How do you feel about emails? Do you like receiving them? Do you use them effectively to market your artwork? Or do you find the whole idea a giant turn-off? This week we discuss the ins and outs of email marketing, share our own experiences, and even learn a few things along the way. If you find yourself wondering how to sell more art, or struggling to come up with a regular email newsletter, this the episode for you. Find Alice Sheridan...

This week we're tackling the topic of vulnerability - what does it mean for artists and why does it matter? In this wide-ranging discussion, we touch on the relationship between vulnerability and risk-taking; the importance of connecting with your work and your audience; and the fears that hold us back from showing our true selves. We close with a challenge to you - where can you allow yourself to be just a little bit more brave, just a little bit more open? Louise's free course is open for...

Recently we have both been reevaluating parts of our life - both work and home. Perhaps this has to do with chronological age, but perhaps it also relates to the stages we've reached in our careers. All creatives are inherently driven by the desire to make new things, but success can sometimes lead us to settle into comfortable repetition. Personally, we both feel the need to make changes in order to keep things interesting and this week, we explore where that might lead. If you are feeling...

Eight years ago, Carlene Bronner was told she had only 18 months to live. Luckily, that prognosis was wrong and today she joins Louise to discuss how the illness spurred her into new efforts with her art, and where those efforts led her. Carlene's journey has been remarkable and she now sells her artwork around the world. Our conversation covers the importance of play, the value of coming into alignment with yourself, and the importance of welcoming mistakes. Carlene is a true inspiration, so...

This week's solo episode finds Louise musing on a quote from the writer Cheryl Strayed, who describes how she found her way with her writing. Instead of trying to write an amazing book, she says she simply "surrendered to the idea of my mediocrity" and then started writing anyway. This phrase seems to capture so much of what it means to be an artist. If we stop striving to be better than we currently are, we are free to experiment and play and find our way. In the process, we may create...

This week we were inspired by two different creative documentaries to consider what we might learn from two rather unexpected masters of their craft; from developing a persona to where we look for outside validation. We discuss constructing in the process of creating, the benefit outside influences can bring - and when to say no! There are also practical suggestions about the benefit of keeping a scrapbook (or at least a record or your progress) and the pitfalls of only seeing one side of...

What do you want from your art life? In this episode, Alice and Louise discuss the trials and joys of navigating through their own art careers. How do you know when it's time to change? And how do you find the courage to make that change, when there is no way of knowing the outcome? In this honest conversation, we emphasise the importance of reflection and self-awareness. If we don't regularly check in with ourselves, we can start to drift, or to be led by the needs and desires of others....

Debbie Taylor-Kerman is a New York-based artist who paints about the issues that most concern her. This week she joins Louise to discuss her life and her work. Debbie shares her formative experiences as a fish-out-of-water art student and explains how that time resonates in her work even today. Her early feelings of isolation and of never being "good enough" led her to a deep and abiding interest in issues of equality. She believes passionately that everyone is equal, no matter their race or...

This week, we share our thoughts on Meta's new social media platform Threads. Do you need to join? Do you have time to make the most of it? Is this something to help with your art career/business, or is it just a nice way of meeting new people and having interesting chats? Our conversation touches on introversion vs extroversion, the beauty of a platform with no algorithm, and the likely changes we can expect. If you're up for it, we recommend having a dabble with Threads - you might just...

“I think, no, you're not a real artist. I think we can all agree, Alice is not a real artist because she doesn't want to draw villages." And so it exists... amidst the every day trials of backache, family commitments we still carry around a load of rubbish ideas about what creativity looks like. So, today we are encouraging something different and asking "What does your should-free summer look like?" It can be so easy to jump to the negative comparison rather than the self celebration and...

This week Louise is joined by Trayci Tompkins, a south African native who recently uprooted her life and her art practice and moved to the UK. As artists, many of us crave change and yet change can also derail us - especially when we don't take the time to understand and acknowledge just how much we have been affected. Change can leave us completely disconnected from the work we were making, and if we're not careful, we can find ourselves avoiding the studio altogether. In this conversation,...

This week, we’re discussing the benefits and challenges of showing our artwork, whether that is online or in person. Making art is a deeply personal experience but, for many of us, showing our work is also a vital part of the process. We made the work as a way of communicating something, and it's not communication unless someone else sees it. On the flip side, some artists shy away from exhibiting for a variety of reasons. In this conversation, we explore the benefits of showing our work and...

Drowning in piles of paper? Find it hard to decide what you still need to keep in your studio...? Today we take a closer look into the psychology of your creative space with Helen Sanderson, author of The Secret Life of Clutter. With a creative background herself, Helen believes in our key strengths; we are resourceful and have a strong desire to gather - because that's often when we are inspired. But when yesterday's things start to impact your creative space in the NOW, that can be...

Alice and Louise are together for the first time in weeks and their arty catch-up turns into an exploration of the importance of honouring our own creative processes. This includes resting when necessary, but also understanding when you need to take action. When is it worthwhile to push a little, and to test out different ideas before settling on a direction? And how important is it to keep taking steps forward, even though you can't know where they are actually leading? We also cover the...

Well, hello and welcome to this rather different episode where Alice is put on the spot (gently!) by Jo McCarthy who works as a mentor for creatives - and also within Connected Artist Club (it's open now - but we close on 31st May, so don't delay!) This conversation digs a bit deeper into what it really means to build a creative life... is it always easy? And if not, then why is it so important? ‘How does she do it all’ could actually be the wrong question - why does she do it all We talk...

This week Louise is joined by mindset and business coach Georgina Noel. Georgina regularly works with artists who want to take their business (or their life) to the next level and she's here to drop some truth bombs on us! Our conversation centres around our mindset and the limiting beliefs we carry with us. Georgina walks us though some of the most common limiting beliefs she has seen in her artist clients, and also explains just how easy it can be to let some of those things go once we have...

Robin's aim is to subvert some of the traditional, outdated aspects of the art world that keep art out of reach for many and to make it more attainable for all. It didn't start out this way. In fact, it started (as for many of us) by taking over the end of a table and choosing just to create. Today Alice is talking with Washington DC artist Robin Davisson, and a member of the Connected Artist Club, about a career shift from science into art. She now has a shop-front store; StudioLab RD where...

Have you ever been worked really hard at something and then been told you were lucky to have it? This week, we're diving into the topic of luck - how much of what happens to us is simply good (or bad) fortune, and how much is within our control? Last week, guest artist Faye Bridgwater talked about the importance of being your own champion. This week we're following up and exploring this idea of making your own luck. Is any successful person there by luck alone? Do "lucky" people get away...

Today we hear from award winning south coast artist Faye Bridgwater. Faye makes bright, uplifting paintings from her home studio, but it hasn't always been this way.... At various steps over the last few years some bold moves have been needed. We talk about growing in to your own space and investing in yourself. While it's up to you to be your own advocate we also discuss how you can work to your own strengths by involving others to support different elements of being an artist. And we...

If you have ever wondered how to sell more art, this discussion is for you. This week, we dive into the topic of making sales in a discussion that touches on the importance of email marketing, the value of a good social media presence, and the need to reduce friction wherever possible. We both believe in the power of an effective launch, but we also believe that selling is not a one-time thing. The reality is that we are always selling ourselves and our work, and the only question is how well...

Alice first discovered Denise Gasser as she was sharing the challenges of making art as a mother with young children with her "Art After..." project. There was a refreshing honesty, which also showed up in this reel Denise filmed in her car which meant we finally connected to record this conversation about two ways social media could be impacting the way art is made.... what we see others do as markers of success, and our own need for validation which can lead us away from making our truest...

This week, we're dealing with two seemingly unrelated topics, but actually they are both linked by a common idea. That link is the idea of looking at things from a different angle. A listener asks why she constantly moves between projects without ever finishing anything, and we suggest some questions to ask and some viewpoint shifts. Meanwhile, British artists Damien Hirst launched a new project which we initially found somewhat laughable, but which morphed into something else when we gave it...

This week, we answer a listener question about what it means to work in a series. What is the difference between a series and a collection? And what is a "body of work"? As we break down the idea of a series, we cover the importance of an initial idea or line of inquiry; the role of parameters; and some of the things that could define a series. As always, we come at this from slightly different angles, but hopefully we can clear up some misconceptions about what it means when an artists says...

This week, we tackle the topic of overwhelm. What causes it and how can we get past it? This is our second time talking about this subject, but it is fresh for us this week because Louise has just ridden the 'overwhelm wave.' We discuss how it feels to simply have too much to do and break down the difference between "real" and "perceived" overwhelm. We also discuss our coping strategies when life gets a little too hectic, including the value of outside perspectives; how you can use a brain...

We can hardly believe it, but it's 4 years on and 200 episodes in and we're still going strong. This week, we're celebrating our anniversary by doing something a little bit different.  We've both chosen questions to ask each other - these span important topics such as "what's your favourite easy dinner recipe?" and "if you could time travel, where would you go?" but also deeper questions such as "what is your greatest strength?" and "what character flaw would you like to change?" We had fun...