In today’s podcast, we are talking about the best ways to present your art. Not just our art, but ourselves as artists too. It can mean the difference between selling or not selling your work or just how your art is perceived by other people. You need to appear confident in what you do because if you’re not, nobody else will be. In fact, we clearly had so much to say about the whole topic of presenting your art that this ended up being part one of a two-parter.

Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS

Some of the things we discuss about presenting your artwork

• Why you should point out the elements in your art that you love, not the ones that you are unhappy with.
• Why it can be interesting to weave stories in with your art when you post them on social media.
• Some ideas for presenting your art on social media, both things we’ve tried and things that other artists do that we love
• Why if you are selling your art it’s important to present an accurate as possible representation of a painting online.
• How simple things like cropping in on an image and removing the scrappy edges of your sketchbook can make your social media images look better.
• Thoughts on presenting art at exhibitions

If you enjoy the podcast you can support us by buying us a coffee. We want to make a coffee froth moustache. Thank you!

If you have any suggestions for the podcast or our challenges please feel free to get in touch.

We’ve now got a Youtube Channel with Art Tutorials and Tips
Subscribe to our channel and click the notifications bell to be alerted on all our new videos.

Today’s guest is Russell Nohelty. Russell is a USA Today best-selling author who writes nonfiction as well as graphic novels which he describes as weird books for weird people. He’s also an inspirational speaker helping artists to build better creative careers. If you’re thinking about writing your own book, then this is the episode for you whether you’re looking at going down the traditional publishing route all the cells publishing one, he really is a wealth of information. 

Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS

Russell talks about

• How he got started as a writer
• What’s your process for writing a book, from idea to completion
• Researching the book market for your niche before you write your book
• Why it’s good to “start small” for your first projects rather than jumping into a full novel or book
• Tips for planning and keeping your writing on track so it actually gets completed
• Ways of building an audience for your book while you are still writing it.
• The importance of title and cover of a book
• How you can differentiate yourself and stand out from other authors?
• Tips for marketing a book

Find out more about Russell Nohelty

• Russell’s website where you will also find his books and courses – https://www.russellnohelty.com/
• The Complete Creative Podcast
• How to Build Your Creative Career Book
• How to Become a Successful Author Book

If you enjoy the podcast you can support us by buying us a coffee. We want to make a coffee froth moustache. Thank you!

In today’s episode, we are going to talk about the importance of creating art from the heart. And by that, we mean creating how and what you love to create rather than creating what you think you should, or what other people want you to. The more we grow as artists, the more we start comparing ourselves to other artists and telling ourselves we should be doing what they are… But what if we don’t want to?

Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS

Some of the things we discuss about creating art you love

• The difficulty with commissions and how to make them work for you, if you decide to do them
• Why you should draw what you love and enjoy process over what you feel you “should” be creating
• Why purposefully creating commercial art that you don’t enjoy creating might not be the answer as it could kill your art passion
• Knowing the difference between drawing what you love because you love it or just continuing to draw it because you are avoiding drawing something you find difficult.
• Why if your heart is telling you to try something different you should follow it and how it might be incorporated into your usual style of drawing later
• If you feel like trying something new, remember not everything has to be shared publicly, we didn’t in the olden days!
• If someone makes a suggestion by all means try it, but don’t be governed by what someone else suggests if it doesn’t feel good to you.

And I apologise but Sandra talks a lot about getting naked, because the weather had been so hot. Thank goodness it’s cooler that’s all I can say… phew 🙄 😬

If you enjoy the podcast you can support us by buying us a coffee. We want to make a coffee froth moustache. Thank you!

This week’s creative question

If you had a painting fairy, what would you like the most help with and why?

The best answers will be read out on a future podcast.

You can Tweet us your answers @KickCreatives or let us know in the Facebook Group, which by the way if you haven’t already joined, I highly recommend that you do! We will put the question up there and also on the facebook page… and of course, on our Instagram page @kickinthecreatives.

If you have any suggestions for the podcast or our challenges please feel free to get in touch.

We’ve now got a Youtube Channel where we put up a new Art Video every Sunday.
Subscribe to our channel and click the notifications bell to be alerted on all our new videos.

Today’s guest is Mitch Bowler. Mitch has a fascinating story from growing up in a small town in Canada with dreams of being a video games artist, to making his dream come true and moving to live and work in the industry in China. Since then Mitch has created the well known art platform and podcast called Pencil Kings where he has helped thousands of artists learn to draw. Mitch’s latest project is an online learning platform called Evolve. It’s a program to teach anyone how to paint to a professional level in a realism style in a year or less. It’s something Sandra would have dreamed of when she was learning to paint.

Click here to get a time sensitive discount off the Evolve program.
Please note that this is an affiliate link. So not only will you get a time sensitive discount if you decide to purchase the Evolve Artist Program, but KITC will also get a commission which will help us to continue doing what we do. Thank you for your support.

Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS

Mitch talks about

• How he wanted to be a video game designer even as a young boy
• How he accelerated his learning to become a video game artist
• What it was like working in China after coming from a small town
• Why he set up the Pencil Kings podcast and platform
• Mitch also talks about why he created Evolve because he realised there was a real lack of quality affordable tuition to learn how to paint realistically.  Mitch found out about Kevin Murphy’s Art School (a physical place) and the amazing results he was having teaching even beginners to paint. He came together with Kevin to bring his expertise online to make his teaching methods available to more artists.

If your interested in learning more about the Evolve Artist program click here to get a time sensitive discount

Please note that this is an affiliate link. So not only will you get a time sensitive discount if you decide to purchase the Evolve Artist Program, but KITC will also get a commission which will help us to continue doing what we do. Thank you for your support.

Sign up for a free Masterclass from Evolve

Sign up here

Find out more about Mitch and Evolve

• The Evolve program
• Pencil Kings Podcast and Platform
• Free Evolve webinar to learn how to create realistic art 

If you enjoy the podcast you can support us by buying us a coffee. We want to make a coffee froth moustache. Thank you!

Today’s podcast guest is Andy J. Pizza from Creative Pep Talk. Andy is an American illustrator, podcaster and public speaker. He has produced vibrant illustrations for clients like Nickelodeon and Amazon.

Sandra and I are huge fans of Andy’s podcast the Creative Pep Talk where Andy shares creative advice, plus Andy knows how to tell fascinating stories which makes him a great speaker. You can’t help but find that some of his enthusiasm will rub off on you.

Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS

Andy talks about

• What made him use the name from Andy J Pizza rather than Andy J Miller?
• Why he always felt like he didn’t fit in at school and wasn’t good at the things the other kids were?
• What he means by calling himself the penguin who thought he couldn’t fly
• What he means when he says that he thinks kids at school are treated as factory models. And why he thinks that some kids labelled as problem children, could be creative kids that haven’t had their talents nurtured.
• What made him go into illustration and how he developed his style?
• Why he gave up on creativity for a while when it wasn’t paying the bills and even took his website down, but eventually found his way back to it.
• How Andy’s first speaking gigs went and what it’s like now to get up and inspire people by speaking on stage
• How the Creative Pep Talk podcast came about
• His advice to those people who recognise themselves as creative but haven’t yet found their place in the art world

Andy also talks about his SkillShare course “ Make Creativity Your Career: Six Exercises to Create a Successful Side Project“ which teaches creatives how to narrow down their niche and get paying work they love. Plus he mentions a new project he is working on https://www.instagram.com/coloopco/

Find out more about Andy J Pizza

• Andy’s website – https://www.andyjpizza.com/
• Creative Pep Talk Podcast – https://www.creativepeptalk.com/
• Instagram  – https://www.instagram.com/andyjpizza/
• Andy’s Skillshare Course (affiliate link) – Make Creativity Your Career: Six Exercises to Create a Successful Side Project

If you enjoy the podcast you can support us by buying us a coffee. We want to make a coffee froth moustache. Thank you!

Today’s episode is all about how to find your art style. But it’s a little different to our usual podcast. We’ll talk about we both found our art style, but Tara will be the main focus, because Tara found hers more recently.

Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS

Tara didn’t stumble across her style… It didn’t just creep up on her through pencil mileage… she made a conscious effort to find it by developing her own 60 day ‘Find your Art Style’ experiment. And she filmed her process and her progress, every single day. It was something she hoped would work, but there was always the chance that it might not, so it was a huge commitment to take on, with no guarantees.

So, we thought it might be fun if Sandra interviewed Tara about her process, in the hope that she can help you to find ways to find your own, or develop the one that you already have. Plus Tara will ask Sandra a few questions about how she found her style along the way too.

Some of the things we discuss about finding your art style

• Our definitions of what an art style is, our views are slightly different on this
• Why  finding a recognisable art style was so important to Tara and why it might be for you too.
• Why Sandra was never concerned about finding an art style because she was more interested in learning how to paint like the masters.
• How Sandra found her style more organically
• Why Sandra paints both very dark and very light paintings, but they are still recognisably hers.
• Why Tara  thought that  maybe she could actively go about finding a style, rather than it stumbling upon it over time
• Why Tara created a 60 day challenge for herself called the ‘Find your Art Style Experiment’
• How Tara went about finding her style including analysing her own work and the work of artists she loves.
• Why sometimes you should go with your gut rather than doing what you think you “should” be doing
• What happened during the 60 day experiment to find Tara’s Art Style. The high points, the low points and the doubts
• Tips for starting your own Find Your Art Style Experiment

So you may be wondering, did Tara actually find her art style? Well you’ll have to listen to the podcast to find out!

If you want to watch the videos created during Tara’s “Find Your Art Style Experiment” you can find them on the Kick in the Creatives Youtube Channel

Links mentioned in the Podcast

• You can see Sandra’s art style on her website www.sandrabusbyart.com and Instagram @sandra.busby
• You can see Tara’s art style Tara’s at www.tararoskellart.com and Instagram @tararoskell
• The artist we mentioned in our group who has been developing his art style – Instagram @robbingtonabbeycreations
• The course we mentioned in the podcast was “How To Discover Your Style” by Lee White from SVS learn and Three Point perspective

If you enjoy the podcast you can support us by buying us a coffee. We want to make a coffee froth moustache. Thank you!

This week’s creative question

What memorable responses have you had to your work?

The best answers will be read out on a future podcast.

You can Tweet us your answers @KickCreatives or let us know in the Facebook Group, which by the way if you haven’t already joined, I highly recommend that you do! We will put the question up there and also on the facebook page… and of course, on our Instagram page @kickinthecreatives.

If you have any suggestions for the podcast or our challenges please feel free to get in touch.

We’ve now got a Youtube Channel where we put up a new Art Video every Sunday.
Subscribe to our channel and click the notifications bell to be alerted on all our new videos.

Today’s guest is art journaling expert Caylee Grey from GetMessyart.com. Caylee is a South African artist living in Germany. We really wanted to have Caylee on the podcast as her mission is close to our hearts, to encourage people to have a regular creative practice.

Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS

Caylee has a fascinating story of how she started art journaling as a challenge she set herself. This then turned into her full-time business. She teaches others how to journal and most of all to love the process of creating art.  Her mission is to empower 10 000 people into a regular creative practice.

You can find the free Journaling starter course that Caylee mentions in the podcast at https://getmessyart.com/kick

Caylee talks about

• How and why did she first got started with journaling
• How her first journal pages made her feel
• That you don’t need to be good at drawing to art journal
• What she means by a phrase she uses – dancing naked in perfection’s face (and no it’s not rude, shut that dirty mind down now 🙄  )
• Why it’s important to enjoy the process and not worry about your art sucking especially at first.
• Tips for getting started with art journaling
• How her journaling challenge developed into her business
• Balancing a young child and family life with creative time and business and why it’s sometimes necessary to stick fake eyebrows on your baby🤣.

Find out more about Caylee Grey

• GetMessyart.com
• Instagram @getmessyartjournal
• Instagram @cayleegrey

If you enjoy the podcast you can support us by buying us a coffee. We want to make a coffee froth moustache. Thank you!

Today’s guest is Laura Frankstone www.laurelines.com. Laura is an Artist, Urban Sketcher and Illustrator from North Carolina. Sandra first came across Laura’s work about 12 years ago when she stumbled across her blog. It was Laura that inspired her to start her own blog all that time ago. 

Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS

Laura’s work is lively, energetic and full of life. And her blog reflects that perfectly. One of her passions is travelling which is reflected in her travel sketchbooks. She arranges her travel to coincide with places she wants to draw. Listening to Laura will definitely make you want to run and pick up your sketchbook. In fact, go and grab it now and sketch while you listen.

Laura talks about

• How she got started with drawing
• What inspired her to start her blog and how important blogging has been over the years?
• How she has filled hundreds of sketchbooks over the years and what she thinks the secret is to be such a prolific sketcher?
• The basic sketching kit that she always carries, even when she travels with only a carry on bag
• Joining the urban sketchers movement and her passion for travelling and drawing on location
• How her passion for travel sketching developed and how she creates a series of works inspired by her travels.
• How she got started doing illustration work.
• Sketching her garden over the years as she transformed it after being inspired by Les Jardins Agapanthe in Normandy

Find out more about Laura Frankstone

• Blog https://www.laurelines.com/
• Instagram https://www.instagram.com/laurafrankstone

If you enjoy the podcast you can support us by buying us a coffee. We want to make a coffee froth moustache. Thank you!

In today’s episode, we are going to talk about completing a creative challenge. As many of us who have taken part in creative challenges will know starting a creative challenge is easy. You start out full of excitement and great intentions. However, maintaining momentum to see the challenge through to the end is much harder.

Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS

Some of the tips for completing a creative challenge that we discuss

• How you could prepare prior to the creative challenge.
• Scheduling time for the challenge
• Making sure a challenge works for you and fits with your goals and time constraints
• How to pivot if a challenge isn’t working out
• What to do when you really haven’t got time
• Dealing with the days you just don’t want to create
• Ways of holding yourself accountable for completing your challenge. There are several ways of doing this that we cover,
• How to stuff yourself with a massive cream cake at the end as a reward. Ok, we didn’t discuss that, but we should have done and did mention how a reward might help with motivation.

What are the best ways you have found to motivate yourself to complete a creative challenge?

And of course, we also talk about what arty things we’ve been up to during lockdown and mention the Zoom life drawing (clothed!!! – Sandra posed) sessions we’ve done with the group.

If you enjoy the podcast you can support us by buying us a coffee. We want to make a coffee froth moustache. Thank you!

This week’s creative question

What is the ultimate creative challenge you would like to set yourself? What is stopping you?

The best answers will be read out on a future podcast.

You can Tweet us your answers @KickCreatives or let us know in the Facebook Group, which by the way if you haven’t already joined, I highly recommend that you do! We will put the question up there and also on the facebook page… and of course, on our Instagram page @kickinthecreatives.

If you have any suggestions for the podcast or our challenges please feel free to get in touch.

We’ve now got a Youtube Channel where we put up a new Art Video every Sunday.
Subscribe to our channel and click the notifications bell to be alerted on all our new videos.

Today’s guest is Lewis Rossignol, an illustrator and artist based in Portland, Maine USA. He specialises in combining hand-drawn and collaged imagery.​​

Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS

I first discovered Lewis on Instagram when I became interested in Abstract faces. His art was so distinct and unlike anything I had seen before. He created portraits that were the complete opposite of high realism. His drawings were grungy, predominantly black and white and very cool. And his work was part of my inspiration to find my drawing style. Sandra is also a big fan of his work so we were thrilled when he agreed to come on the show.

Tyler The Creator IGOR Album Artwork

Lewis talks about

• How and why he went to art college later in life as a mature student
• His Tourette’s syndrome and how art helps with the condition and how art/creativity could help with your mental health
• Artists that have inspired him and influenced his work
• Why he likes to “mess up” the page before he starts drawing
• His favourite mediums to work with
• Where he gets his inspiration for the faces he draws
• How he built his following on Instagram
• Crowdfunding his books

Some of the Artists Lewis mentions

• Ralph Steadman 
• Richard Thompson 
• Alan E Cober 

Find out more about Lewis Rossignol

• Website www.lewisrossignolart.com
• Podcast called Thumbnail www.thumbnail.podbean.com
• Etsy Shop www.etsy.com/shop/LewisRossignolArt where you can buy prints and books
• Instagram @lewisrossignol
• Youtube Channel www.youtube.com/lewisrossignol

If you enjoy the podcast you can support us by buying us a coffee. We want to make a coffee froth moustache. Thank you!