The Laura Horn Art Podcast

I’ve been itching to share this conversation! Today is the first interview in the ‘Redefining Success Series’ and I am chatting with Atlanta-based artist, Christina Kwan. Christina is well known for her abstract and floral works on paper as well as her large-scale murals. She has recently reached the point where art is her main career. In the episode, she talks about the winding road to becoming a...

Running a creative business is a lot like painting, sometimes you have to take things too far to know your limits. This week, Richie and I chat about this and why our 3-week break turned into 3 months. You'll hear our perspectives on burnout as well as the flipside - What happens when you slow down too much and become isolated and disengaged? We also talk about changes in the art community includi...

In this week’s episode, I am sharing a few posts and podcast episodes from other artists that have helped me to get back on track after a bit of a slump in my creative practice. They say a problem shared is a problem halved and I certainly have to agree with that. I’ve been taking a lot of comfort from other artists in the community and I wanted to share some of that comfort and support with you....

I'll just make a quick video for Instagram. It'll be easy. 5 hours later and with much cursing, I had nothing. Well actually, I did have some footage of the back of my head and some interesting shadows! If this sounds all too familiar, stay tuned! This week, Richie is taking over the mic and sharing his skills and knowledge as a videographer. Don’t worry though, it’s not super techy! This is the K...

Sometimes the administration side of being an artist takes over to the point where you don’t feel like much of an artist at all! Too many hours behind the computer screen can leave you feeling tired, exhausted and full of self-doubt. When this happens something has to give! This week we chat about making painting a priority again. You’ll hear about the new collection I am working on, why I am layi...

Why are some artists so popular? And what about those artists that work really hard doing all the things (posting on social media, sending out newsletters, creating tutorials, exhibiting in galleries …) but barely see any growth in their audience year after year? That’s what we are chatting about this week. To help us answer this question, Richie and I took a look at who we follow on Instagram and...

How many cameras do you set up? What type of light do you use for taking photos? How do you cope with Laura? Love that last question!! Just a few of the themes that Richie is diving into this week in his first solo episode. For those of you that don’t know, Richie is my husband and for the past few years, he has been working full-time behind the scenes in the Laura Horn Art business. He also co-ho...

How important is it to be efficient as an artist? That’s the question I posted on Instagram yesterday and today we are unpacking your answers. There’s so much to talk about! Does efficiency take away from the magic of the process? Is it different for working artists vs. non-working artists? Can taking a break be the most efficient thing you do? Plus there were so many wonderful tips left on the IG...

With a bit of creative thinking, even the smallest space can give birth to all kinds of art! Over the years I’ve made art in various corners and spots around the home. Personally, I thought that the kitchen table was very practical. Turns out Richie wasn’t as keen! Since then I have worked in a converted garage, offsite studio and most recently a loft area in our new home. As we talk about this jo...

In today's podcast, we chat about what it's been like to create our first art challenge and share a few tips and insights from behind the scenes. It hasn't exactly been plain sailing but creative life rarely is. My goodness though, it feels good to push through and be at the stage where we can say that the challenge is live. So what does it take to run an art challenge? How do you choose a theme?...

This week on the podcast we are continuing our conversation about sketchbooks! I want to say a big thank you to everyone as we had a huge response to the first part of this sketchbook series. In the first part, we chatted about the mindset side of things and today we are diving into the practical stuff. ⠀ We cover how to choose a sketchbook and talk about common challenges including pages smearing...

What if my best work gets stuck here? What if I mess up a spread and ruin the whole journal? Why can’t I stick with a theme? It’s taken me eight years to move past these fears and cultivate a sketchbook practice that not only makes me happy but is also beneficial for my art. This is such a big topic that Richie and I have decided to devote two episodes to it. In today’s episode, I am talking about...

It's not always easy to get back into creative work after a break. You can feel overwhelmed with too many ideas or struggle to even make a mark on the page. Or as you'll hear about in today's episode, you can plan a big studio day and end up going for breakfast, having a hair cut and doing a bit of shopping! It would be fair to say that Richie and I are easing our way into 2021! So with that in mi...

How much value do you place on your creative time? Have you set things up in a way that makes it easy to jump right in? If you need some inspiration in this area, you’ll love my guest today. I am chatting with Sarah Simon! Sarah is the designer, artist-illustrator and author at The Mint Gardener.  Based in Seattle, Washington, Sarah creates and teaches lush watercolours inspired by the divers...

With the end of the year fast approaching, this week I felt the urge to talk about planning! And in particular, how I use Trello to get organised and stay focused throughout the year.  Trello is a tool that I often get asked questions about so if you are curious about what it is and how you could make use of it in 2021, stay tuned. For anyone that doesn’t know what Trello is, it’s an online o...

Well, it's finally happened! We are in our new home and this is the episode where we get to chat all about it and answer your questions! Thank you, everyone, for your lovely messages and for encouraging us to make this house related episode. Well, let’s be honest I didn’t really need the encouragement but Richie did! In this episode, we talk about where we have moved to, why we have made this chan...

Today’s guest is mixed-media artist Janet Skates. What a beautiful human. As we chatted, it truly felt like I was having coffee with an old friend! If you are falling into comparison traps and being hard on yourself, I urge you to take a listen. Janet Skates talks about dealing with self-doubt, getting out of creative ruts and keeping social media in balance. There are also great tips about transi...

The art is piling up, but now what? How do you get your work seen and sold? There are quite a few options - especially in the online space. You could use a print on demand service, join an online art gallery, create an Etsy shop or build your own website. All have their pros and cons but which option is right for you? This week we chat about the different ways you can sell your art online and how...

When it comes to the tech side of being an artist, there’s a lot to get your head around - website design, social media, video editing, email marketing … The list goes on! If you struggle with this or just need a bit of encouragement, you will love today’s guest. I am chatting with mixed media artist, Roben-Marie Smith. In this episode, Roben-Marie shares her story from the early days of recording...

Do you prefer to paint in a series or on one piece at a time? As many of you know, I sit in the more is merrier camp and love working on multiples. This week Richie and I chat about why I prefer this approach and how I go about it? What becomes clear, is that it isn’t exactly a step by step process - it’s much more higgledy-piggledy that that. Some collections are more accidental than you might th...

My guest today is abstract artist, Lesley Grainger. Lesley was born in Yorkshire, England and now resides in Orange County, California. Early in her career, she worked as a graphic designer and illustrator. In recent years her main focus and passion has been abstract painting. In our conversation, Lesley chats about how her abstract style has evolved and why it is important to her to paint freely...

I love too many things! How will I ever find my art style? Sound familiar? Well, you are not alone. This week we answer a listener question and tackle this dilemma. It brings up many lines of thought from whether you need a style at all right through to the practical steps you can take to find one. We also look at the factors that can influence your style choices. Things like space, time, personal...

Carrie Schmitt is back on the podcast and this time we are chatting about what it is like to write an art book.  I’ve always wanted to write a book but it always ends up in the too-hard basket! The process seems daunting and I worry about how I would fit it in with all the other aspects of running an art business.  It was wonderful to chat with Carrie about this as Carrie is a full-time...

We’re back! Over the past 6 weeks, we’ve been busy getting our house ready for sale and preparing to move. It’s been a crazy time full of mixed emotions. One thing that Richie and I didn’t realise, was just how much stress we’ve been holding on to. In this episode, Richie shares his fears of not being able to sell our home after being burned before in the global financial crisis. Meanwhile, I talk...

Why is it so hard to take a break? For the past few weeks, Richie and I have been debating the idea of taking a break from the podcast. It’s brought up a lot of fear in both of us. Will it be detrimental to our business? Are we letting down our listeners? What happened to being consistent? It took a bit of time but eventually, we let go of our fears and focused in on the positives. More energy! Ne...