Art Juice: A podcast for artists, creatives and art lovers

This week, we answer a listener question about what it means to work in a series. What is the difference between a series and a collection? And what is a "body of work"? As we break down the idea of a series, we cover the importance of an initial idea or line of inquiry; the role of parameters; and some of the things that could define a series. As always, we come at this from slightly di...

This week, we tackle the topic of overwhelm. What causes it and how can we get past it? This is our second time talking about this subject, but it is fresh for us this week because Louise has just ridden the 'overwhelm wave.' We discuss how it feels to simply have too much to do and break down the difference between "real" and "perceived" overwhelm. We also discuss our...

We can hardly believe it, but it's 4 years on and 200 episodes in and we're still going strong. This week, we're celebrating our anniversary by doing something a little bit different.  We've both chosen questions to ask each other - these span important topics such as "what's your favourite easy dinner recipe?" and "if you could time travel, where would you go?&q...

This week Art Juice reached a milestone - 3 million downloads! This somewhat arbitrary number got us thinking about the whole topic of achievement - about the goals we set and the things we choose to measure. When are goals and numbers a useful way to stay on track and when can they pull us off course? And how do our goals and measurements change over time? Our conversation touches on the various...

This week, we're discussing what it means to be an artist. Renowned music producer Rick Rubin has written a book in which he argues that the artist is a conduit for creativity comes from source energy. Therefore, he says, the artist’s job is to open themselves up as much as possible to receive whatever wants to come through them. His book is "The Creative Act: A Way of Being" and it really is abou...

Today we welcome international author Damian Dibben to the podcast. He joins Alice to discuss his book The Colour Storm; an artistic thriller, set in Renaissance Venice, but the conversation goes further than that. Yes, the book is a great read - bringing to life the artists of the era and a search for a stunning new pigment, so there is a lot about the power of colour itself... but we also talk a...

This week, we're thinking about what comes next. We're both working on new paintings and both facing different issues. Louise veered temporarily off track once she started trying too hard,  and Alice is wondering if some things are coming too easily. By definition, the life of an artist is about growth and change, and this week definitely highlights that fact. Is it OK to find things easy, or...

This week, Louise is joined by Californian artist Bibby Gignilliat for a discussion about starting an art career later in life. Both Bibby and Louise had corporate careers and then founded businesses that had nothing to do with art. In this conversation, they share their experiences of starting an art career as a second act. Both learned extremely valuable lessons that they brought with them into...

What would your perfect day look like? Or your week. What would you like to bring into your life? Today we are asking about your One Direction and how that shows up in the way you make art. Finding the core thread in your art; the chinese whisper that runs through a painting or making sense of the world…and finding “the edges”. We ask about how this feeds into the visual elements of the work you m...

This week, we follow on from last week's discussion on Marketing without Social Media and ask 'what if you could market without marketing?" Too often artists see marketing as an intimidating idea - something to be endured rather than enjoyed. In fact, many artists question whether it's even necessary, wondering why they should be enslaved to this or that algorithm.  But what if you didn't hav...

If you've been frustrated with social media recently, you may have found yourself wondering "Is there another way?" In this episode Alice speaks with guest Astrid Bracke about ways to move your business away from social media... but what instead? We talk about making space to create in a way you enjoy, using your "content calories" wisely and being playful with alternatives. Astrid is a mentor for...

How are you doing with getting going again on your creative work? Maybe you didn't take a break over the Christmas period, but at some point you will know the rusty feeling of facing a blank canvas or feeling like you've lost touch with what you wanted to do. Today we're discussing all the approaches - from a drastic slash and burn (!) to having a good old clear out. At some point you have to make...

The new year is always a time for well-meaning advice about how to improve your life. We're not going to add to all that noise because, well, we don't have a clue what's best for you! But we have been doing a lot of thinking about what works for us, and this week we're sharing our thoughts.  This means no goal setting advice or "top 10 tips for success" - just a gentle exploration of what it...

This is our last episode of the year and we thought it would be nice to hear from you. We're answering listener questions and we received calls from all over the world asking questions both fun and serious. In this episode, we play those messages and provide our answers. For example, we discuss developing a process of your own, offer advice to newer artists, and talk about the importance of findin...

In this episode, we're talking art journeys. As part of her Connected Artist Club, Alice has developed a system for understanding ourselves. She breaks the artist's path into four clear stages and today we're looking at these stages and examining the challenges faced during each one. For example, Curious Explorers tend to worry a lot about getting things right and can often feel overwhelmed by all...

We get it... we're all in a hurry! We want more - and we'd like it now please! This week we're talking about patience - something we both sometimes lack. As artists, we often place pressure on ourselves; to make a painting, or a series of paintings. Or we pressure ourselves to build a "successful" art business; or to get in the right galleries; or to win a prize. And yet this pressure is a delusio...

This week, Louise is joined by abstract painter Sally-Anne Ashley, who helps artists to find and develop their own unique approach to their work. We begin our conversation by asking 'what does it mean to have a process?' and then go on to explore the framework Sally-Anne has created. Although we are both painters, this conversation is relevant for any medium and any style, because it's all about h...

If you have unsold work adding up, then today’s podcast is for you because we are discussing how to hold a studio sale. What work to include, how to decide on discounts, what different types of sale you can consider and why simply creating a coupon code is NOT the best way! Today Alice is joined by Fee Dickson Reid, a member of the Connected Artist membership and this is an excerpt of a recent cal...

This is a bit of a catch-up episode. Reality is nibbling as Louise is home again after her retreat time to admin and domestics. Alice is arriving back after a busy art fair and feeling guilty she may have mansplained someone’s work to them among other conversations. While not every week is a productive or creative studio time, but we all have ideas still bubbling and we talk about how to move from...

This week Alice takes a break and Louise is joined by Rachel Davis for a chat about changes in both our art and our life, the courage required to make those changes, and the effect of gender on how we approach growth. In addition to her art career, Rachel has spent 30 years as a practicing psychologist . Now her pending retirement has thrown up questions about what to do next. Suddenly there...

This week, we're prompting you to pause and think about what you want. So many online courses promise success through tag lines like "Sell more art" or "Build a Six-Figure Art Business," and it's natural to assume that should be the goal for everyone. Of course there is nothing wrong with wanting to earn a good living from our work, but it isn't the only way to go. It's too easy to get sucked into...

Have you ever convinced yourself that being disorganised is an essential part of the creative process - but get constantly frustrated by looking for images or planning projects? "If I'm tidy I'm not a true artist" is one belief Anna Macdonald had. Today Anna and Alice talk about accepting the way you are and how to find the mental space to support your route to becoming the artist you want to be.&...

Are you perfectly confident about yourself and your art? Do you sail through life with no self-criticism? In most cases, the answer to this question is a resounding no. As artists we are all alone - making things that just seemed like a good idea, even though no-one asked us to. There is no roadmap and there are no instructions. So it's natural to be filled with self-doubt. Am I doing this right?...

Being an artist is an up and down business. One minute you're making things you love, the next minute everything has turned to rubbish. One month you sell lots of paintings, the next month you can't give them away. So what do you do? How do you navigate this unpredictable career without going mad or giving up? Not sure we have all the answers, but we have learned some lessons over the last few yea...

This week, Louise is joined by best-selling novelist (and good friend) Jonathan Hall, who writes under the name JM Hall. Louise is making a start on a new series of abstract paintings and Jonathan is beginning his third novel. In this conversation, we explore the challenges of starting again, or perhaps it's more a case of building on what went before? After all, Jonathan is writing about the same...