Adopting a mindset of openness, exploration, and embracing uncertainty is the best antidote to feeling stuck. I remind myself to let go of trying to reach a planned destination for the moment and see what can happen when I try something different instead. I know that once I’m back into a more playful, experimental attitude, good things – surprising things – are going to start to happen.

“When you become and artist later in life, you draw on a huge resource of experience, confidence and self-knowledge. You Develop a clear voice and style quickly and more surely”.

Look closely and you’ll find footpaths carving through many of my paintings.  The abstract landscapes I paint are largely imagined; but the remembered hikes and walks I’ve taken all over the planet are also present.

In a series, paintings play leapfrog with each other, moving ahead and falling back in an asynchronous dance, until one by one they’re finished. This interplay between individual pieces and the ability to have one help the others along is the very best reason I know for painting in a series.

When we’ve seen something again and again, it becomes so familiar that we start to glaze over. What you desperately need is to see your work with fresh eyes. And fortunately, there are a multitude of ways to get that “first time” feeling with your now-so-familiar painting.

I’ve been geeking out this week with the help of the exercises in this wonderful book! Covering a diversity of topics - colour value, temperature, saturation, colour harmony, and colour psychology are a few ..

Whether you’re an artist or an art enthusiast, these books are bound to get you excited for the coming year!

Boost your creative practice with art journalling.

Finding a creative flow can so capricious. Why is it so hard to get started some days? These are some of the ways you can invite the muse to stay a while.