Manchester Art Fair 2022

Manchester Art Fair delivers a curated mix of acclaimed galleries and independent artists, blurring the boundaries between traditional and contemporary, creating a friendly, unpretentious and uniquely Northern art-buying experience.

Last year was my first time showing at this fair and it was a blast, so I’m pleased to be back with all new paintings. I’ll be showing the larger canvases I’ve been working on. Some of these started out fairly raw and wild, and I’ve pushed myself to working with new colours; indigo, deep plums, olive green….

…exploring the interaction of materials and time. Sometimes it feels as though I’m just turning in space, and I come home wondering “what’s changed today?” or “does any of this have any impact?”. But over time, through a continued back and forth, gradually the painting emerges.

At the moment it feels like less drastic changes (perhaps we have enough of this) but what exists at the start in raw form becomes ever more nuanced and richer as the colours interact. One comment I hear time and again when people see the paintings is “so much more to them in real life”.

On screens it’s easy to scan and swipe, but the good things in life demand that we take time to enjoy them. I’m looking forward to showing these, and meeting you if you can visit.

When to visit

Friday 4 November 4pm – 9pm (VIP Preview)
Saturday 5 November 10am – 6pm
Sunday 6 November 10am – 4pm

Book your ticket through the Manchester Art Fair website HERE or click the image below.

I have a limited number of complimentary tickets available – please email me if you’d like to attend the Private View evening.

How to Know What You Want in Your Art (and Your Life) [182]

Apple podcast

 

This week, we’re prompting you to pause and ask what you want – when so many online courses promise success for artists through tag lines like “Sell more art” or “Build a Six-Figure Art Business,” we thought it was worth stopping to check what’s external validation and what are your real desires in making art. Of course there is nothing wrong with wanting to earn a good living from our work – but it isn’t the only way to go. It’s too easy to get sucked into pursuing things that others value without truly understanding if they are important to us.

This idea led to a discussion about how to identify what we do want with 5 key questions to ask ourselves. It’s perhaps also easy to avoid even considering what we want, if we think it is too far-fetched, and can’t even admit it to ourselves. That’s the first step!

Mentioned

Self Care Club podcast: How to Have a Difficult Conversation https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/how-to-have-a-difficult-conversation/id1505703522?i=1000578355383

Gary Vee on choosing what you want : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB_6brOEEgM

Ken Spooner https://www.cornwallcontemporary.com/exhibition/ken-spooner-exhibition/

Joan Eardley Painting at Tate St Ives https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/eardley-salmon-net-posts-t04133

Get more involved…

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

Is being disorganised part of the process – with Anna MacDonald [181]

Apple podcast

 

Have you ever convinced yourself that being disorganised is an essential part of the creative process – but get constantly frustrated by looking for images or planning projects? “If I’m tidy I’m not a true artist” is one belief Anna MacDonald had. Today Anna and Alice talk about accepting the way you are and how to find the mental space to support your route to becoming the artist you want to be. 

We talk about choosing your words carefully, and the curse of being ‘busy’. There’s a difference between being busy and productive and as a teacher, artist and mum, Anna shares her approach which has allowed her to develop her art and life. We discuss the different ways we use a bullet journal, and also sorting the overwhelm when it comes into organising our digital life. 

Find more on Anna’s website annafmacdonald.com where you can sign up for a free class this October and find out more about her Artist Laptop course and the Bullet Journal course for artists HERE

Find Anna on Instagram at @annafmacdonaldart

Also Mentioned

Alice and Anna both use Leuchtturm notebooks for bullet journals

@gommie_poem on Instagram

Get more involved…

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

What is Wrong with You? The Value of Self Acceptance [180]

Apple podcast

 

Are you perfectly confident about yourself and your art? Do you sail through life with no self-criticism? In most cases, the answer to this question is a resounding no. As artists we are all alone – making things that just seemed like a good idea, even though no-one asked us to. There is no roadmap and there are no instructions. So it’s natural to be filled with self-doubt. Am I doing this right? Is anyone going to like this? Is this even art? This week, Louise is musing about the importance of self-acceptance. This is more than making ourselves feel good – without self-acceptance, we can’t make the work that lives inside us – the unique, compelling, personal work of which we are capable. And if we don’t trust ourselves, how can we expect buyers to have faith in us?

Get more involved…

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

Holding Your Nerve: How to Get Through the Not-so-Good Times [179]

Apple podcast

 

Being an artist is an up and down business. One minute you’re making things you love, the next minute everything has turned to rubbish. One month you sell lots of paintings, the next month you can’t give them away. So what do you do? How do you navigate this unpredictable career without going mad or giving up? Not sure we have all the answers, but we have learned some lessons over the last few years and we’ve both become better at rolling with the punches. We hope this conversation serves as a reminder that we all struggle and we can all come out the other side if we just keep going.

Mentioned

Jenny Fermor https://www.jennyfermorart.com/

Sara Breinlinger https://www.sarabreinlinger.com/

The Sensationalists on iPlayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m001cbst/sensationalists-the-bad-girls-and-boys-of-british-art

Crossfire on iPlayer https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m001c9gh/crossfire

Get more involved…

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