Dr. Ursula Betka was one of my favourite lecturers and tutors during my 6 years at Melbourne University studying art history in the 1990’s. Her area of specialisation, in which she has a Ph.D, focused on Medieval and Renaissance sacred images. On 3rd December, Ursula’s beautiful new book, published by Hardie Grant, is coming out and I was lucky eno…

Welcome to season 13! I’ve started a new season as I have recently started a new chapter of my life and career as an artist. Three months ago, I started my Master of visual at Federation University, which is here in my hometown of Ballarat. So I thought it was about to time to check in and let you know what I’ve been up to and how it’s been going. …

Hi friends and welcome to episode 117. It’s been a wild month for me as I’ve had my second solo exhibition, ‘An Ornamental Education’ running here at the art gallery of Ballarat. It’s been an incredible ride having my first exhibition at a public art gallery and I wanted to make sure that I shared it with you before it ends on 14thApril. I’ve creat…

It’s been a while between episodes, so in this chat I’m filling you in on some rather big changes that have been happening in my art practice and, well, my whole life as a consequence. As I’ve been working on my latest solo exhibition ‘An Ornamental Education’ (Art Gallery of Ballarat 7th-14thMarch 2024), I’ve been working intimately with historica…

Welcome to episode 115 of the Studio insider art podcast. Today’s episode is once again an audio extract from my latest YouTube video. If you’d like to check out the visual to everything, I’m talking about then I highly recommend that you pop on over to the YouTube video and check it out. In this episode I’m taking you along with me as I do some hi…

Finishing difficult paintings. I think we all have one (or two or three) faced against a wall or at the back of a cupboard, those difficult paintings that we just can’t seem to face completing. I know that you know what I’m talking about. Well, I have some artistic medicine for you today. In this month’s episode, I’m walking you through 20 tips tha…

In today’s podcast episode once again sharing with you the audio component from my latest vlog over on YouTube that was released a few days ago. It’s a bit of a mixed bag of topics including how I grow my own botanical art samples and how I photograph them later in the studio for future reference. The main topic of today’s conversation is a big ‘ol…

In today’s episode, I’m talking about how to create a compelling and cohesive body of artwork. This episode audio was taken from the second half of my latest YouTube video titled “Studio Morning + How to kickstart a compelling body of artwork”. In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been putting in lots of time learning how to make beautiful YouTube vid…

It’s just me on the podcast today and I’m doing something a little different. I’m undertaking my Painting as a Practice challenge this month and I thought it would be fun to talk you through all the fantastic things that I’ve learned in the first week of my practice month about painting on timber panels and raw linen. Bringing you inside my studio …

For today’s episode, Steph and I got together at the Old Butcher’s shop gallery here in Ballarat where my exhibition Autumnal Dreamscapes is currently happening. We recorded our very first live episode in front of what was meant to be a live audience. As it turned out, the only people that turned up were Steph, myself, the gallery owner Julie and m…

In today’s episode, I’m chatting again with Steven Patterson, the CEO of one of my favourite paint brands, Derivan Matisse. Steven and I first chatted in episode 96, so if you’d like to hear more about his journey with this fabulous and innovative Australian paint brand, then be sure to go and check that out in the archives. We identified in that c…

In today’s episode, Steph and I are chatting about how our recent decision to pursue exhibiting our artwork has enriched our art practices in a variety of ways. Since re-orienting our art businesses to include exhibiting, both of having found that we are reaping huge benefits in the way we are approaching day-to-day studio time. For both of us, it …

In today’s interview, I’m chatting with Irish-born, Sydney-based artist Marnie McKnight. I first fell in love with Marnie’s beautiful abstract expressionist artwork over on Blue Thumb. Since getting to know more about her, I’ve marveled at how she moves through different styles of painting and mediums in her practice with ease. We had a great conve…

In today’s episode, Steph and I are chatting through our processes with overcoming limiting beliefs we’ve held in the past and exploring opportunities that we once thought we’d left behind. For me, this has happened in my desire to exhibit, which I never thought that I would do again. In this episode, I unpack some of my process of realizing that t…

In today’s episode, I’m chatting with Sydney-based artist and surface designer Maggi McDonald. Known for her bold use of color and signature palette knife style, Maggi has always been creative. But it wasn’t until her son started pre-school and she confronted a period of depression after suffering miscarriages, that Maggi discovered the healing pow…

Well, it feels like forever since I’ve released an episode! After being well whacked with influenza, I really needed some time off to recover, so thanks for your patience. I’m so happy to be back with today’s episode where Steph and I are unpacking the subject of collaborations. This can be a bit of a buzzword out there in the online world, but the…

In today’s episode, I’m chatting with fellow Aussie artist Anna Price. Anna is a Sydney-based artist who began painting full-time in 2019 after craving time away from her screen-based interior design career. Growing up she was constantly drawing, and she’s circled back around to art as an adult and Mum of four. Anna paints intuitively, unscripted a…

In today’s episode, Steph and I are talking about teaching what you know as an artist. Steph talks about her experience teaching in-person workshops and delivering teaching for institutions. And I talk about my experience teaching in-person workshops, retreats and online courses. We talk through how teaching can be an important income stream for ar…

In today’s episode I have a lovely interview with fellow Aussie artist Lizzie Alsop. Lizzie is a full time contemporary artist who works from her home studio on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. She’s been creative all her life and launched into her full time art career after a move to the coast fourteen years ago. Her artwork is a joyful and c…

I can’t believe we’ve created 100 episodes of this little podcast. It’s been such a joy to connect with you in this way over the past couple of years and I’m so grateful to each and every one of you for tuning and sharing the journey with me. I love the connection with you and with creatives all over the world that I’m able to nurture thanks to the…

In today’s episode, Steph and I dive deep into the sometimes elusive question of what our art is truly about and what motivates its creation. Anyone who has ever written an artist’s statement knows how tricky this question can be to answer, particularly when it comes to articulating it for the gatekeepers of the fine art world. But this conversatio…

In today’s episode I’m on my own talking about some of my favourite books that I read over the summer holidays that have just passed here. There is a pretty big range in breadth of the books that I read, but the ones I talk about in today’s episode are all ones with a focus on creative inspiration in one way or another. Some relate directly to art,…

In today’s episode, Steph and I are unpacking the world of art prizes and grants. We talk through various aspects of this world- such as how prizes and grants differ from each other and what the experience of applying for each is like. We also talk about the exposure to the risk of failure in this process and how, for someone like me, this can be d…

Today's episode is a real treat for all the art supply nerds out there. Steven Patterson is the CEO of Derivan, a family-owned Sydney-based company that manufactures one of my favourite brands of acrylic paints: Derivan Matisse. Many of the Aussie artists out there would likely have used a Derivan product at one time or another as they were the fir…

Today Steph and I have a special little bonus episode for you. We’re talking all about the FREE painting challenge we run for our community every February and we’d love you to join us. In this studio chat we talk about the immense value we’ve both found after taking on this challenge, which we’ve done 3 times now and also how much we love the conne…

It’s a fresh new year and new podcast season, so in today’s episode, Steph and I are talking about some of the big projects we have planned for 2022. Neither of us is a big one for micro-managing our art businesses. But each of us does have a couple of big projects coming up this year that we are excited to share. Join us as we chat about: Crowdfun…

In today’s episode, Steph and I are discussing our mutual tendency to go off on unexpected tangents in our artwork. In the world of art business, honing on one style that sells is what we are often encouraged to do. But as this conversation unfolds, we realise how vitality important following these tangents is for our emotional, spiritual and intel…

Hi and welcome to episode 93 of the studio insider art podcast. Have you been experiencing a downturn in art sales over the past few months? It’s something that Steph and I have both been experiencing, so we’re wondering if other artists out there, particularly in Australia, are experiencing this too? In many ways, this is not surprising to us, giv…

Hi and welcome to episode 92 of the studio insider art podcast. In today’s episode, I’m chatting with the artist and author Jules Ostara. Julia Ostara, aka Jules, is a lifelong explorer, artist, author, and creator of 2 inspiring oracle card decks. Jules lives in the ancient Appalachian Mountains with twin boys, a guitar man, and a few feisty cats.…

Hi and welcome to episode 91 of the studio insider art podcast. Ahhh, social media. It’s both a blessing and a curse. And with the shift to Instagram becoming a video-based platform with reels recently, Steph and I sat down and had a chat about how we are navigating the new world of video on Insta. In this rather meandering episode, we explore quit…

Hi and welcome to episode 90 of the studio insider art podcast. This week I’m connecting with US-based author, artist and life coach Andrea Scher. Andrea guides women to feel more brave, joyful, and vibrant through her innovative use of creativity as a springboard for self-empowerment. Her new book, Wonder Seeker: 52 Ways to Wake up Your Creativity…

Hey friends, today’s podcast is really just a short 5-minute chat explaining that until the end of 2021 you will be receiving a podcast every two weeks instead of every week. As I explain in the audio, the past few months of being in and out of more lockdowns that I can count has taken a toll on Steph and I and we need to slow things down a bit whi…

Hi and welcome to episode 89 of the studio insider art podcast. It’s a new season and it’s also ADHD awareness month, so I’m kicking off with something that I haven’t done for a really long time- a solo episode. I’ve been pretty open about my journey with ADHD of late, but what I’ve not talked about much on the podcast is my journey with other aspe…

In this episode Steph shares a fresh and raw experience where she made an expensive and painful mistake in her business. Although this wound is still fresh we step into the power of owning our mistakes and using them to propel us into protecting ourselves and our customers from them in the future. As always we manage to find the humour in our strug…

As we come toward the end of a series on selling a collection of work, Steph and I are chatting through one of the very last processes in selling our work- packing and shipping it to its new home. We chat through how we pack and ship works on paper and prints, stretched canvases, unstretched canvases and also very large and framed paintings. In thi…

To membership or not to membership, that is the question that Steph and I are asking in this weeks podcast episode. We mean literally, we are asking you the question, would you like to have a membership with us? This idea has been inspired by the suggestion of one of our lovely listeners and the particular way she framed up what she would like, fel…

In today’s episode I’m chatting with my friend, and one of my earliest connections in the online art world, Mati Rose McDonough. Mati and I first met when I was a guest speaker in one of her courses many years ago when I was coaching, and before I knew it, I was a student in a few of her online art classes. Mati has had dozens of art shows, taught …

In today’s episode Steph and are unpacking the process of running a launch for selling a collection of paintings. We chat about the process that I went through recently with my own collection launch and also why I’m questioning if it is the right business model for me in selling my work in the future. We also look at some alternative ways for selli…

Today’s podcast guest is a bit of a hero for me. Flora Bowley is an artist, author, and gentle guide whose creative process and soulful approach to living have touched thousands of lives. Blending over twenty-five years of professional painting experience with her background as a yoga instructor, healer, and lifelong truth seeker, Flora’s intimate …

Today on the podcast I’m unpacking finally getting a formal diagnosis for ADHD. Join Steph and I as we walk through the impact of receiving a formal diagnosis and what has unfolded for me in relation to my art business and life as a result. Steph also shares that she too believes she has ADHD, so we talk a bit about how she is navigating that reali…

I’m chatting with US based artist Denise Gasser. I first discovered Denise via her ‘Art After’ project which is all about reconciling art and motherhood in the most unique and inspiring way. I then progressed to going down a rabbit hole of watching Denise’s IGTV’s and just knew that I HAD to have this inspiring woman on the podcast. In this convers…

In today's episode Steph and I are continuing our deep dive into the steps to launching a collection of art for sale. We focus in on the process of putting our art online for sale and our different workflows within this process. We share some nifty shortcuts on collating information to catalogue your art and how you can make your spreadsheets talk …

Welcome to a special episode of the podcast which we’re calling the ‘holiday replay’. Steph and are taking a break for a couple of weeks while our kiddos are home holidays, so this week we-re airing one of our favourite episodes- How to tackle style diversity in your art brand’. So if you missed that one, be sure to listen in as this was one of our…

Welcome to a special episode of the podcast which we’re calling the ‘holiday replay’. Steph and are taking a break for the next couple of weeks while our kiddos are home on school holidays, so this week we-re airing one of our favourite episodes- the interview with Rach Jackson. If you missed the episode first aired ion Season 3, be sure to listen …

In today's conversation with Steph, we're continuing our series on steps to prepare a collection for launch with a chat about product photography for art. This has been a bit of a pain point for me personally as, no matter how hard I try, I'm just really not very good at taking photos of my art and I really really dislike photo editing. Therefore t…

Lara Cornell is a published artist, as well as a brand strategist and business coach specializing in supporting artisans and creative entrepreneurs. She runs and participates in lots of art retreats all around the globe. And very recently she’s added best selling author to the list of her accomplishments with her gorgeous book Maker's Mark: Make a …

In this episode, Steph and I continue to dissect the process of selling a collection of work. We go into detail at why you may want to consider having a lifestyle photography shoot done for your art business. Now this isn't something that you have to do in order to have an art business, but it is something that can go a long way into helping you ca…

In today’s conversation I’m chatting with Scottish abstract artist Sarah Coey. Sarah is perhaps best known for her bright and colourful rainbow paintings and for being one of the most joyful places to be on Instagram. In this interview Sarah walks us through her early days at art school, graduating into a global financial crisis and eventually to f…

In today’s episode Steph and I are talking about the different steps each of us go through when preparing our work to sell. This is different for both of us because we each sell our work in different ways. I sell mine directly to customers via my newsletter and website. Whereas Steph sells through retailers. In our conversation we zone in on some o…

In today’s episode I’m chatting with fellow Australian artist Ange Miller. Ange is a Multi impassioned artist, currently working on large-scale organic acrylic and oil abstracts on canvas. She also teaches masterclasses both online and offline, is a creativity coach and is passionate about sharing her perspective on the traditional art education sy…