As an award winning illustrator, Kate Cosgrove is used to bringing visions to life, but post-pandemic she was feeling in need to spend time with her own creativity. In this conversation from the land's end of the UK, Kate speaks with Alice about artist residencies.  Perhaps this is something you've considered, or even been apprehensive about. In which case this conversation will give you ideas for where to go, an understanding of what to expect. We talk about working on your own and what this could open up for you or re-set your practice. What would you be looking for? Hoping for? Is there even a way you can bring this into your life right now? Check the notes below for where to follow Kate, find out about Brisons Veor or search for other residency opportunities. Mentioned Brisons Veor Cornwall artist residencies https://brisonsveor.org.uk/ Find Kate Cosgrove on Instagram @k8cosgrove Artist Communities Alliance for residency listings https://artistcommunities.org/ www.alicesheridan.com  www.louisefletcherart.com Follow us on Instagram: @alicesheridanstudio @louisefletcher_art Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Maybe there are artists who are always inspired, always energised and always making fantastic work... but if there are, we don't know them. This week we're talking about those times when inspiration seems to desert us. These are the times when we either can't face making art, or can't make anything we like. We discuss the frustration that comes with feeling lost, and we break down some of the reasons we might feel that way. This is so important because, if we can understand what drags us down, perhaps we can lift ourselves out of it. As always, we both believe this comes down to individual preferences and work patterns. Some people work best when they turn up every day regardless of how they feel; others need lots of time away from the studio to recharge their batteries. We believe all of us need to learn to accept ourselves just the way we are, and honour our own creative processes, no matter what they are. Mentioned Rock til we Drop https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001516f Medicine exhibition - The Science Museum: https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/see-and-do/medicine-wellcome-galleries Find our websites and sign up for our newsletters at: www.alicesheridan.com  www.louisefletcherart.com Follow us on Instagram: @alicesheridanstudio @louisefletcher_art Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

This week we are talking about success and asking what that word means to you? In particular, we distinguish between external and internal yardsticks. External yardsticks are things like sales numbers, Instagram followers, or show acceptances, and we have both seen these measurements halt people in their tracks. These things are, to some extent, out of our control and they also continually shift and change because we will never be satisified. In this episode, we discuss our own experiences with external measures of success and we suggest an alternative approach - setting your own internal benchmarks. These internal measures of success can keep you focused, motivated and excited about your work, allowing you to stay in control of your emotional wellbeing. We'd love to hear what you think about this discussion - and how you measure success. Mentioned: Authentic Obsessions Podcast https://www.authenticobsessions.com/ Trayci Tompkins http://www.traycitompkins.co.za/ Find our websites and sign up for our newsletters at: www.alicesheridan.com  www.louisefletcherart.com Follow us on Instagram: @alicesheridanstudio @louisefletcher_art Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Talking about our work can be challenging. You might not know what to say - how to find the words to describe the feelings - or you might feel self-conscious, thinking others don't want to hear or that they may judge you. But, learning to talk about your art can open so many doors - doors to conversations, doors to sales, and doors to new realisations for yourself. Once you can tell the story of your art, others can connect with it in new ways. In this episode, we share our own experiences and offer tips and strategies to help you find the words. So whether you are sharing with friends, exhibiting in a gallery, attending an art fair, or even just writing a social media post, we hope this episode will get you started. Mentioned Words & Pictures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkHrVw-cDmU Beatles Abbey Road: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiRfv6LFXYE Find our websites and sign up for our newsletters at: www.alicesheridan.com  www.louisefletcherart.com Follow us on Instagram: @alicesheridanstudio @louisefletcher_art Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

This week's show was inspired by a listener question about in situ apps. These are apps that allow you to place your artwork into rooms, so that buyers can see how your painting might look in a 'real world' setting. We share our experiences of using several of these apps - and talk about the pros and cons of each - but we also expand the discussion to encompass real-world settings as well as the importance of storytelling and copy in showcasing your work online. Louise proposes that the words you write about your work are just as important as the images you include, and we share some suggestions for how to approach that aspect of marketing. We also answer a fabulous question from Esther who wants to know whether her art needs to match her room decor. Mentioned Smartist  https://smartist.app/  In Situ https://insituartroom.com/  Canvy online)  https://canvy.com/pricing   Alchemy by Rory Sutherland  https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Alchemy-Audiobook/1473566800 June Shapter: https://www.instagram.com/juneshapterart/?hl=en Find our websites and sign up for our newsletters at: www.alicesheridan.com  www.louisefletcherart.com Follow us on Instagram: @alicesheridanstudio @louisefletcher_art Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Well, hello! Today we started a bit pear-shaped (ever felt like you were pretending to be professional?) But this evolved into an interesting discussion around titles for paintings, and following the thread of work.  Both of us are developing work for upcoming exhibitions and we are finding that we have some of the same challenges, including knowing when a painting is ‘enough’ and choosing titles for our work that add a new dimension.  We also answered a listener question about how to approach pricing your artwork - and offered advice that some may find controversial (when did that ever stop us?!) Mentioned: Normal Gossip podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/normal-gossip/id1597761181 Pro Camera app https://www.procamera-app.com/en/ Find our websites and sign up for our newsletters at: www.alicesheridan.com  www.louisefletcherart.com Follow us on Instagram: @alicesheridanstudio @louisefletcher_art Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

This week, we ask a couple of simple questions" What do you want?" and "what are you willing to do to get it?" This week, we're digging into these questions and sharing real-world examples of the kinds of decisions artists face when growing a business ... should you invest in that new website? Should you start a Youtube channel? Should you give that speech at the local art society?  While neither of us is perfect (by any means!), we have both done some work on our long-term visions, both for our art and our lives. We use this knowledge of our desires to guide decisions about what we are willing to spend, or sacrifice, or work towards. Perhaps you have done the same or perhaps you find yourself torn about these kinds of issues, unsure of the right move. If so, we hope this episode will help you develop your own clear sense of where you're going ... and what you are willing to do to get there. Mentioned: Art2Life workshop: https://bit.ly/art2life22artjuice Will Gompertz "What Are You Looking at: 150 Years of Modern Art" https://www.amazon.co.uk/What-Are-You-Looking-At/dp/B00N3KGPMQ/ Happy Scale App https://happyscale.com/ Find our websites and sign up for our newsletters at: www.alicesheridan.com  www.louisefletcherart.com Follow us on Instagram: @alicesheridanstudio @louisefletcher_art Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

Making art isn't always an easy path to take. But it's one we choose because it enriches our life, even when the conditions may never feel perfect. Today's discussion centres on what your art can teach you when you accept the invitation to step forward. We are joined by abstract artist and teacher Nicholas Wilton to discuss how a learning mindset feeds back into your art. As Nick says "the art is just the artefact of the process" and discovering how to stay engaged in the long term will open up how you create and make more opportunities for you to be satisfied with the work you make. Alice suggests that the frustration of learning can be more easily overcome once you have some key knowledge which builds up your confidence, and ultimately we settle on ways you can feel satisfied, in life and art, by activating the way you think, and optimising how you approach this journey of onward learning.  You can join in with the free Art2Life online workshop HERE.  Mentioned The Art2Life workshop starts on 14th Feb 2022 Join HERE using the ArtJuice link  Find our websites and sign up for our newsletters at: www.alicesheridan.com  www.louisefletcherart.com Follow us on Instagram: @alicesheridanstudio @louisefletcher_art Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

This week, we answered a question from listener Paige, who asked about our experiences with scaling up. Paige wrote: "I am struggling to scale up, especially in my chosen media of collage but I see you work both small and large and I wondered if there was a formula for that." Spoiler alert: neither of us have a formula, but we do share our own challenges, experiences and tips. Our conversation covers the challenges of space (both in buyers' homes and our own studios); the need to use bigger tools; and the importance of mixing up a lot more paint. We also look at the inherent difficulties of scaling up collage work, and offer a few suggestions of how to handle that transition. In the end, making large work is a new challenge for each of us, and requires us to find our own solutions, but we have both found the process rewarding enough to make it worthwhile. Mentioned Sam Lock https://www.samlock.com/ Bibby Gignilliat large scale collage https://www.bibbyart.com/ Paranormal cold case podcast: Battersea poltergeist https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-battersea-poltergeist/id1548946506 Michelle Walker: Paintbrush & Ivories podcast https://michellewalker.com.au/podcast/ Art 2 Life podcast (episode 12) https://www.art2life.com/2022/01/12/the-artists-gift-nicholas-wilton-ep-12/ Find our websites and sign up for our newsletters at: www.alicesheridan.com  www.louisefletcherart.com Follow us on Instagram: @alicesheridanstudio @louisefletcher_art Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

In this episode, we explore limitations. When - and why - is it a good idea to place limits on your work? First, we discuss the benefits of limiting ourselves in some way. That might mean limiting colours or setting rules for a certain body of work; it might mean keeping everything to one size; or it could mean limiting the media we use. But whatever parameters we set, limits can open up our creativity. The we look at the flip side - where might we benefit from challenging our limitations? What do we believe that might not be true? We hope this free-ranging discussion will help you to assess where limitations might fit into your practice.  Find our websites and sign up for our newsletters at: www.alicesheridan.com  www.louisefletcherart.com Follow us on Instagram: @alicesheridanstudio @louisefletcher_art Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License