Practise, practise, practise, that is the key. 

How are you all doing? I am back with some more inspiration and motivation, after what has been a very busy week at United ArtSpace with lots of things going on behind the scenes. We’ve got lots of exciting things on the horizon which I am so excited to share with you all. 

My dear friend Sharon has really helped me over the years to get United ArtSpace off the ground. She was by my side in the beginning and I’ve worked very closely with her over the last five years or so. I often refer to her as my muse and we actually met many years ago when Sharon was my art tutor, and we’ve been in each other’s lives since then.

Make Your Mark – It’s back

What is very exciting is, the Make Your Mark course is back! It’s coming on 1st March. For those who don’t know what this is, it’s a course that myself and Sharon wrote when United ArtSpace was first launched. We’ve run it a few times, but over the last couple of years, as Sharon’s art career took off big time, we’ve not been able to run it. However, I made sure to book Sharon in early doors and we’re bringing it back with a bang! 

The Make Your Mark course is all about exploring your voice, exploring art as a language and really getting in tune with who you are as an artist. As part of this course, there is a little prep work to do. This is released for free, before the course starts. It allows people who are thinking about taking the course to see if it’s right for them, as well as bringing people together. This is what we love doing at United ArtSpace.

Kick-Start Your Art Challenge 

Now, not everyone will want to take part in the Make Your Mark course and that is absolutely fine, but if you are needing a little boost we have the Kick-Start Your Art Challenge (the prep work for Make Your Mark), coming to you from 19th February. 

The Kick-Start Your Art Challenge is all about getting back in touch with yourself as an artist. It’s all about seeking inspiration. It’s going to be 10 minutes over 10 days and in those 10 minutes it’s all about being purposeful. Looking for inspiration for your artwork and what fuels you. What excites you. We’re stuck in lockdown (if you’re in the UK) and the world is just a strange place at the moment, and this is why the Kick-Start challenge is so important. It will allow you to get back on track with your art. 

For anyone who took part in the Best Year Yet workshops earlier this year, the Kick-Start Your Art Challenge follows on really nicely from that. I’ve had a lot of members saying to me ‘I feel like I need some kind of art challenge as I need to get back on track with my art. I need to get fired up.’ And this is exactly what this art challenge is all about. 

This will allow you to take a step back and reconnect with what you are drawn to as a person and as an artist, so you can then start to put that into your artwork. Are you feeling…

  • Stuck as an artist?
  • A little lost with your voice?
  • Not sure where to start with a project? 
  • Overwhelmed by the world right now and need to focus? 

This will help you pull together inspiration, ideas and allow you to find momentum with your art. We want you to be excited about creating and making. Maybe you are coming to the end of creating a collection or a project. This is a fantastic exercise. It brings you back to the drawing board and allows you to collect your thoughts so you can get going again.  

Sharon does this every year, around this time. She goes back to the drawing board. She’ll go back to basics to find her inspiration. We’ll be able to get inside Sharon’s brain to see how she does this. We’ll look at how Sharon creates her sketchbooks, formulates ideas and pulls it all together to create new collections. We’ll also get a behind the scenes in Sharon’s studio and by the end of the challenge, you will have your very own art board to refer to. 

So the idea of the challenge is: 
  • 10 minutes (you can take longer if you want or need) 
  • It’s running over 10 days 
  • Each day you’ll spend 10 minutes being conscious about seeking inspiration. Paying attention to what is around you so you can gain an understanding about yourself and the art you want to make. 
  • By the end of the challenge you will pull a board together and it will all be related to your inspiration and the art you want to create. This board will become a resource to you that you can refer to at any time when it’s needed. 
What makes a great artist?

Following the conversion from last week’s blog, it really got me thinking… What makes a great artist? It’s not about qualifications, it’s not about what watercolours you should be using or how you should be using them – it’s different for every artist. Everyone will work in a different way and have different views. It’s all about practising. Practise, practise, practise. 

You don’t need any qualifications to practise. You don’t need to be taught by a master to practise. You simply need to do it. Going back to that point and making a purposeful effort to practise a new skill or type of art – that is how you get great! 

Every day. Every week. Practise. Be clear with what you’re trying to say, learn and improve – make mistakes and keep going with it. Don’t compare yourself to others – you don’t know how long they’ve been practising for – what works for them may not work for you.

So just bear that in mind. Try not to judge where you are. Everyone was a beginner. Everyone has been at the same stage you are at now. Always remember that. 

Much love,

Michelle x.