5 Points for Practicing Perseverance

If you’ve been following my blog for the last few weeks you’ll know I wrote a brief overview of this whole Success Tips for Illustrators and Artists. Looking at that list now I would like to combine ‘taking action’ with ‘perseverance’ as in this industry I’m in (we’re talking everything from learning to paint in gouache, illustration, surface pattern) you really need grit to keep going, to keep taking those actions, over and over to gain a level of proficiency. And especially so when you just don’t feel like it, that's when determination and perseverance comes into play.

Whatever it is you are trying to achieve, say being a more capable calligrapher, or a 100 day journalling project etc, you will need to maintain an incredibly strong BELIEF in your ability to succeed, even in the face of setbacks (and believe me there could be many TEMPORARY ones)

To put this in context I’d like to remind you of Thomas Edison, the inventor of the lightbulb. He once said “I have not failed 10,000 times—I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.” Edison had an extraordinarily positive view of life that greatly enhanced his ability as an inventor and innovator. When others might have been discouraged after failing thousands of times in an attempt to develop an electric lightbulb, Edison viewed each unsuccessful experiment as moving him closer to a successful solution.

I absolutely would not be where I am today without that utter conviction that I would be able to run a happy and profitable art business. It’s not necessarily a matter of talent, intelligence, or possessing extra creativity What plans I laid down many years ago I HAD to follow through, due to circumstances I had to execute those plans (for passive income, for teaching, for attracting clients) and I had to persevere ... to stick with it. This blog post won’t be about how ‘easy’ taking persistent action is - because it isn’t when you factor in years of endeavour. There are very few overnight successes.

I’d just like you to consider the points below for Practicing Perseverance:

1. Expect obstacles

Whatever creative goals you have in mind you will inevitable faced bumps in the road on your path to reach them This is just something that you won’t be able to avoid. By acknowledging that you might make mistakes and fail will help with the occasions when it happens. Thinking through possible obstacles in your mind before they actually happen will give you an edge, so when the actual problem happens eg you realise painting in gouache is trickier than expected, you will be more comfortable handling it.

2. Clarify your goal

( read my blog posts HERE and HERE about goals)

Persevering is easier when you have a mental vision of where you are going. Base it on your purpose, needs, and abilities. Know why you want this goal, and believe that one day you will make it. Think how you and your lifestyle will benefit - keep your eyes on that prize. Break the goal into small steps, working backward form your desired outcome.

3. Take SMALL Actions Daily

Often there's something you can do to make some small progress right now, today, in the next 10 minutes even if its a doodle sketch. Remember that success is the sum of SMALL efforts. I filled my sketchbooks one page at a time, I now have over 20 sketchbooks. That way not only are you taking tiny positive actions, you are also less likely to give up if all you need to do is take one step at a time ( yes it really can work that way)

4. Acknowledge SMALL wins

Expecting good things to happen will improve and or maintain your moral and enthusiasm through difficult and challenging times. For many years I have kept a daily diary of successes/ wins/ things I’m grateful for. As the pages of the journal build up you will be able to see tiny but significant changes happening from day to day, then week to week, then over months and years. It pays to take a moment to reflect on, assess and appreciate the progress you would have already made. And also ask yourself whether all your activities are moving you forward.

5. Find a Supportive Network

There are lonely moments where no matter how much effort you seem to be putting into your journey there seems to be little movement. During these times you will need a team will support you, encourage you, check in with you and cheer you on. Don’t be afraid to ask your network for help, talk with them, get ideas from them, and provide them with the same support too.

For me managing a separation, then divorce with two small kids whilst trying to establish a illustration business may well be one of the toughest things I’ll ever do. But I kept going because I was determined to make a difference in my life and those of my children. So ask yourself :

How much do I want to succeed in life?

How hard am I willing to work for my dreams?

Things don’t always go according to our plans and we won’t have things going our way all the time. Creating art or learning Illustrator will not always be plain sailing, there will be many frustrations but I urge you to persevere at sticking to the task. I do feel if you’re reading this you will eventually overcome many challenges and be successful.

5 Tips for Setting Art & Life Goals for Artists and Illustrators

Last weeks post were the WHYS for setting goals - this post will deal with the HOWS of goal setting.

There has been a lot of research showing that having challenging goals work by improving performance and results. I can tell you from personal experience that I certainly seem to accomplish more when I take the time to set goals and actively take steps to see them through. For example I wanted to take my family on holiday to Menorca and decided to pay for this from my Spoonflower income. This energised me to create and upload new content more often than I would have done otherwise because I had this goal in mind. And we had a fabulous in Menorca from the proceeds.

If you were never set goals in the first place, you would never find out if you could change your life or career around - as in my case. Below is my 5-step system when considering your own goals, whether personal, business or for art related matters.

1. Brainstorming

Write down as many things as possible for what you’d like to do, to be or to have. Remember, the sky is the limit! Think short, medium, and long term - say what you’d like to achieve in the next month, 6 months, next 1-2 years and next 5 years. It’s worth considering some of the below when brainstorming

- What have you always wanted to do or accomplish in this area of your life but have never attempted ( because of lack of time/money/experience)

- What would you wish for if you were absolutely confident that you could accomplish it?

- What kind of artist do you want to become?

 - What do you want to become known for?

- What kind of work do you want to create?

- What knowledge, experience or expertise would you like to gain ?

- How do you want to focus your time and energy?

 - What does your ideal lifestyle look like ?

- What does your studio or workplace look like ?

- Which clients or manufacturers are you working with ?

- How much income are you bringing in every month/ year?

2. Write down specific goals

A goal will not get off the ground until you write it down, so its there in black and white for you to see. It has a certain power and has been proven that people who don't write down their goals tend to fail easier than the ones who have written plans. Make statements that start with ‘I am….’ then add a positive emotion such as’….excited/ happy/delighted/overjoyed…etc’ then the goal, plus the completion date at the end. I could look something like this: I am thrilled to make $500 a month from POD sites by Dec 2019.

You can write them down in a goals book, sticking down images to help, or create a slide show of images and words on your phone using apps like Phonto. Or put them on post it notes all over your house. Use what works for you. The important thing is that you write down your goals and then you are reminded daily of why you want to achieve them.

3 Set goals with a deadline

When setting goals try to be realistic about what can be achieved within the timeframe that you set yourself (it took me over 6 months to set up my FIRST EVER website with just 10 images) This way, the goal is still realistic, but it will stretch you a little beyond what you think is actually possible so you will HAVE to grow as an artist/ designer to achieve them. By setting a deadlines you will be training yourself to working towards a date for completion, meaning you can pace yourself with a reasonable time frame.

4. Make an Action Plan

I don’t always achieve my goals when I’m ‘supposed’ to, yes I often fall short. However I do have an action plan in place so if I veer off course I still have a route to guide me. Sometimes at the beginning you get so focused on the outcome that you forget to plan the steps that are needed along the way. By writing out the individual steps, then crossing each one off as you complete it, you'll realise that you are making progress. For me it’s a lot easier to achieve my goals if I break them down into bite-sized parts, such as a daily to list, so its a lot more manageable and far less overwhelming. Successful people make positive incremental changes, and over time those changes produce huge results.

5. Remember that success is a marathon

When you look at other designers or artists who are successful, remember that they have worked for years and years to get where they are. They have put in the time and probable tears to reap the rewards of their effort. Please don’t feel too discouraged when you see the distance between where you are and where you want to be. Goal setting is an ongoing activity that will need to be reviewed and sometimes revised so you stay on track. Success isn’t a destination you can take a fast track to.

Writing down and working towards a goals is going to significantly accelerate your success compared to a vague idea.You will be amazed at what you can accomplish when you set goals and make steady progress toward them, and celebrate the tiny successes Goals are important in any creative career path but I think more so if you hope to run an art business, as they give you a sense of purpose; and a reason for you to wake up in the morning with energy and enthusiasm.Your future vision of a thrilling art life will get you through difficult days and rough patches, but also contributes to your overall happiness and wellbeing in the long term as a creative.

4 Reasons to Cultivate Patience for Illustrators and Artists

As a online and in person teacher at watercolour workshops, one aspect I cannot emphasise enough is the need for patience, for pause to let things settle. So in the context of watercolours, letting a wash dry just for a while to help with blending, or dry completely to add another layer for depth and contrast. I have seen how a lack of patience can ruin a drawing or painting, either through over eagerness, wanting a perfect piece or simply wanting to finish quicker. If you’re wanting to be a professional illustrator or designer patience is vital, as its a very tough industry to break into. It takes time to develop a art career and all it entails, you cannot possibly be expected to do everything at once (from social media to copyright worries) I’d like to stress again its a LONG HAUL path (from my own experience) so practicing patience on may levels and settings is a very important trait for all artists, designer and illustrators to consider.

If you are just starting out I know this is difficult to hear. Trust me - I WAS A BEGINNER TOO & I WAS IMPATIENT TOO. I wanted to learn all these things :

- Find a style

- Build my portfolio

- Learn about technical repeats

- Learn watercolour…… AS QUICK AS POSSIBLE and find the possible shortcuts

I do feel in these fast paced times it’s SO ridiculously easy to see what other artists and illustrators are up. Then we look at where we are, compared to where we want to be, and that gap seems pretty intimidating. Now factor in society’s obsession with instant gratification, convenience and the frustration builds further. However building up your skills, making art you care about, and finding an audience that adores what you create, takes a good amount of daily effort; that is a simple fact.

This is where patience comes in - in the context of a creative pursuit or career in general it means maintaining our enthusiasm and drive when pursuing our goals, however long that takes. Following through on the promises you made yourself takes some confidence, and will never be a linear process but its one we have to navigate.

4 Reasons to Cultivate Patience

1. Your Art will take time to perfect

Accept that what you paint, draw or illustrate won’t be perfect, the first time or the third or even the tenth. But there is no way around it. Taking the time to work on a sketch can become frustrating at times.  Redrawing and perhaps redrawing again, and again, over and over is a pessary requirement for me even these days. Those frustrated feeling could become anxiety, along with that fear of it not turning out as we hoped.  I know it sounds tough - the notion that what you create will be flawed and imperfect for quite some time but we have to walk past the uneasy feelings and climb up to the comfortable places where we’re happy with our creations.

2.Trusting the process

As mentioned repetition is essential to improving your drawing, finding that style, refining techniques and getting to know PS etc. For example, If you do one sketch a day (like I did) then you will look back in a year and see progress. That’s a solid, reliable truth you can base further explorations on. Trusting this process helps me to be patient with the fact that some of my creative gaols might take years to come to fruition. Its very much a case trying to find joy in the process itself than reaching that finish line. And I am by no means a finished article either.

3 Acceptance of Discomfort

I’m hoping that you have come to realise and understand that emotional discomfort is a part of overcoming many creative challenges. There is no way to circumnavigate these feelings (those that say you maybe flawed….try to turn down that chatter), so I’ve found its best to accept these challenges as different ways of learning, and are actually a natural part of evolving as an designer or artist. So there is nothing for it but rolling up our sleeves and do the work we need to do even if its difficult.

4 Sustaining in the real world

Often it can take many months or even years to see the finished results, eg building up a social media following or exhibiting at an art licensing show. Or perhaps you submitted designs to manufacturers or agents and you have to wait for them to make a decision, which again could take many months. At the end of which there could be a ’no thank you’, and thats not just once, that could be dozen times or more, before you finally hear a ‘Yes’ (and then another term before before you could see the money) Most artists begin a large project with a burst of enthusiasm and they are eager, but soon it seems that this creative project is taking forever or not not turning out as we hoped. This has happened to me many times and as a professional I have to follow through, having to be patient with the client and myself.

The art and design industry is tough, I’ve been delving in and out of it for 23 years and it hasn’t gotten any easier. However my attitude to it has shifted considerably. It certainly requires a heck of a lot of patience when you’re starting out and you’re coming to terms with a multitude of directions you’re being pulled in. If you are prepared with patience it gives you room to stay motivated and tolerant of all the delays. And it can actually improve our capacity to deal with rejection emails, no traction on social media or a if a book proposal is turned down etc. We just have to assure ourselves that the good stuff is just around the corner.

Don't give up no matter how many times you have tried and failed. And let me assure you its happened to me more times than I care to remember. The next time you try, could be the right time.  Your efforts and patience will lead you to fulfilment along with more courage, strength and optimism.

5 Tips for Developing Your Self-Discipline

With self-discipline, most anything is possible.” - Theodore Roosevelt

This blog post is a more detailed interpretation of why self discipline is important for success (read the overview HERE)

I’ve always lived with the belief my art could be better. Some of you might find that hard to believe but for me creating art is a lifelong pursuit, over time it will improve with practice, just like blogging, urban sketching or creating patterns (all of which were new to me at one point) These require the habits of drawing, painting, or writing and posting regularly which in turn require self-discipline if you want to become proficient.

I would like to remind readers that I only started this phase of my career 5/6 years ago. So I speak and share here from personal experience of building up a art business during that time. I am firm believer that self-discipline attracts opportunities, and if you use discipline to develop your skills and make a concerted effort towards your ambitions, there is no doubt that exciting opportunities will inevitably open up for you.

In its simplest form self-discipline is the ability to do what you need to do; even when you really DO NOT want to do it. To achieve artistic success you need to develop the discipline to KEEP following the direction of your goals and to step towards that desire every day even when you want binge watch You Tube or scroll through social media.

5 Tips for Developing Your Self-Discipline

In any business or creative endeavour you will need to develop habits and practices that you have to repeat over and over, in order to progress as an artist or designer. The more we can improve it, the better we become at sticking to our goals and in turn the more we will achieve.

1. Remember It takes time

First off this is very important point to remember. I was (and to some extent still am) disorganised and lacking in focus in any given week. Being patient with yourself when working on improving your observational drawing skills, to finding a style, to learning how to make a technical repeat pattern, is one of the most important ways to build self-discipline, especially while living in a world of 'now now now’ and we all want to be successful now. Change seems to be something that never happens as quickly as we would like; it takes time, courage, and patience in order to see the change you seek. It could be especially challenging as it could include some aspects of our personal lives, pushing us beyond our comfort zones…so no rush, take it each day and week at a time.

2. Self-discipline is a like a muscle

Self-discipline is something that can be taught, and just like a muscle, the more you use your self-discipline, the stronger it becomes. When you first start trying to build your self-discipline muscle, start with one small habit at a time. Trying to do too much at once will not only overwhelm you, it will lower your chances for success. Too much too soon isn't sustainable.

One of my goals of this past year was to complete my Morning Pages/ journalling (I’ll blog about this soon) I set my alarm to wake me up 10 minutes earlier each day - this made a world of a difference and wasn't too difficult to do. Its the same with losing weight or trying to get fit. I started by running for spurts of 3/4 minutes then built it up over several months to run 10k.

3. Know your distractions

To keep your eyes on the prize (building a portfolio, website, social media following ) requires determination and refusing to be distracted by things that are going on around you - focus on doing what you set out to do. Many of us have young families, laundry, cart kids to after school clubs etc. But many creatives accomplish their goals because they can identify and act on the things that get in their way. To start, identify what are the things that easily distract you. What makes you stop what you are doing such as scrolling through IG/ FB, checking for emails or binge watching Netflix…insert whatever here…you know what they are…am I right?

4. Create a daily routine

After you have cut down on your distractions from your working day, you will often see how much extra time you have. We all get 24 hours in a day, and we’ve always had this time, we just might not have used it intentionally before. Try to block off specific chunks of time to paint, sketch, create, read, learn, whatever will bring you closer to your goal. One other point I want to make is when you work at home, the work-life boundary often blurs (again I know this from personal experience) So you may have to be extra diligent in creating your personal work schedule, set goals and stick to them. It will help you in keeping the work-life balance along with self-discipline with your work.

5. Opportunities for self discipline

No matter what improvements you want to make in your creative life, you need to have the self-discipline to apply yourself consistently to the work that will be involved. There will be good days and bad days in your life, but its best not to follow in those and allow them to hold you back. Self-discipline is something which you can use in every area of your life with opportunities each day to practice, from taking 10 mins to sketch for fun, or a taking a walk to remove yourself from your iPad or desk.

Success in any area of life or business requires long, sustained periods of focused effort on a goal, and the determination to stay with it until it is complete.  Self-discipline is on the surface is often seen as having to be harsh on yourself, being limited and restricted in your life but I’ve reframed it to mean self-control, which is a sign of inner strength. So you can control your actions and reactions even when you may feel most things which happen in this world are outside of your control. Seek out these opportunities to exercise that self discipline so it becomes a habit, and a useful skill.

Top 6 Success Tips for Illustrators & Artists (overview)

I’m often asked on a regular basis what it takes to be a successful illustrator. Many think its super skills with watercolour, practical Photoshop knowledge or perhaps a outrageous amount of social media followers. Whilst these should be taken into consideration I’d like to put forward other points more concerned with mindset and outlook which plays a far more important factor when embarking and sustaining a career as an artist, illustrator or surface designer.

1 Self Discipline

Discipline is asserting your willpower to succeed. Taking 100% responsibility for your life/ career/ creativity involves giving up on excuses and reasons why you can’t or haven’t, or blaming outside circumstances. Discipline means having self-control over instant gratification. You can reframe this and take the position that you’ve actually always had the power to produce desired results

2 Goals

Setting out or know what you want to accomplish, experience, and knowing what success looks like for you is essential. Having well defined desires and big visions will help with the belief its possible to live off your art and create a business around it. Holding the belief that you can succeed is a critical first base for success. And ALWAYS dream big, way bigger than you you think you ‘can’

3 Action

Take the initiative and plan a concrete course of action to gain focus. This could include taking control of your learning, improving skills etc will help you stay motivated and to achieve more. You may not know exactly how something is done or have all the right answers to questions, but if you put in the effort and work hard to learn and understand, they are already on the right path. Success comes to those who put in hard and dedicated effort.

4 Attitude

You ( and I ) WILL experience fear but its important to take action anyway. Most people let fear stop themselves from taking steps to achieves their dreams. Its best to acknowledge your fears or bloackblocks and know they can’t be avoided. Try not to waiver from your core goals and objectives even when things are not going the way you hoped or planned. Remain focused and committed to what you are working toward because YOU believe in it and you will be eventually rewarded

5 Perseverance

I think we all understand in theory there will be a lot of setbacks and repetitive actions to hone our skills. However its dealing with these feelings that come with them too. Persistence often means learning something new or pushing through a barrier in order to achieve the main goal. Try to see it as an investment in your knowledge which will assist you in moving forward. The path to success CAN’T EXSIST WITHOUT FAILURES.. The most important thing is to learn from these failures and to continue moving forward. So appreciate that taking small steps will result in small achievements…and small achievements lead to a big success. 

6 Patience

In a world where we can access information and order what we want within a few seconds, patience can be hard to come by ( We want what we want now!) Patience is an absolute requirement for the attainment of any goal because some things simply can’t be rushed or hurried. Appreciating that building a website or devoting time to a social media strategy takes a lot of time and effort, and is different to actually going through the frustration involved. Be committed for the long term and dedicated to follow through with a set of actions despite the various challenges and obstacles. The ability to remain calm when facing difficulties and adversity can not be underestimated.

Success doesn’t come without persistence, patience and practice. Over the next 6 weeks I hope to dymistify and expand on the points I’ve made here by putting forward more practical advice and recommendations which have helped me in my career.

Inspired by 'The Martian' super creative problem solving

A few weeks ago I finished reading 'The Martian' by Andy Weir. As I've mentioned in a previous post I'm a bit of a sci-fi geek, and now with the added bonus of a Ridley Scott film adaptation of this book released later this year. In a nutshell an astronaut, Mark Watney is accidently left on the Red Planet & the novel charts his endeavors to stay alive. Yes there is a lot of physics, chemistry, botany, NASA speak and 70's disco music reference. The real core of this novel is about highly creative problem solving, lateral thinking and keeping a positive mental attitude. There is also much assessing, and re-assessing of goals and deadlines (almost literally)

There is also much maths, Mark often works backwards from a specific date, weighing up options and possible outcomes. With this in mind I reflected on my next major deadline - 22nd July. Thats the beginning of my kids school summer vacation (in the UK) We have an important family event that weekend. Then closely followed by a train ride down to the South of France, my destination for two weeks.

This is what I aim to fit in by 22nd July

-follow up art from Surtex (maybe 8+ collections)

-new collections for Printsource in August (4+ collections)

-have my 30 illustrated recipes submitted to They Draw and Cook for book consideration

So I'm doing the maths...I'm 20 recipes in...which leaves me with 10 recipes left to illustrate. That means submitting TWO recipes whenever possible for the whole of June!! Here's my most recent TDAC art....

Still thinking along the lines of Mark Watney maximizing the best use of his time and resources, I took a long look at where I could improve my time keeping. I am blessed with two very bright kids who are always ready to start the day at 6.30am!!! This gives me an hour and a half to set up the day - laundry, prep evening meal and general cleaning. So after school drop off I am able to concentrate on art until 3pm. That is until the end of term.

Whilst my life does not depend ticking off everything before the July deadline (I will not decompress for example) - I have calculated realistically and honestly the hours I will have for art from mid August - with the kids around. I intend to involve & integrate my children with many arty projects...starting with a sketch a day or #the100dayproject. There will be trips to London and Cambridge and most likely make use of old canvas's and papier mache.

I have worked steadfastly this year and I'm still keeping my eye on the prize. I think these summer hols more than others I'm just going to lean into it - be kind on myself, and not be too anxious about producing amazing 'polished' art. And also use this time to reflect on my successes thus far, re-coup & plan for the next set of goals. I'm sure a fortnight in Provence will also be most inspiring and I will come back refreshed & full of ideas.

Goals Book & Beyond

Last year I eagerly read almost every blog post I could find about artists experience of Surtex, whether the exhibiting or 'walking' the show. I was lucky that my friend Jacqui posted a photo of herself and other artists we knew at Victoria Johnson's booth. This image really sparked my imagination, and I made up my mind I NEEDED to attend in 2015.

So I pasted that image into my goals book, along with 'I am overjoyed to walk Surtex with my friends' - see below

I am now onto my third goals book. I use a sketch book to fill in a goal on each page with any relevant images. Its based on personal,career, health, relationships and spiritual goals. Some of them have changed from year to year but fundamentally my goals remain the same.

The theory goes if you phrase a statement with 'Iam......' and are able to visualize and imagine the fulfillment of this goal, your subconscious brain (and creative mind) will somehow figure out a way of making it come to fruition. It may take a while and involves the right effort but it would be worth it.

At the very beginning of this year I created another goals book- here's one of the pages.

A day later I asked Victoria Johnson Design if she would consider my help at her 2015 Surtex booth. I was so grateful and happy she said yes. Then the creative part of my brain again whirred into action to figure out the practicalities of such a trip.

Another page of my 2015 goals book says 'I am seeing golden opportunities everywhere'

In March a friend suggested I show some of my art to her agent Brenda Manley . I had not considered finding a licensing agent as major goal for this year. After manly emails and questions Brenda came across as persistent, positive, knowledgeable and very easy to communicate with. I was re-assured that any editorial, packaging and advertising commissions would be dealt with by myself. I was more than satisfied by her manner and approach so I am delighted to announce I have an agent who will also be at Surtex !!

Exhibiting at Surtex in 2015 was not a goal...but this opportunity came up and it was great timing. The last 6 weeks have been a steep learning curve, but an exciting one with Brenda to give me direction and advice.

It may take a while for some of my other goals to present themselves but I am open to all possibilities, as long as I stay determined and committed. In the near future I hope to qualify as PADI wreck diver or underwater photographer.