I thought I had to have everything figured out before I could teach. I thought I had to be an expert, so I waited a long time before I started teaching. I wish I hadn’t. There are some great reasons to teach especially if you are creative. Here are the top 3 reasons...

We all have those moments where we feel stuck and depleted. The creative juice is just not there. I've thought about this a ton lately, and I've come to a realization about the connection between creativity and inspiration: being creative is a natural outcome of being...

I became somewhat obsessed with this question early on and have been asking myself the same one for my entire life. In my current job of mentoring artists, I now help others find their own answers to this very same question. It is not necessary to even know the full...

Sometimes one of the hardest things about art making is figuring out how to make your next brush stroke, or line, or mark, as good as possible. This can be difficult to do especially when you are feeling unsure or self-conscience; that feeling then bleeds into the...

Do you know how sometimes make something that is so good that it even surprises you? It seemed so effortless, and till this day you still kind of wonder how you made it? It is that good. I have often wondered why I can’t do this more often. I discovered it has to do...

I was talking with a couple artist friends and one of them started talking about his work - he wasn't selling a ton of it, and it was started to affect his art practice. Simply put, he wasn't enjoying making the art as much as he used to. External forces - things that...

So how do you make your work hold up when it gets super big? I mean really big, like 8-10 ft. big. At that scale – or actually any time your work gets bigger than yourself – it can either fall down or be stupendous. Scale makes everything better or worse. I am asked...

I was working on this painting in my studio yesterday and it reminded me about the importance of being not only in, but also out of control. Pairing deliberate brushstrokes along with less controlled, more intuitive marks provides a freshness and an authenticity that...

Thank you for your comments and your interest last week when I posted the first eight of fifteen positive ideas that can help your art practice. These 15 ideas are what I have used to stay buoyant in my own art practice, especially when things have felt hard. I am...

Hey here is a little information on an angle I use to tell if my art is finished or not. Works every time. Maybe it could work for you too. If you have comments or questions let me know... Nicholas