Help! I Am Artist Podcast

An Artist Statement is a valuable document that articulates WHO you are and the MOTIVATION behind your art. The ability to communicate clearly about your ART builds trust and draws potential art buyers into a more in-depth connection with you and your work. To help you Write a Clear yet Compelling Artists Statement I have made a FREE RESOURCE for you to download. This insightful worksheet will give you the tools you need to start to articulate your art.      

Swiss businessman and artist consultant, Philipp Döbeli, shares valuable insights about marketing and selling your art. He shares the three golden rules that will help you boost your sales and help you grow your art business. There is a special worksheet for you to download that will give you a better understanding about your art audience and how to reach them more effectively. Download this on: www.sonjasmalheer.com/sellingart  

Artist, author and teacher, Marion de Jong, shares her inspiring story of how she  left her life as a secretary in pursuit of her passion for art and creativity. Even though she took art classes for years Marion was never satisfied with the results and this left her frustrated and unhappy about her art Something was missing and on a trip to Italy she realised what it was. This trip and her new found insights set her on a new path. It not only changed the way she executed her art but also the direction of her life. It lead her to start the Dutch Art Academy, an online school, where she passionately teaches art students the keys she discovered. Marion has made this special FREE worksheet for you to download. This practical and insightful resource will help you take your art and art career to the next level.

There is no golden rule when is comes to creating successfully. You have to find out what works for you. In this episode I will share 10 practical things artist can do to find a steady flow in their creativity and set themselves up for success.

Finding motivation is part of an Artist’s job description!  Only YOU are the motor behind your creativity and it takes courage to get up, show up and do the work. Even though you spend many hours in your studio creating you are never alone. You take your past, your friends, your critical sibling, the art world and your own ideas and thoughts with you. It is a crowded place. It is an art in itself and the challenge for every artist to quiet these voices and find peace with yourself so that you can feel motivated and get to work. When we have a better understanding of the forces that drive us (or don’t) we can get to work to finding and staying in our creative groove. In this podcast I share more about the creative process and how artists can find and stay in their creative flow.  

Have you ever heard of the starving artist syndrome? It is a romantic notion that artists are either desperate, destitute or despondent. Although this notion may work well in books or as a plot for a movie, in reality it is no fun! In last weeks episode #005 we had a brief look at the role of the artist through the centuries and in this episode I will identify and expose 5 myths surrounding artists today! These myths and misconceptions not only prevent many creatives from pursuing an art career but it also paralyses many working artists today.

The role of the artist has been at the heart of many heated debates and marvellous misconceptions. One would argue the artist a madman and the other a genius.   In this podcast you will get answers to these questions: Is there a connection between the way your grandmother thinks about art and the ancients Greeks? Did Mozart have divine skills or did he have to sweat bullets in order to compose his concertos? Why chaos broke out in Rome when Michelangelo revealed his' The Last Judgement'? Why artists left the confines of their studios and went to study at art academies? Why no genius's could ever come from Belgium or The Netherlands? What happened on 26 June 1988? If the answers to these questions will help you make better art? Happy listening!

Maybe you have asked yourself this question? Does art really matter? In this podcast I share stories of how art and art education is changing lives, neighbourhood's and even nations. Art is more important than we can suspect and removing art from our school curriculum is more detrimental than we think. As an artist you have the ability to transport the viewer beyond the ordinary and the mundane and show them a world through new eyes. If we learn to slow down long enough to see, to see beyond the surface of the ordinary and learn to cast our vision into powerful art, we can not only impact our audiences but even change our world.

Do you find it difficult to express your ‘true’ self? Do you find it hard to feel good about your art? Do you struggle to find a steady flow in your creativity? Chances are you are battling perfectionism. Perfectionism is one the biggest reasons we experience creatives blocks! Find out why we pursue perfectionism and the steps we can take to overcome it.

It is not like we come out of the womb with a label saying, ARTIST! It takes some discerning, dissecting and discovering to answer this question. In this podcast I share that the distance between being an artist and not being an artist is 30 cm (12 inches). It is the distance between your head and your heart. In this episode I help creatives recognize and acknowledge their artist heart. Download this free worksheet that will help you detect the creative blocks keeping you from pursuing your creative dream. Stay tuned…listen now…subscribe to itunes and be the first to receive my weekly podcast right their in your inbox.  

In this episode artist and podcast host, Sonja Smalheer, tells us her personal story about how art has impacted her life. She shares how winning an art competition, living with the Navajo Indians and the struggles she experienced during apartheid were all defining moments that catapulted her art career. She talks about how her love for art took her 6000 km north, from Cape Town, South Africa to The Netherlands where she now works and teaches other artists how to create with confidence, work with impact and understand the business of art. Don't forget to subscribe and get the latest podcasts!