Podcasts | Felicity O'Connor

Podcasts | Felicity O'Connor

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Podcasts | Felicity O'Connor episodes

  • 17: Sally West
    Sally West is a Sydney-based en plein air artist and has been in a couple of prominent Sydney galleries
    • Sally has always been an artist
    • She felt it was challenging when she left school because a lot of people in her family were trying to coax her in an opposite direction
    • She studied design and then went back to painting
    • Sally has been painting for 25 years now – she started exhibiting when she was 20
    • Number one rule: don’t touch anything!
    • Ending up in so many galleries just unfolded
    • She often doesn’t like her finished paintings and it amazes her when someone buys them
    • It’s important to have that hunger and unless you’re driven to do it, it’s not an art
    • You can learn more about Sally or check out her upcoming exhibitions through her website.
      Or you can also follow her on Instagram.

      The post 17: Sally West appeared first on Felicity O'Connor.

      35 min
    • 15: Podcast Routines, Sharing and Just Turning Up!
      • I talk about routines and explore the routines that people have – as there’s no correct way
      • It’s okay to have a huge variety of ways to do things
      • You’ve got to find your ‘right way’
      • Just find your routine, don’t find yourself wrong and don’t waste your energy complaining
      • Routine might change when your family grows up and your work commitments change
      • Do you have events that you turn up to?
      • People have the desire to share
      • The inspiration behind ‘The Art Activator’ program is the need to grow and opportunity to share as a creative people
      • Get information such as “how to handle my website,” and anything to do with marketing to cover your bases
      • Visit this page to know more about The Art Activator or email [email protected]

        The post 15: Podcast Routines, Sharing and Just Turning Up! appeared first on Felicity O'Connor.

        15 min
      • 14: Vanessa Ashcroft
        I had the chance to interview Australian artist and art gallery director Vanessa Ashcroft recently. We discussed some juicy stuffs and how she became an artist.

        Show Notes:

        • Vanessa never studied art at school and she only came upon art 25 years ago
        • She used to have her own fashion label and had stores but she sold the business as there was no money in fashion and it was a lot of hard work
        • She went to Annette Pringle’s class and it was like finding God – she enjoyed and loved her class and that started her art journey
        •  Vanessa had a few other teachers such as Judith White and Allison Steel
        • Her first sale was in Holy Family School
        • When she first started painting, she couldn’t draw and that’s why she used all those different materials
        • Close enough is not good enough
        • She’s not good at selling herself and just didn’t have the confidence to go in a commercial gallery unless she felt confident that her work was good enough
        • She was part of a group show in Bondi and had really good feedback
        • She has a fear of missing out on opportunity
        • Wants every artist to be successful
        • Some artists really struggle with selling their art and it’s just a matter of practicing and talking to people – the more you do it, the less stressful it becomes
        • Visit her website to see more of Vanessa’s work. 

          The post 14: Vanessa Ashcroft appeared first on Felicity O'Connor.

          41 min
        • 13: Natalie Verriest – Emerging artist growth

          Show Notes

          • Studied art in high school and really liked it but she had this deception that studying art is “my fun/ least serious subject.”
          • She went travelling for 8 months to think about what she really wanted to do and ended up deciding that she wanted to study creatively
          • Studied a double degree in Fine Arts and Arts, majoring in Painting and Film Studies UNSW
          • Enjoyed the Film Studies and struggled with the Fine Arts degree with the way it was setup as it felt more conceptual than practical at times
          • She definitely had no regrets on taking the Film Studies part as her tertiary degree
          • She finished in 2015 and she went straight into the NEIS program and got funded as an Art Business
          • It is important for artists to see themselves as a business and it is a solid foundation
          • My first year of doing the business – to sum it up was SCARY – doing the first art class, marketing, etc. but less so now
          • With her recent success, one thing leads to another
          • Being in Vogue was really exciting and that was through networking
          • Doing the interview for Vogue was my favourite part
          • Despite the fear – she reached out and took action
          • The post 13: Natalie Verriest – Emerging artist growth appeared first on Felicity O'Connor.

            43 min
          • 12: The Artist’s Way Intro Podcast
            Show Notes:
            • The Artist’s Way is a book which was written over 20 years ago and most probably the most powerful processes that I’ve ever engaged in
            • It is highly recommended to artists of all natures
            • Focuses on creative blocks which includes procrastination, jealousy, and sabotage, etc.
            • Hiding behind negative behaviours = blocked artists
            • Not living their authentic self has a downside to the physical, emotional and mental aspects
            • Every chapter of the book gives us some tasks to break down these things and some practical things to do
            • ‘Perfectionism is a refusal to let yourself move ahead…’
            • Those blocks are going to show up in your relationships, finances and maybe even in your health so start dealing with you as a creative person
            • This work is transformational for people
            • The post 12: The Artist’s Way Intro Podcast appeared first on Felicity O'Connor.

              18 min
            • 11: Simone Dennis
              Simone Dennis is a good friend who I’ve had the pleasure of working with. She runs an art gallery and a retail shop on the Central Coast of NSW.

              We talked about her support for young artists and running a business, etc. and also about her perspective (and a gallery’s perspective) for artists who are new to approaching galleries.

              Show Notes:
              • Simone’s always been creative in whatever she does and she ended up in art school in Tasmania (Hobart School of Arts)
              • The way she runs her own art gallery is a direct result of her experience as a teenager going to art school and how she felt when she was in art school
              • She left art school and travelled before she started creating jewellery – Simone was keen on photography, printmaking, drawing, etc.
              • She considers herself a “jewellery-a-holic”
              • Guiding artists to approach galleries
              • Respect yourself and respect your work
              • Social media is a great platform to show your work
              • Like Simone’s Facebook page or follow her on Instagram.

                The post 11: Simone Dennis appeared first on Felicity O'Connor.

                40 min
              • 10: Going en plein air, loosening up and your income

                Show notes:

                – Spend some time today, not just seeing but looking
                – There’s a big difference between seeing and looking!
                – The landscape takes some time to reveal itself
                – Free yourself from expectations – that’s the best way forward
                – Find some spontaneity and energy in your work
                – People are overthinking to make a nice piece of work
                – Sometimes you lose that spontaneity because it is coming from the head and not from the heart
                – We all want to generate income from what we do, but if that becomes a primary pressure then you run the risk of losing creativity and spontaneity
                – Allow yourself to create as you are naturally born to do, earn the income in some other way

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                10 min