Hi everyone. This is Susan Advocate and welcome to the very first episode of the studio inside a podcast. In these episodes I'll bring you deep inside my art studio practice and how I run my business as a professional artist. I'll be sharing loads of useful information about my tools my materials and of course my mindset but most of all this podcast is about the ups and downs in this karada crazy life as Professional artist so welcome inside my studio. I hope my journey can help you feel a bit more at home. Looking your own. In this first season of the podcast. I'll be coaching my good friend in the studio assistant lawyer day through the process of preparing for her first solo exhibition. We talked about everything from how to finish paintings and a cohesive body of work to finding your own style to wrestling with all those big emotions that come along with putting your heart out there into the world. There is something here in this first season. for every emerging artists welcome to the very first episode of the Susan netiquette Studio inside a podcast. I'm so thrilled to be here and I'm even more thrilled to introduce you to a very special guest who will be joining me for the first series of the podcast. I'd like you to meet Laura Day. Hi Laura, how are you? Hi, I'm good. Thanks. So Laura is currently my studio assistant and also my friend and she comes and helps me with all Ends of things in the studio, but she is also an artist in her own right who paints beautiful abstract art and who is having her first solo exhibition very soon. Yay. How you feeling about it Laura? Yeah. I'm getting a little bit nervous. Yeah. Laura often says to me after we've just discussed something in the studio. We should have recorded this conversation. It would have been so helpful to other aspiring artists. So that's what we've decided to do. So each week Laura's going to bring their question about something. She's curious about in the studio or in the business as relates to her own practice, and I'm going to answer it and I think you'll find that Laura's questions may have a lot in common with the questions that you might have also about how is it that I do that thing? Whatever that thing might be. So what's the question you have for me today Laura? A few things. I think that what we have been talking about recently in the lead-up to my exhibition is when I get three quarters of the way through a painting I sort of get stuck at that resolution stage and it's like how do I get to that next step and and I think also to stepping into painting as well like I've Was a printmaker for a long time too. So it's it's I'm learning new skills, and I'd probably don't feel as confident in my technique. So yeah, just one D wanting your input force the the Eternal question. How do I finish a painting? I think that's something that everyone finds a bit challenging and I think that's something that you evolve at becoming better at over. I am as an artist as well. So for me the process of finishing a painting for me, it's quite clear now because I've done a lot of it but that came as a result of having a very very productive Studio practice for a long time. So I get really clear kind of internal indications now about when that paintings finished. I just kind of have a moment where I just know, but I know that's not actually very helpful to the stage where you're at and I remember being at that stage when you're still in the process of evolving your own style and figuring out what your unique visual languages and how to get to that point of going. Okay, I'm done now because it's harder to know when you haven't quite evolved. Is that sort of the point where you're actually yeah. Yeah. I'm experimenting with a lot of different techniques and styles and I guess I haven't found, you know, my visual language as such and Yeah, it's it's just Yang getting those tools under my belt. I think to to take it over the line and feel like it's coming together. Yeah, absolutely. It can be a really challenging point and it's also I mean part of the reason we do exhibitions is so that we have that opportunity to create a body of work and get further along that road to knowing what our style is here. So and you're at that stage is an emerging artist where you're figuring those things out. So I think what I'd Very helpful for you Laura at this stage of the game is to actually see that there's two processes going on in this preparation for your exhibition. So one part of that process is you are trying to complete a body of work to put on an exhibition. The other thing you're doing is you're trying to make some decisions and firm up some boundaries around what your particular style of art is and what how you express yourself. So It's Tricky and away. Because you're putting on an exhibition. So you want that product to be all finished and beautiful. But on the other hand, you're still figuring out what that style is going to be at the end of it. So if you can regard the exhibition itself is an opportunity to creating a few different containers for how that that process can occur. I think it'll actually be super helpful to you in this whole journey of figuring out how to finish a painting So drop me to describe does that how does that sit with you? Yeah, that feels that feels really helpful. I think having a little bit of an overview. I think I guess my stumbling block for myself is I have this when I when I mean the creation space I have an idea of okay. This is this needs to be presentable to hang on a wall for an exhibition and I think that is holding me back. Back a little bit as well. I can totally understand what you mean, but I think it can I think it's achievable. I really think that you can create a beautiful exhibition while still allowing yourself Freedom within your our own art process to figure out those directions. So for example, what I would suggest as a first step would be to look because you've got a body of work you've created already. That's about 3/4 incomplete. Well, we're assuming that because you don't yet know what your process is for finishing a painting. You're sort of identifying it around that 3/4 Mark. Yeah, I'm getting to that stage. You've got a body of work like several pieces that you've been working on in sort of a few different directions. Is that correct? Yeah, that's right. Okay, cool. So what I would suggest is getting out that whole body of work and starting to group them together so that like is with like so you might end up with two three groups. I don't I'm not sure but try and see where the common threads are within all of The paintings and start making them into families and I think once you've got them into those families it'll start to crystallize for you. What are the directions that you're organically sort of moving in? Anyway, I have several different styles that I work in. This is something that that I process. I've been through myself that I do quite deliberately now because I've just further along that road than where you are now, but this is effectively what I did to evolve a have sort of my floral abstract style, which is really bright and Some free and then I have a Botanical abstract style, which is much more stylized and totally different. But they can but they work together. There is a cohesiveness there. But when I'm in an exhibition space I will group those works together with each other so that they so like is with luck. So in terms of your process, I think it's possible for you to look at the work that you've got put them into those groups and identify within those groups just allow yourself to be with each group of painting like each one on its own and just See if you can follow some next urges like notice what pops up for you. Is there any thoughts like this is missing or and this color needs to go into this painting or because that's taking you further along the road, but I think if you regard it as a body of work and you start identifying what the different bodies of work are they kind of help each other to evolve just that makes sense. Like it's like one thing leads to another I always work on paintings in groups unless it's a gigantic painting when that where that's hot But usually I will work on a several different paintings at once and I know a lot of artists do that because it helps to free up the process but after a while it's almost like they start talking to each other. It's actually quite a delightful process. So I think if you can do that with each of the groups that you'll find that there's a Natural Evolution that happens and also because they're in a group. I think you'll get a greater sense of when it feels done and then I think until you've been through that process. Is of dividing them up into their little their families, it's harder to know where that done point is because doing it does that make sense? Because at least within you know, I mean, I do create abstract work and I create a lot of floral work and I don't do a lot of bad stretch and to be honest. I find them much harder to complete than representational work because it's a little more obvious with representational work where the finish line is. Hmm. But with abstract it's a little looser and you can you know, there's less rules or expectations with abstract art in from the viewers perspective. So it's Freer but I think if you put them in groups, you'll get extent a better sense for that feeling of done. Yeah, whereas if it's next to something that's not part of that family. Sometimes it can take you away from the feel of that body. Mmm. How does that sit with you? Yeah. Well, I feel like there are a few things happening for me. And there are threads of what I want to continue to explore. I mean like there's the pure abstraction then I've got some color block more refined shapes and then Mark making as well. So I think yeah thinking about it like that. I mean, I've got a few of my paintings just sitting in my lounge room. So they're in my space when I'm watching TV and things like that, but it might be helpful to bring everything out and just have that big bird's eye view. Yeah of of the whole picture and then even some of the work that I've been creating. It doesn't feel like me. Yeah, so like having that elimination phase as well to pull pull the pieces out that don't feel like they're part of the stories that the probably and then probably very relevant to your Evolution as an artist and you will do like things from them, but yes putting Together an exhibition is it's an editing process really of choosing what's going in it what's not going in and then choosing how you're going to group it together and I think by approaching the body of work that you've created in this way by dividing it up into different groups and then deciding where finished is in relation to those different groups. You have half edited your exhibition. So you have to have designed it already because you already know what your main. Groupings of paintings are so your mind will probably naturally start to flow toward how they're going to hang on a wall together. If there are pieces that work together as a grouping that you can hang, you know quite close to each other and you may want to actually put those, you know, if you can see those connections starting to happen when you start to group the work then work on those three paintings together to arrive at a point of completion because it may be that the point of completion occurs as a Section between the paintings. I really like that idea. Yeah, I like them talking to each other because yeah, it would be nice to see that thread coming through. Yeah. So I really like the advice of working on a series or a group of paintings to bring it to completion. Yeah, I feel like that's that's achievable. I think it's probably the next logical step to yeah. I know that this podcast probably won't go to air at the same time frame as we're talking through the preparation for your exhibition. But how far is it away from now that you're going to be like six weeks or something? Yeah. It's yeah, you're six weeks out from the exhibition starting. So I think now is a really really great time to go through that work and divided up into families. Yeah, and then and then start to put in view of all of them start. To think about that question of how do I bring these to completion because completion for each of those groups may be different and and I think also as an emerging artist having your first exhibition, it's really important to give yourself the freedom to exhibit and investigate different directions if that's how it's occurring for you. I mean, it's fine. If you've got a very linear way of working in a very cohesive style to of course go with that for an exhibition but in the position where You're in which I think a lot of artists are in including myself where there's a few different threads that you're wanting to explore in more detail through your work then exhibit though is because it's not just about your experience of making the work. It's about it going into the world and how people are responding to the work. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean this exhibition is more about my healing Journey as well. So it's about a journey. So even exhibiting some of my Works improve Progress like and Explorations like that would probably be relevant for this sort of exhibition. Yeah. Yeah, beautiful. I think something that's also may be gone. Unsaid is using intuition in that process. Yes like that tapping into that inner inner knowing which is the exact thing that I'm talking about. What ya say that I have mmm, I do have I've got good intuition. and I've got really honed intuition and It's something that I'm very passionate about. And it's absolutely the core of everything that I do. Yeah, and I know that you approach it from that direction as well. Mmm, but intuition can become very confusing when you're at the pointy end of actually creating a finished product. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah it is that trying to decipher between that that guiding voice and the kind, you know in in annoying and the self-critic really The nasty main girl that her needs to be told to go and sit in the place. She's got something nice to say keep it to yourself. Yeah. Yes. Absolutely. And that can I mean that voice can become overwhelming in the lead up to an exhibition. I personally find exhibitions very stressful from that perspective. I'm really bad with deadlines. I don't enjoy them I complete them, but I take them away to seriously get why you to use stressed out about them. So I do a lot of exhibitions because it just doesn't sit. Well with me as a human and I guess I found other ways of selling my art that work better for me and the way that I am but I think exhibitions so they can bring up heaps of stress for people in terms of worrying about how people are going to receive your work. But I really encourage you to flip that around and see this this first solo exhibition as an amazing opportunity for you to be able to put not This one body of work but a few bodies of work in front of a group of people that are all going to be very kind. Let's face it. They're not going to come to you exhibition and be rude to you, you know, it's going to be mainly friends family colleagues that are going to come along they're going to be kind but they're also going to show you what they respond through what they respond to and you'll be able to observe that at the opening but you can also observe that through sales and what people are responding. To in a fiscal sense, which is relevant. I mean, let's face it. If you're trying to establish yourself as a professional artist, you need to be able to identify what of your work is selling and what people are responding to because that is a big part of the equation. It's of course not the only part of the equation and you absolutely have to always be Aiming for that expression that's that comes fully from you. But it's a part of the of what's relevant. Right? You're there to actually establish yourself as a professional artist. That's part of the process, right? Yeah. Yeah. So this is an amazing opportunity for you to be able to get a gauge on what people are responding to and so that you can use that information to evolve your journey, you know, and it may be that there's a body of work that really Deeply feeds and emotional part of you and a part of it and then another like way of working that makes you more money and those two might balance each other out. So they're all relevant bits of information and that's a great opportunity that you have to investigate those areas by not not trying to complete everything in the same way that complete what is appropriate for each group in that appropriate way and and from there. You're going to get so much useful information. Yeah, I think it's a lot of the insecurities and that's coming up is the unknown and not knowing how people will respond because I haven't shown my work for a very very long time and it's something new as well. So yeah, I guess that's sort of in the back of my mind when I'm creating the work but Guess coming coming from the point of view or the perspective of this is all like an exploration for me and it's just a showing of you know like this period of time of me creating new work. And then yeah, I guess I'll be given some indication after the exhibition of what might be commercially viable and what feels good for me to keep evolving and keep producing and the reality is that it's always going to be a combination of those two what's commercially viable and what feels right to be producing because as you mentioned before you've this body of work has come out of a healing Journey. If you so which is paint a lot for my own healing as well. It's something that Laura and I am sure we'll talk about at some point through the podcast. That is so important that it continues to do that for you. But yes, you do need to also be observing. How are people responding to my art? I mean, I guess one of the ways that I've found very useful in terms of warming myself up to what people are like in what they're not liking is using social media and posting Works in progress and seeing what people are responding to and and and receiving feedback in from that direction that has been very helpful to me, but it also can't be Entire story because you've got to be following your own threads as well the posting your journey as you go along you getting feedback from people. Yeah. I am. Yeah people making nice comments and I can't really say that I have posted in like the three different sort of themes it would be it would be it would be interesting just to get a gauge as well bad really great way to get a gauge because the other thing that happens when When I mean I'd know that I use my phone to take photos of a work of art to help me decide if it's finished. Have you ever tried that so I will offer you so I often can see better. What's missing from a painting when I look at it through the lens of my that's actually when it comes up on the screen and my phone it's like there's something about looking at it that my I guess my I expects to see a finished product. So I have a really clear indication if it's finished. But also grouping them together will give a greater visual impact and creating some of the photos where you've grouped them and displayed them and tried out different concepts and posting those and seeing how people respond to those will give you a lot of information a lot of really valuable information and I'll be interested to see how people respond. Yeah. Yeah, I mean a lot in my work for you a help with putting Work in situ in interiors and it's really good to get that visual yet just idea of how it may look in a room or in someone's home. Yeah. So posting something like that would probably be helpful to absolutely and I think even I mean you're a designer, so just for all of you listening Laura does a lot. She's a she's a qualified graphic designer. So she's an extremely handy person. She's very fluent with illustrator. Photoshop, which I'm basically a hack but we make it work gently but using those design skills and principles in regarding your work, like if you can somehow find a way to step back from that place that could that very Roar emotional space with you out which all of us are in is artists. So nothing wrong with that. It's so normal and and if you can't do that then asking a friend that has that ability to do that with you or for you to try and give you that outside opinion might be very helpful. Mmm, but you know, you know, like when we do lots of Photography in the studio where we photograph artwork of mine and we're often using very basic principles like Take something away take something out of that image or add something in you know, you get very clear cues, don't you about what looks good. So if you can shift your mindset from What You observe as an artist too if pretend it's mine and you're just styling it like yeah, would your opinion be can you know shift your mindset to something different? And see if that produces a different thought pattern for you in relation to if it's done or not. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, we do get I do get very close to it and energy is you do have because they like your babies. Yeah that yeah. So having that distance can be helpful. But yeah, I'm definitely when I get home. I'm gonna pull everything out into my lounge room and reshuffle everything and just get that. Picture yeah and break that big picture down into the little pictures because that will really help you because there's really two parts to this conversation. We've had today isn't there. It's been the part the question about how do you know when it's done and the other part of it which you kind of need to know to answer that question is well what is done for this particular genre of my work? And is there more than one going on here and identifying what those? Those are so that as an artist you can evolve allow yourself to evolve into all the relevant directions as they happen. How does that sit with you around? Yeah, this has been an awesome conversation. Yeah, great. I've loved it. Well, I think this probably wraps up our first episode of the podcast. Yay. How exciting thanks for joining me. Well, thank you for your mentoring. You're welcome. So do you want to let people know where they can find you online? I'm on Instagram at laurajane day. Awesome. Yay. You can go and say hi to Laura over there. And thanks everyone. We'll catch you next time. Bye. Bye. Thanks for joining me for the studio inside a podcast. You can always see more of my art over on Susan netiquette.com. And if you're interested in learning from me or checking out the podcast link, so you can find those on my education website at Susan Advocate studio.com. I love hearing your comments and feedback. So feel free to leave a review on iTunes or find me on Instagram at Susan medikit. Catch you next time.
We're off and running with the Susan Nethercote Studio Insiders Art Podcast! So let's dive straight in. In this episode I introduce artist Laura Day, an emerging abstract artist preparing for her first solo exhibition. Laura also happens to be my studio assistant and all-round beautiful human. Listen in as we delve into the questions this process raises and I guide her along this path of becoming a professional artist. You can be sure we are tackling some of the big stuff in this podcast and we’re diving straight in to a big, multifaceted question- how to bring a body of work to completion. I share my insights and strategies of how to go about things like:  ⦁Learning what finished ‘feels’ like for you  ⦁How to divide up a large body of work into ‘families’ and identify the different styles that are emerging. ⦁Allowing yourself to learn and grow as an emerging artist within the context of an exhibition. ⦁Using social media as a testing ground for what’s working and what isn’t. ⦁Utilising an exhibition as a marketing research tool. I’d love to hear if bringing your art to completion is one of your struggles? Or maybe you have some of your own tips for this process? Of course, please rate and review this Podcast to help others find it and sign up for my Studio Insider emails so you never miss an episode, you'll receive loads of FREE goodies to help you in your art. 