Celebrating my First Year as a full-time Artist

This last post before I break up for the holidays is a review of the year just gone, my first year as a full-time artist. So, pull up a chair grab a seasonal treat and read on.

Looking Back to Look Forward

It’s been a full-on year. But as I have just been recording a review of the year with Sally Ann Ashley what I don’t want to do is repeat that here with a list of all the things I got up to this year, running courses, having a solo show, open studios Manchester art Fair etc.

If you’ve been reading this regularly, or following me you’ll probably know all about these things. Plus the chat with Sally-Ann will be on YouTube in the next week or so. What I’d prefer to share with you are the big transitions and insights that came out of this year and what they mean for my art and my business going forward.

Understanding my Work

This year I gained a new and deeper understanding about myself and my work. For a long time, I have been attempting to link up the things I photograph endlessly, peeling paint, decaying objects, modern and old buildings, water, bridges and trying to find a way to speak to how these things inspire and influence my work. At the same time also including something about my process which is intuitive and spontaneous.

As I began collaborating with a new coach this year, Samantha Clark in our written exchanges I began to realise that I had the thing back to front. The images I take are not particularly my inspiration source, it is more that they are a tangible visible representation of the themes that I explore in my work. Ideas of transience and decay, structure and freedom, space, transition, connections and relationships. Concepts that find a form in the visual elements in my work in the shapes, lines, colours textures and composition.

At the same time, I also realised the central role that materials and surfaces have in my process.  The interaction and impact of these elements guide the direction a painting will take. I am responding in the moment to how the paint is moving on the surface and that is immediate inspiration.

What does this mean for my work?

A deepening of confidence across several areas. In my artistic process, the capacity to work things out for myself and a greater and greater willingness to stay with something when I don’t know the answer, knowing that something will emerge given enough time.

The Importance of Collaboration

I took part in a marketing and business challenge at the end of 2023. One of the questions was to share a collaboration we were most proud of. Oh boy, this was so interesting and emotional! My collaboration was working with a friend and colleague in running our psychotherapy training business. It was such a positive experience. Where what we were doing was so much better because of our differences. Answering the question led me to realise that working with others is very important to me, that I don’t have as much of this kind of work in my life as I would like and that going forward it is something to put on my radar. As a result I’m more alert and open to the opportunities and possibilities of working with people

Breaking through Magical Thinking

My final insight came from the same business challenge. This time it was a question relating to money. For a long time, I have felt de-skilled when it comes to the finances and accounts aspects of running a business because I had been stuck in magical thinking. I thought I needed someone to take on these tasks for me and it would all magically sort itself out. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that! I now understood that I needed to learn how to do this, like other aspects of running a business. Yes, external help is useful but there are some aspects of managing finance that I needed to get a handle on. Several spreadsheets later things are becoming clearer. It’s definitely a work in progress But I’m feeling more in control and like I am learning how. A big win.

And what about you? How has your year gone? Have you had some big wins? I’d love to hear about them if you’re willing to share. 

Interested in working with me?

My 10-week online course Directions in Abstraction starts in March next year. The course takes the key elements of working in abstraction and through structured exercises and discussion allows you to find your artistic voice.