shares her approach of choosing one hero colour for each painting.

In the end, colour is an incredibly personal thing, and each artist approaches it in a different way. Some artists study colour theory, some spend hours mixing in a sketchbook, and some choose colours totally intuitively. And this is perhaps the most important point to come out of our discussion – we both believe that your use of colour should be guided not be rules or by what you think other artists would do, but by your own preferences and your goals for your work.

Would love to know your colour habits and any tips you have to use different colours – or what favourites you simply couldn’t do without! Let us know in the comments below….

Audience Question

If you have a question you’d like us to discuss, click here to send it to us

Alice has been painting and is experimenting with a different way of working on canvas. Louise was energized by a blustery, cold, grey walk on Sandside beach in Cumbria.

Mentioned:
Alice’s painting tutorial as guest artist for the True Colours membership is now available!

This includes filmed lessons guiding you through the making of two paintings, discussing colour choices, including collage and how to allow the painting to lead your intuitive decisions. You can join just for a month, or for longer if you’d like new monthly painting projects.

> Find out more and join here <

If you are enjoying the podcast this is an easy and inexpensive way to help support it and ensure it continues. The demands making it each week can be challenging. Your support would enable us to hire some help. If you’d like to help out with a one-time or a monthly donation, you can “buy us a coffee” us at Ko-fi.com

Contribute to the podcast here:

Follow Alice on Instagram @alicesheridanstudio
or Louise @louisefletcher_art

Credits
“Monkeys Spinning Monkeys” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Fuel Your Success by Sharing Your Creative Process [24]

podcast episode

Sharing our creative process is a highly effective way to connect with potential collectors. In fact, in today’s world it is essential, but it can feel vulnerable. Today we share our experiences and tips for exposing your art…

This week Louise has been organizing her files and ideas for marketing and enjoying how much better it feels. After a dead day lost to technology on Friday AND Monday, Alice had a purchase request “out of the blue” which leads us to discuss how to tell the difference between genuine enquiries and scams.

Louise has been organizing her files and ideas for marketing and enjoying how much better it feels. After a dead day lost to technology on Friday AND Monday Alice had a purchase request “out of the blue” which leads us to discuss how to tell the difference between genuine enquiries and scams.

Audience Question

As artists we have unprecedented opportunities to market ourselves and our work. We no longer have to rely on galleries or agents – the internet allows us to connect directly with potential buyers. Sharing our creative process is a highly effective way to do this, and video can be a wonderful way to satisfy people’s interest.

This week, we discuss different ways to get started with video, including how to create a video without appearing in it, how you can use Facebook “lives,” and why Instagram stories might be a good way to get started.

We also acknowledge the vulnerability that comes with sharing our creative practice and get the giggles about some of the not-so-nice comments we have received. But we both agree that the benefits far outweigh the (extremely rare) mean remarks. If we want people to see our art, we have to let them see us.

Audience Question

“I often feel demoralised when I spend time looking at posts of other artists on instagram. (I am otherwise pretty confident about my art and my abilities as an artist) have you personally ever felt this and if so how have you overcome it? I know social media is hugely important in terms of promoting my art.”
Helen Long

Find Helen’s work here: www.instagram.com/helenlong.artist

If you have a question you’d like us to discuss, click here to send it to us

This week’s inspirations are all about taking time out for ourselves, Louise is learning about curing pain using brain plasticity with the Curable app .

Alice has enjoyed a day to review what has changed within her art and business with her coach. When we have a tendency to race ahead, pressing pause like this is a great way to ensure you are on track or brainstorm some ideas for what you could do differently.

Mentioned:
Louise’s videos on Facebook
Lisa Bean video course
Alice blooper reel

If you are enjoying the podcast this is an easy and inexpensive way to help support it and ensure it continues. The demands making it each week can be challenging. Your support would enable us to hire some help. If you’d like to help out with a one-time or a monthly donation, you can “buy us a coffee” us at Ko-fi.com/artjuice

Contribute to the podcast here:

Follow Alice on Instagram @alicesheridanstudio
or Louise @louisefletcher_art

Credits
“Monkeys Spinning Monkeys” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License