Stay ConnectedA podcast for artists, aspiring creatives, and art lovers.
Two artists share their thoughts on art, life and everything in between. Join Alice Sheridan and Louise Fletcher for honest, generous, and humorous conversations that will feed your creative soul AND get you thinking.
Copyright: © Louise Fletcher/Alice Sheridan
This week, we're answering a listener question from Helen, who asked why we chose to represent ourselves rather than pursue the gallery route. Helen also asked: "can a female artist be self-representing and still find her place in the history books - or is it important to have the testimonial from an established gallery?" When thinking about galleries, we believe that it's important to know (a) where you want to go and (b) where you currently are. We also point out that the art world often catches up and "discovers" artists late in life (or after their death), and we debate whether galleries will continue to play an important role as we move forward. Of course, we also answer Helen's question and explain why we each decided not to market primarily through galleries. There's lots more in this conversation, so don't miss it!
Mentioned
"Painting Abstract Landscapes" by Gareth Edwards https://www.amazon.co.uk/Painting-Abstract-Landscapes-Gareth-Edwards/dp/1785009737/
Soul Smile Event https://www.facebook.com/groups/613090909814919
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@louisefletcher_art
Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
In this episode, Louise meets gallerist Sarah Collier who runs the beautiful Silson Contemporary gallery in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. Sarah explains how and why she started her gallery and offers lots of sound advice to artists seeking gallery representation. The conversation covers how to choose the right galleries, how to approach a gallery owner, how to price your work, and how to present it to best effect. During the conversation, Sarah also shares the ins and outs of running a gallery and discussed some of her role models. This interview is packed with practical tips and inside insights - if you want to interest galleries in your work, listen now!
Mentioned
Silson Contemporary https://silsoncontemporaryart.co.uk/
Cupola Gallery http://www.cupolagallery.com/about
Gallery at Home https://www.galleryathome.co.uk/
Eastwood Fine Art https://www.eastwoodfineart.com/
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Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
With only 6 weeks until Christmas, we're talking gifts. But we're not focusing on what you can sell - we're interested in what you can ask for. So we spent some time thinking and came up with a suggested Christmas list to help you drop heavy hints this year. Our list includes small surprises such as new paint colours or a special brush, all the way to high-price courses or artworks. But we also suggest some ideas you may not have considered - including ways in which your family and friends could give you the gift of time. Along the way, you'll get a sneak peek into our own Christmases, including Alice's frugal approach to gifts and Louise's tendency to ask for books she ever reads. We hope this episode inspires you to brighten your own Christmas by asking for something that will inspire you - and maybe even jumpstart a new phase of your art.
Mentioned
"Unquiet Landscape," Christopher Never https://www.amazon.co.uk/Unquiet-Landscape-20th-Century-British-Painting/dp/0500295476/
"Why Your Five Year Old Could NOT Have Done That," Susie Hodge https://www.amazon.co.uk/Your-Five-Year-Could-Have/dp/0500290474
Kyle Cease on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLCjITkn87w
https://alicesheridan.com/gift/
https://www.louisefletcherart.com/shop/gift-certificates
Alice's Connected Artist Waiting List https://alicesheridan.com/artists/
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Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
This week, we're talking time, priorities and organisation. But this isn't a "10 quick tips to organise your life" - this is a deep dive into the real truths behind the ways we spend our time. We discuss the importance of knowing your 'why' when you make decisions about your time. We debate the role of identity in those decisions, and we discuss some of the challenges we face in our own art lives. Each of us only have limited bandwidth which means we simply have to make decisions. So, above all, we urge honest self-reflection ... it's so important to understand what we want out of art art lives and where we are straying from that path. If you struggle with time management, you are not alone and we hope this discussion helps you find some clarity about your own priorities.
Mentioned
Kelly Wynne Conrad https://www.kelleewynnestudios.com/
The Dresser with Julian Clary and Matthew Kelly https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2021/sep/16/the-dresser-review-bath-matthew-kelly-julian-clary
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Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
This week's discussion was originally planned as a chat about persevering with unfamiliar materials, but it soon broadened into a conversation about change in our work. We discuss the importance of finding ways to shift our work, and the role materials can play in that. We both strive to constantly push our work in new directions, but this can lead to real feelings of discomfort if we are also seeking results in the form of finished paintings. In the end, we both agree that new ideas need time and space in which to grow. If we give up at the first hurdle, we never get to find out what might have been possible. So Alice has decided to persevere and make life difficult sometimes with new materials while Louise will continue to make paintings she doesn't yet understand.
Mentioned
Khadi paper https://www.jacksonsart.com/brands/khadi
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Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
This week, we're talking support systems - what are they? How do we find them? And why do we need them? We have supported one another over the last few years and we have both found the relationship valuable for different reasons. But what are the other ways we have found to support ourselves? In this episode, we talk about the value of online communities and real life relationships, but also the importance of asking for help and support in other parts of our life, so that we can make room for art. We also talk about learning to say no, and asking for support from the wrong people, which can be so destructive. We hope this episode inspires you to look at how you might be able to shore up your art practice by leaning a little bit on other people - even if only now and then.
Mentioned
Alice's Connected Artist Group www.soulrocketstudio.com/connected-interest
Louise's Art Tribe https://www.louisefletcherart.com/art-tribe
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Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
This week, we dive into a successful launch and tease out the lessons we can all learn. Louise recently released her book Life Force which is about the process of making a series of paintings and then she released the actual paintings online. This had always been her plan but along the way, she encountered people who questioned the idea, and suggested that a physical exhibition would be a better idea. Despite temporarily losing focus, she eventually returned to her original vision, a decision which paid off. In this episode, we discuss the importance and value of going your own way with your work, even when (or especially when) you are not sure where it will lead. We also examine how to tune in to inspiration and intuition so that you ARE actually pursuing your own unique direction.
Mentioned
Louise's book "Life Force" at Bird Eye Books https://birdeyebooks.com/products/life-force-a-painters-response-to-the-nature-poetry-of-ted-hughes
See Louise's Ted Hughes paintings online https://www.louisefletcherart.com/shop/life-force
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Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
This week, we discuss the recent outage of Facebook, Instagram and Whats App and share our thoughts on the realisations it brought up. We rely on these apps for all sorts of things - we connect with our friends, we share our art, and some of us run our businesses using at least one of these platforms. When they vanish, we can feel lost. But we believe this outage reminds us that there are other ways to stay in touch and other ways to market our work. And that in fact, we could focus our efforts a little more widely. Neither of us believe that we will have to do without social media, but we can make it a little less central. We end our chat with a challenge to you, so stick with us to the end!
Mentioned
Louise's book from her publishers https://birdeyebooks.com/products/life-force-a-painters-response-to-the-nature-poetry-of-ted-hughes
Louise's book from Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Life-Force-Painters-Response-Nature/dp/1914079647
George Pointon on Twitter https://twitter.com/GeorgePointon_
Grand Designs https://www.channel4.com/programmes/grand-designs
Location, Location, Location https://www.channel4.com/programmes/location-location-location
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Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
We've all been there - bursting with ideas and new directions! It's exciting, it feels fun BUT when should you follow these nudges or when should you be disciplined and stick to a plan? Ideas can often shift during work in progress and it can be hard to know what's a natural variation or a misleading distraction.
We have some pointers to help you identify when things can feel too scattered and some ways you can review and bring yourself back on track, whether that's creating a cohesive group of work, when it's good to say no and how safely 'shelving' an idea may not be as risky as it feels.
Mentioned
Find out about Alice's Time to Shine Alice's challenge : www.soulrocketstudio.com/shine
or on her website here: https://alicesheridan.com
Barbara Sher: Refuse to Choose book
Katherine Palmers Needham colour sketchbook post on Instagram here
Instagram @KatherinePalmersNeedham_art
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Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
How comfortable are you sharing your art? Are you one of those people who shares regular videos or blog posts? Or do you tend to shy away from being public about your work? Alice is preparing to launch an exciting new visibility challenge and that sparked a discussion about the importance of this facet of our art careers. It's simply not enough to just make wonderful art - we also have to put it out into the world and that means putting ourselves out there too. The truth is that people buy art from artists they can connect with and they can't connect with you if they've never seen you. In this episode we discuss some of the blocks to visibility and share our own thoughts on the importance of making ourselves visible.
Mentioned
Find out about Alice's Time to Shine Alice's challenge : www.soulrocketstudio.com/shine
or on her website here: https://alicesheridan.com
This is my House https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m000tjfz/this-is-my-house
The Cleaner https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p09pm3dv/the-cleaner-series-1-1-the-widow
Find our websites and sign up for our newsletters at:
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@louisefletcher_art
Credits: "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
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