Suggested Adventure

Your task today is to find a view you see often, and take some time to draw or paint it in a way that abstractifies it. If you find yourself slipping into habits of getting tight and too literal, keep pushing your marks, your values, your lines and your shapes until it becomes that view, only more 'you'.

Tip: Think about adding things you know exist in the landscape but can't necessarily see from your vantage point {like my rocks}, or moving the elements around so it makes less 'sense'.

Day Two | Ask Better Questions

Today's bitesize refresher is an audio lesson from The Way of the Happy Artist, the foundational program you'll find inside the Happy Artist Studio. I recommend that all new members start there, to get a good grounding in your artist self.

The program is designed to help you get clarity around your art, your voice {or 'style'}, your practice, your process, and how you think and feel about being an artist, so you can fully claim that title for yourself and be the artist you want to be!

In this lesson, we'll look at what it means to ask better questions, what they might look like, and why this is even a thing we need to be thinking about!

👉 You can download the accompanying worksheet here

Day Three | Q&A Video

This is an example of one of the Q&A videos I create for members of the Happy Artist Studio. Questions {on any art related topic} are submitted throughout the month, and then I collate them and share my thoughts, very informally, usually over my kitchen table. 😊 

Topics covered:

• Finding time for the deeper work of your art practice
• Strategies and approaches to sharing on social media
• What to do when potential buyers ghost you
• Sharing your art... with yourself!

Day Four | You already have a voice!

This is taken from one of the monthly topics inside the Happy Artist Studio, in which we talk about the idea of having a voice {rather than a 'style'}, and two practical ways you can uncover yours.

Because it's actually already there, it just might not be front and centre yet! Here's one of the exercises - it can be surprisingly enlightening and encouraging!

Gather and Reflect

As you look at what you've made, see if you can start to notice patterns. 

• Are you using a certain motif or subject matter more often than the others?
• Do you tend towards a particular colour palette?
• What materials do you use most often? 
• What are your 'go to' marks and shapes?
• Can you find a few words that describe the feel of your work? 
• Does it have certain qualities? {eg. sketchy, graphic, realistic, minimalist}

Some of it you may not love - that's fine, we're just gathering intel right now. There may be habits you tend to fall into that you're ready to let go of.

If you feel like writing a description, have at it! The more information you have the better, and an exercise like this can show you things you hadn't consciously realised. {This can also be the start of an artist statement if that's something you're looking to create.}

Once you're done with that batch, do the same with the rest until you're done.

This exercise can be very helpful at any time during your life as an artist, especially if you ever feel you've lost your way, or want to focus on some aspect of your art or process more deeply.

~ Step Two ~

Now go back over your notes and circle any words that jump out at you as feeling 'like you' - the things that make you feel most excited about making your art, the things you most love to do.

You don't have to hold onto these forever, or try to make all future work 'fit' with them, but this can be a helpful guidepost.

It can also give you a starting point for your next explorations. Perhaps you want to dig deeper into a specific subject - do some research, explore other artists who work with it etc. Or maybe it'll give you an idea for a whole new body of work based on a single mark you've been using and loving.

It might not yield anything much immediately and that's ok too! This is about getting to know your own art, and yourself as an artist, with your unique combination of preferences, leanings, and interests.

We need to be elbow deep in our own work and process as a priority; it's a good practice to always be doing this.