SPP 189.5 - Special Episode - Have your say

If you’re on my email list -and you ARE, aren’t you? Last week I invited you to answer some questions. If you missed it, you can go to SavvyPainter.com/Survey to have your say.

A lot of people ask me why I do this podcast. It’s a lot of work, a lot of unseen hours.

They want to know why I care enough to invest so much of my own time and resources to make this happen?

The simple reason is because I know first hand how much art matters.

I know how hard it is to go into your studio day after day, year after year with just the simple faith that the hard work will pay off.

And I also know the flip side. I know the very real impact art has on people’s lives.

When I was little girl, my mom took me to the museums, the galleries, the theater and the ballet. It was our little escape from a difficult time at home.

The gift of the artist is that she can transform the most ordinary thing into the extraordinary just by pausing long enough to look at it and respond.

We artists live that way. Transforming the ordinary into something extraordinary is just what we do.

So we forget how special it is. We forget how amazing it is for other people to get a glimpse into our world - people who don’t quite see things the same way we do.

And sometimes, we can get them to pause themselves. And instead of walking past the ordinary we get people to pause with wonder and see the beauty. Or turn to someone else and ask - did you see that too!?

Those artists I saw when I was a little girl in the galleries, the museums and the theater will never know how much of an impact they had. They brightened our world, and without realizing it, they passed on the torch.


Now It’s my turn to make sure that light gets spread and the torch continues to pass along. We all have our ways to do that. Mine is through my paintings, this podcast, and my students.

I’ve worked my butt off to create paintings that have meaning for me and bring joy to the collectors who get to look at them everyday.

I’ve also sat in my studio, frustrated, staring at a painting for hours trying to figure out what the hell I did wrong. Begging it to tell me why it wasn’t working. I’ve painted over, burned or otherwise destroyed literally thousands of paintings to get the few that I’m proud of.

I’ve had the incredible honor to study with some incredible artists and teachers. And I’ve had the privilege to share my knowledge with my students.

This is our heritage. It’s up to us. If we don’t protect our painting practice and pass it on, who will?

That’s why i care. That’s why I invest so much into this podcast. And I’m always looking to make it just a little bit better.

So I sent out this survey and in less than 24 hours, I got 212 responses.

I asked what you need help with. Where you’re struggling with your art and your career.

You know, the stuff we like to complain about when we get together with other artists, or just need to vent on Facebook.

There are some SUPER interesting thoughts running through your heads!

And there was some serious frustration with things like-

How to balance your life with painting, How to stay  focused How to avoid  getting overwhelmed.
Some of you are learning how to execute your vision while staying authentic, and true.
Some are of you are trying to get other people to take you seriously while secretly feeling a little insecure yourself.

These may sound small but they are serious issues.

And they are super common. We’re all busy. In the last 3 months, my husband and I have moved not once but twice (by the way, if you haven’t heard, we leave Mammoth for LA this weekend). I’ll be the first to tell you that maintaining my painting practice, my membership program, the podcast, and my sanity in the middle of all of that was challenging!

I have no doubt that your life is just as hectic in different ways.

Now in this survey I sent out, one of the questions I  asked was: If you could magically master a painting skill, how would that affect you -

Here’s what some of you said:
I would be over the moon If I could get the color I want without so much trial and error. Speed and accuracy would feel delightful. I would move faster and would not be experiencing the time waste and frustration I am now. I would not be overworking my painting. I would know when to stop. I don’t do magic. Since joining Growth Studio I’ve honed my design and proportion skills. By getting my proportions better I trash my work less often. By getting better designs I waste less. That has given me confidence to say I am an ARTIST. Magically, no, that doesn't enter into it. Work is what counts. Staying with it and believing in what I'm doing.
Yep. Several of you called me out for using the word magic.

I love you for that, it’s like David Lee Roth and the brown M&M’s (if you don’t know what I’m talking about just google it, it’s a great story).

To each and every one of you who called me out for using the word magic- thank you for being such an avid fan of the podcast and listening so closely to what we’ve been talking about for the last four years.

YOU ARE RIGHT. There is no magic solution. Being an artist takes a lot of hard work. It takes love, discipline, and a never ending well of curiosity just to be a halfway decent painter.

Yes, there is a certain amount of obstinate stubbornness and a pinch of the rebel personality but no magic. No art fairies or magic wands, just your own resolve and a paintbrush.

The reason I asked those questions the way that I did, was because I wanted you to imagine what might be on the other side of the roadblock in front of you.

Some of those roadblocks are solid. They’re real life stuff. And some look like 30 foot tall cinder block walls like the kind you see in military training that feel IMPOSSIBLE to get over."

But that’s just because you have your nose pressed against the wall. If you step back, you might notice that you could easily walk around it.

What’s interesting to me, is that SO many of those issues - the issues that 212 of you told me about in this survey, have been dealt with by other artists. I know. I’ve faced them myself. And GUESS WHAT-  So have many of those artists have been on THIS very podcast.

SO LISTEN UP:

If you’re on my email list, tomorrow morning you’ll get a list of the top 10 issues you brought up in the survey, PLUS links to the episodes where we talked about those EXACT SAME challenges so you can hear how other artists dealt with them.

And because these are also issues I talk about in Growth Studio, my premium membership program where I work hands on with artists like you to help them deal with these things,

I’m going to unlock a few Growth Studio videos for you. These are videos that are normally ONLY available to the members of this premium paid  program.

So if you’re already on my email list, all you have to do is look for that email tomorrow. If you’re not, you still have time - just go to SavvyPainter.com before midnight Friday, October 19, 2018.

Please remember though, this is a ONE time thing. Those videos from my Growth Studio will only be available for 24 hours. No exceptions. Even if you were sick, even if you were on vacation. Even if you didn’t listen to this until 2020.

If you miss it, you can still get the free stuff: a list of the top 10 issues you brought up in the survey, PLUS links to the episodes where we talked about those challenges so you can listen to how other artists tackled them.

But access to those premium videos that are ONLY available in my pay for membership program Growth Studio is ONLY available for 24 hours

Friday, October 19, at exactly 11:59 PM - Pacific time, they will disappear.

Poof.

Like magic.