Setting goals isn’t just about the end result; it’s also about personal growth and transformation. You feel disappointed and perhaps like you’re spinning your wheels a bit when you don’t achieve what you’ve set out to do. And a struggle to decide the ‘right' goal for you might be getting in the way of that feeling of satisfaction, happiness, and pride in your art practice.

So how do you choose if you have a million ideas and feel like you can’t pick just one to go with? In this episode of The Savvy Painter podcast, you’ll learn about the common fears associated with goal-setting and the part your brain plays in the process. I’ll also give you some practical tips to help you decide which goals to pursue.

1:58 - What setting goals helps you avoid and common struggles of artists who don’t have clear goals

8:32 - Why artists struggle with choosing the “right” goal and trusting their decision

16:34 - Why your brain creates obstacles to achieving your goals and how to deal with it

21:09 - How to decide if you feel like you have too many ideas

25:52 - The importance of trusting your decision once you’ve made it

Mentioned in How to Decide on the “Right” Goal

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There’s an affliction going around lately within artistic circles. You might be experiencing it too, even if it’s just a small voice or whisper in the back of your head. The affliction is the thought that, “My art doesn’t matter”. 

Now, your immediate reaction might be to refute this and tell yourself, “Of course it matters/” And I agree and am here to remind you that, yes, your art does matter. But this constant nagging doubt could make you feel like an art practice isn’t worth having after all.

In this episode of The Savvy Painter podcast, you’ll learn about what’s special about your art and exactly why it matters, not just to you but to other people as well. I’ll also discuss why you believe it doesn’t matter and how your approach to your work could change if the thought was completely non-existent in your mind.

3:20 - Why you sometimes believe that creating your work doesn’t matter and how it leads to dissatisfaction in your practice

8:09 - The most beautiful thing about being an artist and how it showcases a gift that most people don’t have

13:14 - How you impact people with your art, whether you’re aware of it or not

16:38 - The impact on you if the thought “my art doesn’t matter” didn’t exist in your head at all

23:06 - One of the greatest realizations I’ve ever had about my own artwork

Mentioned in Why Your Art Matters (Even When You Think It Doesn’t)

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Money and pricing your art can feel like tricky, even uncomfortable topics, but they’re also some of the most powerful conversations we can have as artists. Why? Because our beliefs about money and pricing often run deep and show up in ways we don’t even realize. They influence how we value our art, how we show up for it, and ultimately, how we create a practice that truly supports and sustains us.

In this final roundtable episode of The Savvy Painter Podcast, I’m joined by Growth Studio members Merrie Koehlert, Leslie Cannon, and Beverly Woodhall. We dig into how your thoughts about money and pricing impact your relationship with your art, and we get real about the hidden mindset blocks that can hold you back. Whether it’s pricing your work with confidence, valuing your time, or shifting your money beliefs, this conversation is filled with insights to help you move forward and thrive as an artist."

1:23 - Quick self-introductions for Merrie, Leslie, and Beverly as artists

2:56 - Assumptions about money as it relates to art that the roundtable have had or heard from others

8:44 - How your subconscious programming can impact the lens through which you see your art

14:04 - Critical junction points in Merrie’s life that reinforced her negative assumptions about selling art

18:40 - How Leslie, Merrie, and Beverly view pricing their artwork and how their thoughts about pricing have changed

31:09 - Getting around the drama in your head so you can learn to get comfortable with your pricing 

34:55 - How each participant has internalized what “the value of the painting” means to them

43:25 - The value to the art collector and why buying a piece of art because it matches other room decor shouldn’t be considered an insult

50:12 - Painting pieces you know people buy when you need to make more money versus painting what you really want and not selling as frequently

57:11 - Thoughts around money or pricing that the participants now notice that they were oblivious to before and how Growth Studio has helped 

Mentioned in How Your Money Mindset Shapes Your Art Practice

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How to Confidently Price Your Artwork Without Overwhelm
How to Stop Procrastinating and Finally Price Your Artwork
How Artists Can Overcome Money Mindset Blocks
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As artists, we go through several phases on our way to creating pieces. It all starts with this period of play and discovery that I call the exploratory phase, and to talk about it with me are Growth Studio members Sabrina Setaro, Alyssa Marquez, and Jess Fredrick.

In this roundtable episode of The Savvy Painter Podcast, you’ll go on a deep dive into the first stage of artistic creation: the exploratory phase. Sabrina, Alyssa, Fredick, and I will discuss what happens in this stage and what they’ve discovered about their work in the process, techniques to balance play with purpose during your exploration, how they avoid overwhelm and overthinking during this discovery phase, and more!

1:10 - The five phases of artistic creation

4:27 - Sabrina, Alyssa and Jess tell a little bit about themselves

8:00 - What the exploratory phase looks like for each roundtable participant in their studio

14:05 - Allowing further experimentation and how to keep frustration at bay during this phase

24:48 - More experimentation techniques you can use to help you get out of a rut as an artist

34:43 - Insights the participants received about their artwork during the exploratory phase

46:08 - How to know if you’re using this phase for deep exploration or as a way to hide from something else

54:07 - How being part of Growth Studio has helped Sabrina, Alyssa, and Jess in the exploration process

Mentioned in Exploring Your Art Without Overthinking or Overwhelm

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Welcome to another roundtable series! This time I’m joined by Growth Studio members Louisa Jornayvaz, Braighlee Rainey, Jack Wray, and Elisabeth Svendby in a discussion about finding your voice as an artist.

In this episode of The Savvy Painter Podcast, you’ll learn about what it means to find your voice and ways you can connect with it. You’ll also get personal insights into how the participants’ have connected with their voice and how it brings meaning into their artistic practice.

1:37 - Braighlee, Louisa, Elisabeth, and Jack quickly introduce themselves

3:27 - How they define what the artist's voice means to them

8:46 - How to know when you’re connected to your voice

11:00 - How your background can impact your art and the journey of finding your voice

19:52 - How each roundtable participant has progressed in finding their voice

26:35 - Why this journey isn’t straightforward and how it can evolve as you continue to walk the path

33:59 - Advice if you’re really not sure where to look to help you discover your artistic voice

42:27 - The connection between finding your voice as an artist and meditation and green lights

46:46 - The importance of imperfection and challenge in bringing character and resonance to art

50:10 - The impact of being taught in curiosity and sensitivity conditioning

54:59 - What the roundtable participants learned within Growth Studio to help them find or connect with their voices

Mentioned in How Artists Find Their Voice and Create from the Heart

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It’s one thing to have an interest in creating art or putting something on canvas. It’s another to see yourself as an artist and have an artistic practice.

What’s a difference-maker between those who do and those who don’t? Creative confidence, and to talk about it, I’m joined by Growth Studio members Alyssa Marquez, Merrie Koehlert, and Andrew Rea in another roundtable series.

In this episode of The Savvy Painter Podcast, you’ll learn about the concept of creative confidence, its impact on artistic practice, and how it differs from self-confidence and arrogance. You’ll get personal insights into how the participants’ confidence has evolved, whether there’s such a thing as too much confidence, and how peer support can help navigate challenges and enhance artistic expression.

1:34 - Defining creative confidence and how it’s necessary for artists to create and share their work

6:46 - How you’re constantly making art (even if you haven’t always been the artistic type)

13:00 - How Alyssa’s creative confidence has evolved over time

24:42 - How an evolution in confidence has most recently affected Merrie’s and Andrew’s art

29:49 - How to distinguish between confidence, self-confidence, and arrogance

33:19 - Can you have too much confidence in your painting or art practice?

40:33 - How confidence has impacted Alyssa’s desire to take risks with art

43:03 - Impact of the Growth Studio community on the roundtable participants’ confidence

Mentioned in How Creative Confidence Impacts Your Artwork

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Do you turn into a nervous Nellie at the thought of other people critiquing your art? Perhaps you even try to avoid the situation, or find yourself asking what’s the point of getting a critique if art, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder anyway?

I’ve brought together artists from Growth Studio in a roundtable series to discuss several topics of interest to artists. We kick off the first of this series with Sabrina Setaro, Elisabeth Svendby, and Beverly Woodhall to go on a deep dive on the subject of getting your work critiqued.

In this episode of The Savvy Painter Podcast, you’ll hear us cover the purpose of a critique, how to deal with the advice you receive, and how to get past the nerves. We’ll also discuss the kinds of things you can learn about your work from consistently seeking out constructive feedback.

1:19 - Sabrina, Elisabeth, and Beverly’s introduction and the benefits of getting a critique

7:41 - What Elisabeth learned about herself through critiques and the evolution that occurs with this simple question

13:13 - The difference in the critique conversation for half-done versus completed paintings

19:22 - How having faith in your own vision becomes a huge part of your evolution as an artist

27:02 - How Beverly, Sabrina, and Elisabeth look at their paintings differently now as a result of getting critiques

32:55 - What you and your art gain when you go with your instinct and follow your curiosity

40:57 - An important caveat about getting critiques and what to look for in somebody to critique your work

Mentioned in Why Get Your Work Critiqued?

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Perfectionism can show up in your studio and throughout your practice in many ways. Some are obvious, and others not so much. But what perfectionism looks like is often difficult to clearly define; the best way to illustrate it is by contrasting it with mastery.

In the final episode of this four-part live series on The Savvy Painter Podcast, you’ll learn about the concepts of perfectionism and mastery and explore the different behaviors they can cause. I’ll also provide insight into how to recognize and address any perfectionist tendencies you have to foster a healthier, more productive artistic practice.

1:04 - The difficulty of nailing down the concept of perfectionism

3:20 - Behaviors associated with perfectionism and mastery in artistic practices

13:34 - How emotional awareness can help you respond more effectively to perfectionist tendencies

24:48 - Working through an impulse to go for too many brush strokes when self-doubt creeps in

30:57 - The importance of distinguishing between feelings of openness and closing off in response to challenges

39:27 - Working through how to reframe and respond to rejection as an artist

48:38 - The very high price tag that comes with perfectionism

Mentioned in How Perfectionism Shows Up In Your Studio

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Many artists have a tricky relationship with money. The stories we tell ourselves about money can create hidden barriers to pricing and selling our work with confidence. By shining a light on these beliefs, you’ll find a path to transforming your approach to money—and building a more sustainable, abundant art practice.

In part three of this live event series on The Savvy Painter Podcast, we’re exploring some common money myths that can hold artists back. Together with a few participants, we’ll question these limiting beliefs and offer ways to reframe them, so you can feel more empowered in pricing your art and growing your creative business.

2:18 - Common money beliefs and how they shape attitudes toward spending and earning in the art world

8:50 - How to start becoming aware of and questioning your beliefs about money

13:30 - Braley’s dichotomous belief about the value of original pieces versus smaller prints

20:16 - The purpose of questioning your thoughts about pricing and selling art

25:27 - Reframing the fear of creating artwork that isn’t good enough or doesn’t feel authentic

35:17 - The impact of Morgan’s money beliefs on her pricing and ability to connect to potential collectors

46:45 - What you’re actually selling and why you create the art vs. why a potential collector wants to buy it

51:50 - The importance of separating facts from subjective stories about money

Mentioned in How Artists Can Overcome Money Mindset Blocks

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You have an inner critic blocking or interfering with your ability to fully trust in yourself and your art. That harshly critical internal voice thinks it’s doing you a favor. It thinks it’s protecting you. Yet, it says things to you that you wouldn’t dare say to a loved one or friend.

So let’s take the microphone away from your inner critic and hand it to the higher self that’s been patiently waiting to speak through you. It’s time to trust in your creative process and yourself as an artist.

In this episode of The Savvy Painter podcast, you’ll hear part two of this four-part live event series as I guide you on how to cultivate trust in your artistic voice. I’ll discuss the signs of trust or mistrust, give you the three steps to cultivating trust, and much more!

4:52 - The lesson that our inner critic can learn from The Stoics and their Memento Mori

9:22 - How to start to get more familiar and friendly with the voice of your higher self and build trust

13:45 - What it looks like when you don’t trust your voice and your process

17:54 - What it looks like when you do trust your own voice and process

23:30 - What trusting your voice means, how it (or the lack of it) might feel to you, and the first step to obtaining it

26:21 - Three starts to questions you can use to start enabling curiosity (step two) and the third step to cultivating trust

31:31 - What arrogance is and how it differs from your inner voice when analyzing your art

33:20 - The importance of seeing yourself as an amazing artist

38:41 - The power in always having full trust in yourself and the common thread that runs through all of your work

Mentioned in How to Cultivate Trust in Your Artistic Voice

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As an artist, you might have been taught (implicitly or explicitly) that your work doesn’t matter. Many artists I’ve worked with have heard it in school, at home, and in the media.

Yet, your work as an artist does matter. It can help others feel, connect, and demonstrate the beauty of the world and the human experience. But only when you’re centered, present, and confident in your creative process do you allow that potential impact to flourish.

In this episode of The Savvy Painter podcast, you’ll hear the first part of a live event I gave a while back that covers what creative confidence is, what it looks like, where it comes from, and how to curate it for yourself. You’ll also hear coaching examples with a few attendees as I help them work through fears that have resulted in a lack of progress, self-sabotaging habits, and a feeling of invisibility.

4:58 - What creative confidence in your artistic abilities looks like

8:15 - The two types of confidence you can lean on as an artist and how they differ

13:51 - What usually stands in the way of creating what you want and how to overcome it

18:33 - How you can curate self-confidence and examples of thoughts that get in the way

23:19 - How Nancy’s thoughts have hindered her progress, the fears they’ve exposed, and their impact on her physically

36:08 - How Carol’s fear and familiar thoughts have led to habits of self-sabotage

42:59 - What happens in your brain when it offers you the worst-case scenario and more thoughts that can help you create self-confidence

46:22 - Why Ekaterina feels invisible despite creating all kinds of things and where to focus to begin to push past it

Mentioned in How to Cultivate Creative Confidence As an Artist

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