artist planning

Who needs an Art Accountability BuDDy?

Sam Waters artist standing infront of a blue door wearing a green scarf and pink coat with the words where is my accountability buddy
| Sam Waters
Sam Waters artist standing infront of a blue door wearing a green scarf and pink coat with the words where is my accountability buddy

Ever felt lost in the vast world of art after a stint in the corporate world? Join me on my art journey, where I stumbled upon the perfect partner-in-crime for accountability, Rachael, who helped transform my creative endeavours. Let’s dive into the messy, inspiring, rollercoaster ride that has been my art adventure so far.

Setting the Scene: From Corporate to Canvas

After 28 years as an IT project manager, I took the plunge back to my artistic roots. The creative bug bit me, and I needed an outlet beyond the corporate grind. With my entrepreneurial spirit and creativity I launched myself into a new world of art and creativity.

Finding Rachael: The Unplanned Art Buddy

Cue the entrance of Rachael! Our paths crossed during ‘POD’ calls, revealing a shared sense of adventure. Little did I know, she’d become my indispensable art buddy. Check out her fabulous work here Rachael Johnson Art . A ‘POD’ is a group of artists at similar stages, it was set up as part of an art membership I belong to.

Weekly Arty Chats: Consistency is Key

Every Monday, Rachael and I embark on our ‘Arty Chats.’ No matter where life takes us, we ensure our creative fires keep burning. Beaches, car parks, or moving vehicles – nothing stops us!

Sam Waters and Rachael Johnson working on art business strategy in their accountability session
Rachael Johnson in a cafe at the quarterly review planning meeting

Tech Tools and Techniques

We’ve tried it all – Teams, Messenger, but the magic happens on What’s App. Weekly Video calls followed up with messages during the week, which ensures we check on progress and keep on track. Google Docs for sharing, Insta for any immediate updates – we’ve found that these tools keep us dynamic and low maintenance!

Big Rock Project: Art Fair Dreams

Our 2023 dream of a joint Art Fair didn’t quite pan out, we each did a fair individually and learnt a lot, but 2024 West Sussex is on the horizon for us both. Click here for more details. Rachael and I share tips, suppliers, and critiques, turning setbacks into stepping stones. It is so helpful having someone to bounce ideas off, and support me and for me to be able to offer support.

Healthy Competition and Motivation

Rachael’s my secret weapon! Healthy competition keeps us on our toes. When she nails a task, I’m spurred to action. Mutual motivation at its finest!

In-person Sessions: From Art Trails to Prosecco Brainstorms

Picture this: Art Trails, prosecco, and brainstorming. Our in-person sessions go beyond the screen, infusing creativity, generating excitement and energy. Collaborating is not just productive – it’s a blast!

Secret Severn Pop Up Studio team Sam Waters and Rachael Johnson artists with the other artists exhibiting
Sam Waters and Rachael Johnson drinking Prosecco during their art accountability session
Sam Waters and Rachael Johnson artists at Bristol Arts Trail at the reclamation venue

Structured Sessions and Monthly Reviews

Our weekly sessions now have a rhythm, with structured topics to check in on each week. Monthly reviews with defined metrics help us track our progress, ensuring we stay on the right creative track. It really is a combination of creative studio time and business topics.

Quarterly Gamechanger: The Power of In-person Meet Ups

In-person meetups are the cherry on top! Quarterly sessions add a spark, turning our creative plans into concrete actions. Face-to-face magic! Top Tip, find somewhere mid distance between you, select a great meeting place, we like The Boston Tea Party, for great food and BIG tables so we can spread out. Take a portable creative activity – to start kick the brain into creative thinking, remember this is an art business and should be FUN.

Sam Waters and Rachael Johnson artists with their original abstract paintings delivery to the RBSA Exhibition
Concertina Sketchbook pages open easy creative activity
Sam Waters and Rachael Johnson artists sitting in a cafe at their art accountability session. Art buddy

Artistic Buddy Advice: Seek, Share, and Inspire

To all artists out there, find your own Rachael. Expect accountability to be a two-way street, where inspiration, skills and experience flow both ways. Accountability and finding a buddy are the key that unlocks the excitement and builds the energy in your artistic journey. Check out Rachael’s thoughts here.

Conclusion: Accountability Unleashes Energy, Excitement and Fun

Art accountability is not just a buzzword; it’s the secret sauce that makes the journey thrilling. Unleash your creativity and embrace the exciting twists of our artistic adventure. Building our art businesses on collaboration, kindness and accountability has been a huge success for both of us.

I’ve spilled the beans on my transformative art accountability journey with Rachael, and now I would love to hear YOUR stories! Whether you’re just starting your creative adventure of if you are an established artist, share the highs, the lows, and everything in between. Drop your stories in the comments and we can all share our creative accountability experience.

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Annual Planning Made Easy: Tips for Creative Success

Picture of list of artist tasks for planning purposes
| Sam Waters
A close-up image of a hand holding a pink pencil over a notebook, with a title overlay that reads 'ANNUAL PLANNING Artist Top Tips to Plan your Year'. The background features a soft pink workspace.

Annual Planning How to start

If, like me you are in the middle of your annual planning process you might find these steps useful as a way to reduce the feeling of overwhelm…..

At the moment everyone seems to be busy planning for the year ahead,  working on calendars, scheduling events, courses and generally trying to fit in all activities that they want to get done in the coming year.

I myself am in the middle of planning and I’ve noticed how overwhelming it can feel, so I have taken a step back to apply some of the techniques I have learnt in the corporate world to help me get clarity and progress.

There is so much to do at times it really does seem unmanageable, but a simple step by step approach has really helped me keep focussed and gain momentum.

Step 1

Write down all the ideas you have for the year, these can include the following but you may have many more, so just jot down whatever pops into your head. Once it is out of your head you can see the wood for the trees and more importantly make some informed decisions of which items you want to pursue.

A digital 'Ideas List' featuring options like Art Fairs, Exhibitions, Studio Time, Visiting Galleries, Artist Dates, Website creation, Newsletters & Blogs, Artist Courses, and Artist Workshops, presented on a light-toned background with a handwritten style.

Step 2

Using a priority rating of 1,2 or 3, with 1 being the most important, rank each item. So for example, if you have already signed up for an Art Fair and paid the fee this might be ranked as 1, alternatively if you haven’t yet checked out the Art Fair to know if it fits your work or schedule then I would suggest ranking it as 3.

Step 3

For each priority 1 item you need to think about what does each one actually mean in terms of tasks that you will need to do to achieve them, taking the Art Fair example. Add these as steps beneath each item. For example here are a list of tasks when considering Art Fairs:

  • Research the art fair venues and organisers
  • Make a decision on which location suits you best based on location, cost, dates and any feedback you can gather from other artists you know.
  • Understand what will be available on the day; table, light, stand to display your work
  • Think about creative ways to display your work; step ladders or small easels
  • Do you need help at the fair on the day?
  • Do you already have the work available or do you need to create work
  • Arrange Insurance
  • Arrange transport & parking 
  • Think about food and drink on the day
  • Order labels and price your work
  • Order business cards or flyers to give to customers
  • How are you going to market the event
  • Will there be promotion done by the event organiser, maybe you will need to provide a brief statement of your work.
  • Do you have packing for purchases made at the event
  • Do you have a method for collecting for contact details
A close-up of a person's hand writing a to-do list in a notebook, with various tasks listed.

Step 4

Review your priority ratings now you have a fuller understanding of the amount of work for each activity, you might feel that there is too much to do, or you simply don’t have enough time to carry out all the tasks, in which case you might decide to change the priority or in the example of the Art Fair you might choose to select a different date.

Breaking down = Success

By breaking each activity down into tasks, you are creating a manageable  ‘To Do’ list that makes it easy to see what work is involved for each task, and will keep you on track. It is always nice to be able to tick things off a list and things will seem far more achievable. If you find that you have forgotten something, just add it to the list, and by having said list you can clearly allocate tasks to other people to help, therefore further improving your productivity.

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