Build a Creative Practice That Lasts

Most people who want to make art… can. They just don’t. And it’s rarely about talent or time—it’s about mindset, ideas, and navigating the tricky “ugly stage” every artist hits.

In The Tuesday Artist, I guide you through a six-week journey to:

• Collect: Build a rich visual resource of ideas that come from you.

• Connect: Discover what truly excites and inspires you.

• Develop: Turn your ideas into a body of work with confidence.

• Assess & Sustain: Learn to evaluate your work objectively and keep going independently.

This course is for anyone ready to move past the stop-start cycle and create art that feels authentically theirs.

Nobody really looks at the world these days. We rush, scroll, and skim. But learning to truly see is the secret to confident drawing and painting. In this post, I explore how observation transforms your creative practice and why noticing the small details around you is the key to authentic, inspired artwork.

Art Competitions should be great right? Except for me and I suspect many artists it’s a slippery slope from elation to devastation and some extra drama and shirt wrenching thrown in. Want to spiral then enter a competition and wait for the “ Unfortunately…” email. It’s a masochistic roller coaster.

What if success isn’t about momentum, money, or milestones, but about understanding yourself well enough to keep going?

In this reflective essay, I look back on 2025 and unpack what success really meant for me as an artist: selling work, making peace with shame, navigating ADHD, and learning to stand behind my practice with more confidence and kindness.

2025 Year in Review — A Year of Colour, Curiosity & Creative Courage

2025 has been a year of looking closely, trusting my instincts, and letting colour lead the way. I’ve spent more time painting from life, wandering through gardens, and following the small moments that spark joy and meaning. My studio has been full of still life stories, lush botanicals, and landscapes shaped by memory and place.

As always, my work stays rooted in observation — drawing, looking, noticing — then building those moments into layered, exuberant paintings on board. It’s been a year of growth, connection, and making art that feels true to where I am and who I’m becoming.

Here’s to more beauty, generosity, and creative confidence in the year ahead.

I’ve been thinking a lot about still life lately — humble objects, quiet moments, and the stories they carry. In this post, I reflect on painting from life, the memories tied to everyday things, and why still life has become my companion through change.

I’ve spent the past year immersed in still life, and the work has evolved in ways that continue to surprise me. From large-scale explorations of identity and memory to small, food-inspired pieces painted from above, each series has its own story. Along the way, I’ve reflected on home, gardens, and the objects that carry meaning — and discovered that even the simplest fruit can inspire a world of colour, form, and memory.

Art has always been my safe space—a way to focus, connect, and make sense of the world. In my latest blog, I share how painting helps me navigate mental health, and what it’s like to exhibit in Recovered Futures, celebrating creativity and recovery.

Still life as an exploration of identity

It all begins with an idea. Mine was an artists residency at a flower farm. The idea was maybe a month and it soon mushroomed into a year and a whole new body of work.

Genius Loci, a sense of place

Anyone can draw! It doesn’t matter how many times someone says they can’t I know in my bones you can.