Thriving Women Artists

Ping is here with a big announcement. The Thriving Women podcast is coming to an end…but don’t panic!  Ping is launching her very own brand new show - Botany Works Podcast. Each week on the show Ping, and her high profile guests, will share with you their insights into the world of art from both a creative and business perspective.  So join Ping as she helps you to grow your business, become successful and create a healthy work / life balance. You can listen to Botany Works Podcast on your favourite podcast platform. And thank you for listening, and for all your support and reviews of The Thriving Woman Artist Podcast.    LINKS Botany Works Artist Instagram Join Ping on her new adventure with the Botany Artist Works Podcast: Botany Works Artist - Spotify ABOUT THE PODCAST A serious and fun podcast for female creatives hosted by Ping He, a happy artist from Amsterdam. This podcast will inspire you to make a living out of your art. Ping welcomes you to be part of this community of like-minded people. www.thrivingwomenartists.com www.instagram.com/twapodcast   ABOUT THE HOSTS Ping He Ping is a watercolor artist. Her work is inspired by nature and her motherhood experience. She develops her greeting cards brand and teaches Botanical Illustration courses online and offline. www.pinghe.art info@pinghe.art  www.instagram.com/pinghe.art

Welcome to this fresh look at Thriving Women Artist Podcast with your host, Ping He. In this episode, Ping is joined by watercolour artist and owner of Mitta Studio, Darya Mitta. In this wide ranging interview the ladies discuss everything from inspirations to motivation and time management to achieving success. So sit back and enjoy the first new look at what promises to be a great show.  KEY TAKEAWAYS Darya talks about her journey in the art world, from falling in love with painting at school, to working in design, and then taking the leap to follow her heart and become an artist.   Darya explains where she obtained her positive mindset and how reaffirming this on a daily basis helps her progress as an artist.  Darya and Ping talk about the importance of taking your work step by step and not to look for the end until it arrives.  The ladies discuss the importance of time management and balancing life and work commitments and share tips that you might find helpful. BEST MOMENTS “If you don’t think you are a genius, how will other people think it about you?” “Find your potential, because that is the part that is unlimited.” “Don’t be afraid of making mistakes, you can always, always change them.” EPISODE LINKS Darya’s Website Darya’s Instagram ABOUT THE PODCAST A serious and fun podcast for female creatives hosted by Ping He, a happy artist from Amsterdam. This podcast will inspire you to make a living out of your art. Ping welcomes you to be part of this community of like-minded people. www.thrivingwomenartists.com www.instagram.com/twapodcast ABOUT THE HOST Ping He Ping is a watercolor artist. Her work is inspired by nature and her motherhood experience. She develops her greeting cards brand and teaches Botanical Illustration courses online and offline. www.pinghe.art info@pinghe.art  www.instagram.com/pinghe.art

This week's show is a special one, it’s the final ever episode of the Thriving Women Podcast. Ping, Dorien and Sarah are all here to take a look back over the last two and a half years. In this bittersweet episode the ladies share the lessons they have learned, their initial expectations versus the reality of producing a weekly podcast and what the future holds for your favourite thriving women artists.   KEY TAKEAWAYS The ladies talk about some of the things they got from the podcast that they never anticipated, such as inspiration from talking to other artists. Sarah talks about some of the plans for the show and how they never came to fruition, but in retrospect, how that may have been a good thing.  The ladies share the lessons they learned from each other throughout the last two and a half years and how they contributed to making each other better artists. The ladies discuss their future plans including the possibility of bringing the show back in a new format. BEST MOMENTS“With any creative process your goals can change along the way, but the best thing to do is keep moving forward.” “In order to make your work successful you need to have balance with your family life and your personal life.” “Dream big and chase your dreams, no matter what.” ABOUT THE PODCASTA serious and fun podcast for female creatives hosted by Ping, Dorien and Sarah, three happy artists from Amsterdam. This podcast will inspire you to make a living out of your art. We welcome you to be part of this community of like-minded people. www.thrivingwomenartists.com www.instagram.com/twapodcast ABOUT THE HOSTS Ping HePing is a watercolor artist. Her work is inspired by nature and her motherhood experience. She develops her greeting cards brand and teaches Botanical Illustration courses online and offline. www.pinghe.artinfo@pinghe.art www.instagram.com/pinghe.art Sarah van DongenSarah is a children’s book illustrator and visual artist. She takes her sketchbooks and art supplies everywhere, which results in illustrations based on observation and daily life. www.sarahvandongen.comsarahvandongenillustration@gmail.comwww.instagram.com/sarahvandongenillustrations Dorien BellaarDorien is an illustration artist. Her work is mainly focused on illustration for children, editorial/food illustration, hand lettering, and she likes to combine those into both traditional and digital art. www.dorienbellaar.nlhello@dorienbellaar.nlwww.instagram.com/dorienbellaar

This week on the show, Sarah, Doreen and Ping are all here to talk about how to stay focused on your own artistic journey. But what is your creative journey? Can you really define it? How do you know when you’re on it or when you’ve fallen off it? And, is there ever an end point? The ladies go into depth on the most personal aspect of being an artist.  KEY TAKEAWAYS The ladies start the discussion by laying out the importance of knowing what your journey is and what your journey isn’t. Doreen talks about the importance of being self aware on your journey and stopping along the way to take stock of how far you’ve come.  Sarah sees her journey not as a single straight line, but as many interconnecting lines that have the potential to take her in directions she never imagined.  The ladies talk about the importance of not comparing your journey to that of others, especially those you consider to be more successful. BEST MOMENTS“Is there an end to your creative journey or is it an ongoing evolution, just like life.” “Creative satisfaction comes from a combination of doing the things that make you happy and speaking your truth.”  “Someone might give off the perception of being successful, but you will never know what they are really experiencing, so don’t waste your time comparing yourself to them.” ABOUT THE PODCASTA serious and fun podcast for female creatives hosted by Ping, Dorien and Sarah, three happy artists from Amsterdam. This podcast will inspire you to make a living out of your art. We welcome you to be part of this community of like-minded people. www.thrivingwomenartists.comwww.instagram.com/twapodcast ABOUT THE HOSTS Ping HePing is a watercolor artist. Her work is inspired by nature and her motherhood experience. She develops her greeting cards brand and teaches Botanical Illustration courses online and offline. www.pinghe.artinfo@pinghe.art www.instagram.com/pinghe.art   Sarah van DongenSarah is a children’s book illustrator and visual artist. She takes her sketchbooks and art supplies everywhere, which results in illustrations based on observation and daily life. www.sarahvandongen.comsarahvandongenillustration@gmail.comwww.instagram.com/sarahvandongenillustrations   Dorien BellaarDorien is an illustration artist. Her work is mainly focused on illustration for children, editorial/food illustration, hand lettering, and she likes to combine those into both traditional and digital art. www.dorienbellaar.nlhello@dorienbellaar.nlwww.instagram.com/dorienbellaar

This week Ping, Doreen and Sarah are all here and they’re discussing how to overcome creative fears. All artists have fears, from those just starting out to the most accomplished in their fields. The ladies talk about some common fears, some fears specific to them, tips and tricks on how to overcome them and, are you really an artist if you don’t have fears.  KEY TAKEAWAYS The ladies discuss what their fears are such as the fear of not being good enough and the fear of being compared to others.    Sometimes our fears aren’t rational. Try to remove yourself and look objectively at the problem. Sarah talks about how your art is also a job and not every rejection is personal. Ping talks about embracing fear and how, with a recent commission, she overcame her fear by just ‘taking a leap’ into the unknown.  The ladies talk about one of the most common fears..the fear of a blank page, and share tips on how they overcome it.  BEST MOMENTS“Try not to give your fears too much power as they can control you, use them as an incentive to improve.” “Most of the time our fears can be defeated by simply just starting.” “The more you do it, the easier it will become.” “Instead of being afraid of the task ahead, be grateful for the opportunity.” ABOUT THE PODCASTA serious and fun podcast for female creatives hosted by Ping, Dorien and Sarah, three happy artists from Amsterdam. This podcast will inspire you to make a living out of your art. We welcome you to be part of this community of like-minded people. www.thrivingwomenartists.comwww.instagram.com/twapodcast ABOUT THE HOSTSPing HePing is a watercolor artist. Her work is inspired by nature and her motherhood experience. She develops her greeting cards brand and teaches Botanical Illustration courses online and offline. www.pinghe.artinfo@pinghe.art www.instagram.com/pinghe.art Sarah van DongenSarah is a children’s book illustrator and visual artist. She takes her sketchbooks and art supplies everywhere, which results in illustrations based on observation and daily life. www.sarahvandongen.comsarahvandongenillustration@gmail.comwww.instagram.com/sarahvandongenillustrations Dorien BellaarDorien is an illustration artist. Her work is mainly focused on illustration for children, editorial/food illustration, hand lettering, and she likes to combine those into both traditional and digital art. www.dorienbellaar.nlhello@dorienbellaar.nlwww.instagram.com/dorienbellaar

This week Ping is joined by artist Marenthe. Marenthe is a successful artist who has specialised in a wide range of practices over a long career. In this interview Marenthe discusses her journey in the art world, tips and tricks she uses on a daily basis, her progression as an artist and some of the challenges she has faced over the years and how she overcame them. KEY TAKEAWAYS Marenthe details her journey as an artist from founding her own design agency and through the twists and turns that led her to where she is today.   Marenthe and Ping share their thoughts on digital versus analog art and the strengths and weaknesses they see in both. Marenthe talks about the business side of art, how most artists try to avoid it and why ‘money’ isn’t a dirty word. Marenthe talks about how she gets over a creative block and details how she finds that ‘taking a leap’ is the thing that always sets her free.  BEST MOMENTS“Have a routine, they are important, but if an idea pops into your head, don’t be afraid to put everything else to one side and run with that idea.” “You have to accept that sometimes it isn’t about pleasure, sometimes you have to do the hard work.” “Promote your art the way you create it, in an authentic way. When it’s from the heart, people will relate to it.” “We don’t know what we don’t know until we experience it.” ABOUT THE PODCASTA serious and fun podcast for female creatives hosted by Ping, Dorien and Sarah, three happy artists from Amsterdam. This podcast will inspire you to make a living out of your art. We welcome you to be part of this community of like-minded people. www.thrivingwomenartists.com www.instagram.com/twapodcast ABOUT THE GUESTMarenthe OttenInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/marenthehttps://www.instagram.com/theartbeatclub Websites: https://www.theartbeatclub.com/https://www.marenthe.com/ ABOUT THE HOSTSPing HePing is a watercolor artist. Her work is inspired by nature and her motherhood experience. She develops her greeting cards brand and teaches Botanical Illustration courses online and offline.www.pinghe.artinfo@pinghe.art www.instagram.com/pinghe.art Sarah van DongenSarah is a children’s book illustrator and visual artist. She takes her sketchbooks and art supplies everywhere, which results in illustrations based on observation and daily life.www.sarahvandongen.comsarahvandongenillustration@gmail.comwww.instagram.com/sarahvandongenillustrations Dorien BellaarDorien is an illustration artist. Her work is mainly focused on illustration for children, editorial/food illustration, hand lettering, and she likes to combine those into both traditional and digital art. www.dorienbellaar.nlhello@dorienbellaar.nlwww.instagram.com/dorienbellaar

Finally, the gang are all back together. Dorien, Ping and Sarah are all here this week and they’re talking about creative breakthroughs. They share their thoughts on what a creative breakthrough actually is, tips and tricks you can try to achieve one, why they are important and, interestingly, how sometimes they are not what they appear to be. KEY TAKEAWAYS The ladies talk about what a creative breakthrough actually is and how they can sometimes appear small but actually be big. Do breakthroughs find you or do you find them? And are you more likely to get one if you’re not actively looking for it? The ladies discuss. Ping discusses how she has found that if she simplifies her work then she is more likely to achieve a breakthrough. The ladies discuss the idea that having a dramatic change in working practices can often lead to a breakthrough.  BEST MOMENTS “A breakthrough isn’t just winning an award or getting a big advance, sometimes it can just be a small discovery you make on your own.” “If you force yourself to find a breakthrough, you might end up losing sight of why you were looking for one in the first place.” “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got. Don’t be afraid to change directions, you never know where it will lead you.” ABOUT THE PODCAST A serious and fun podcast for female creatives hosted by Ping, Dorien and Sarah, three happy artists from Amsterdam. This podcast will inspire you to make a living out of your art. We welcome you to be part of this community of like-minded people. www.thrivingwomenartists.com www.instagram.com/twapodcast ABOUT THE HOSTS Ping He Ping is a watercolor artist. Her work is inspired by nature and her motherhood experience. She develops her greeting cards brand and teaches Botanical Illustration courses online and offline. www.pinghe.art info@pinghe.art  www.instagram.com/pinghe.art Sarah van Dongen Sarah is a children’s book illustrator and visual artist. She takes her sketchbooks and art supplies everywhere, which results in illustrations based on observation and daily life. www.sarahvandongen.com sarahvandongenillustration@gmail.com www.instagram.com/sarahvandongenillustrations Dorien Bellaar Dorien is an illustration artist. Her work is mainly focused on illustration for children, editorial/food illustration, hand lettering, and she likes to combine those into both traditional and digital art. www.dorienbellaar.nl hello@dorienbellaar.nl www.instagram.com/dorienbellaar

This week on the show Ping is joined by special guest Tracey English. Tracey has had a long and successful career as an artist working with illustrations and collages. In this interview she shares her creative journey, the lessons she’s learned and her top tips for artists both new and experienced. KEY TAKEAWAYS Tracey talks about her journey to being an illustrator which took her from studying textiles to colour forcesating, to selling her work at market stalls to illustration and finally to where she is today. Tracey and Ping talk about the importance of continuing to find joy in work despite how successful you become as when it becomes just a job, you can lose that creative spark. Tracey shares the most valuable lessons she has learnt throughout her career including a key lessons…stay relevant. The ladies talk about the importance of networking in the art community and how this can be done online, through markets and even taking part in challenges. BEST MOMENTS “The best qualities an artist can have are to be hardworking, open minded, flexible and willing to accept setbacks.” “Your art is like your handwriting, it has a particular look and that’s what draws people to your work.” “The great thing about taking your art to markets is that you get to see people's reaction to it, you don’t get that online.” LINKS Tracey’s Etsy Store ABOUT THE PODCAST A serious and fun podcast for female creatives hosted by Ping, Dorien and Sarah, three happy artists from Amsterdam. This podcast will inspire you to make a living out of your art. We welcome you to be part of this community of like-minded people. www.thrivingwomenartists.com www.instagram.com/twapodcast ABOUT THE HOSTS Ping He Ping is a watercolor artist. Her work is inspired by nature and her motherhood experience. She develops her greeting cards brand and teaches Botanical Illustration courses online and offline. www.pinghe.art info@pinghe.art www.instagram.com/pinghe.art Sarah van Dongen Sarah is a children’s book illustrator and visual artist. She takes her sketchbooks and art supplies everywhere, which results in illustrations based on observation and daily life. www.sarahvandongen.com sarahvandongenillustration@gmail.com www.instagram.com/sarahvandongenillustrations Dorien Bellaar Dorien is an illustration artist. Her work is mainly focused on illustration for children, editorial/food illustration, hand lettering, and she likes to combine those into both traditional and digital art. www.dorienbellaar.nl hello@dorienbellaar.nl www.instagram.com/dorienbellaar

This week on the show Dorien and Ping are talking about how to create consistency in your artwork. The ladies share their five top tips for creating consistency in your work from taking breaks to finding creative partners. Speaking from experience, Dorien and Ping are here to help you be the best! KEY TAKEAWAYS The ladies talk about the relationship of consistency and motivation and how one informs the other.  Ping talks about how practising in different styles of art helps her motivation and makes her realise that she is more consistent across all of her projects.  Ping clarifies the importance of taking a break from your work and how, by stepping back, you can be more objective about your progress. The ladies talk about the idea of setting yourself goals or joining online communities as a way to make your work more consistent.  BEST MOMENTS “The more you show up, the more you learn, the more motivated you will be and the better you will be.” “Consistency can also mean that you need to take regular breaks, not just keep on going and going.” “Find people to work with and share your work with. You will learn how they work but also how they look at your work.”   ABOUT THE PODCAST A serious and fun podcast for female creatives hosted by Ping, Dorien and Sarah, three happy artists from Amsterdam. This podcast will inspire you to make a living out of your art. We welcome you to be part of this community of like-minded people. www.thrivingwomenartists.com www.instagram.com/twapodcast   ABOUT THE HOSTS Ping He Ping is a watercolor artist. Her work is inspired by nature and her motherhood experience. She develops her greeting cards brand and teaches Botanical Illustration courses online and offline. www.pinghe.art info@pinghe.art  www.instagram.com/pinghe.art Sarah van Dongen Sarah is a children’s book illustrator and visual artist. She takes her sketchbooks and art supplies everywhere, which results in illustrations based on observation and daily life. www.sarahvandongen.com sarahvandongenillustration@gmail.com www.instagram.com/sarahvandongenillustrations Dorien Bellaar Dorien is an illustration artist. Her work is mainly focused on illustration for children, editorial/food illustration, hand lettering, and she likes to combine those into both traditional and digital art. www.dorienbellaar.nl hello@dorienbellaar.nl www.instagram.com/dorienbellaar

This week Ping is hosting all by herself, but she is joined by special guest Anna Wilson. Anna is a successful children’s book artist and has created works for Bloomsbury, Hachette and the BBC among many others. Anna shares her journey from a career in academia to becoming a successful artist and shares all the lessons she has learned along the way to help you take the next step in your artistic journey.  KEY TAKEAWAYS Anna talks about her journey to becoming an artist. Despite a career in academia, Anna continued to draw as a hobby. When her husband changed jobs this presented Anna with the opportunity to take a look at her career and she took the leap to becoming an artist.  When Anna decided to pursue art as a career she had to retrain from scratch. She talks about the steps she took and some of the courses and skills she learned that helped her along the way. Anna’s first big step towards success came when she decided to let go of some of the bad habits she had picked up as a hobbyist. Once she embraced change, she received her first commission which led to her finding an agent. Anna talks about how much she has learned from drawing books as opposed to single pieces of art and shares her knowledge on how you can create better images that will flow as a story.  BEST MOMENTS“Life is too short to not do the thing you really want to do.”“You can’t take success for granted. You have to continue to grow and work hard.”“Try not to criticise yourself as much. Your work is a journey, you're not going to be an expert on day one.” ABOUT THE GUESThttps://www.annawilsonink.com/  Anna has spent my life finding magic, often in unexpected places. Someone said to her that she knows how to make even a burning rubbish tip on a riverside look interesting and somehow beautiful.Anna says when she picks up a pen or paint or bottle of ink or an ipad and starts to add lines and colours and create something where there was nothing, she feels like she has come home. She is inspired by people and their stories and she loves to travel. She has been lucky enough to live in Kenya, Mongolia, China, Nepal, Germany, Tasmania, Australia and have travelled through more than 40 countries.Her clients include: Bloomsbury, Hachette, BBC, Cameron Kids Books, BirdLife Australia, Heritage Expeditions, Tribe, Woollykins, Australia Remade, Australian BirdLife Magazine. ABOUT THE PODCASTA serious and fun podcast for female creatives hosted by Ping, Dorien and Sarah, three happy artists from Amsterdam. This podcast will inspire you to make a living out of your art. We welcome you to be part of this community of like-minded people.www.thrivingwomenartists.comwww.instagram.com/twapodcast ABOUT THE HOSTSPing HePing is a watercolor artist. Her work is inspired by nature and her motherhood experience. She develops her greeting cards brand and teaches Botanical Illustration courses online and offline.www.pinghe.artinfo@pinghe.art www.instagram.com/pinghe.art Sarah van DongenSarah is a children’s book illustrator and visual artist. She takes her sketchbooks and art supplies everywhere, which results in illustrations based on observation and daily life.www.sarahvandongen.comsarahvandongenillustration@gmail.comwww.instagram.com/sarahvandongenillustrationsDorien BellaarDorien is an illustration artist. Her work is mainly focused on illustration for children, editorial/food illustration, hand lettering, and she likes to combine those into both traditional and digital art.www.dorienbellaar.nlhello@dorienbellaar.nlwww.instagram.com/dorienbellaar

On this week’s show Ping is all by herself, but to make up for the absence of Doreen and Sarah, she is joined by renowned artistic agent Kajsa Blomberg. In a wide ranging interview, Kajsa talks about her journey from being a law graduate to a highly established agent and shares valuable tips and insights for artists that are seeking representation and what they can expect once they have it.  KEY TAKEAWAYS Kajsa graduated from law school, specialising in intellectual property law. After working for Universal music she found herself drawn to working with artists. From there she took the leap to becoming an agent.   Ping and Kajsa discuss the importance of working to your strengths and, in a relationship between an agent and a client, how each must have an understating of the other's role.  Kajsa talks about her process of selecting the artists she wants to represent, and gives details of her ‘emotional checklist.’ Kajsa shares her top tips for artists that are looking for representation, including, surprisingly, asking yourself if you really need an agent.  BEST MOMENTS“The artist can only see the product, the agent helps them see the opportunities.”“Having an agent isn’t a golden ticket to making money, you still have to be an ambassador of your own work.”“The most important question for an artist to ask themselves is ‘What do I want?’, the answer to this question will help guide all your decisions.” ABOUT THE PODCASTA serious and fun podcast for female creatives hosted by Ping, Dorien and Sarah, three happy artists from Amsterdam. This podcast will inspire you to make a living out of your art. We welcome you to be part of this community of like-minded people.www.thrivingwomenartists.comwww.instagram.com/twapodcast ABOUT THE HOSTSPing HePing is a watercolor artist. Her work is inspired by nature and her motherhood experience. She develops her greeting cards brand and teaches Botanical Illustration courses online and offline.www.pinghe.artinfo@pinghe.art www.instagram.com/pinghe.art Sarah van DongenSarah is a children’s book illustrator and visual artist. She takes her sketchbooks and art supplies everywhere, which results in illustrations based on observation and daily life.www.sarahvandongen.comsarahvandongenillustration@gmail.comwww.instagram.com/sarahvandongenillustrationsDorien BellaarDorien is an illustration artist. Her work is mainly focused on illustration for children, editorial/food illustration, hand lettering, and she likes to combine those into both traditional and digital art.www.dorienbellaar.nlhello@dorienbellaar.nlwww.instagram.com/dorienbellaar GUEST LINKS:Kajas Blomberg's website:https://kajsablomberg.nl/Kajas Blomberg’s Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/blombergkajsa/

In this week's episode Dorien is back and the ladies are reminiscing about their lives, hopes and dreams two years ago. But have they achieved what they set out to do or have their plans changed in unexpected ways and what affects has this had on their careers and their artistic journeys?  KEY TAKEAWAYS Ping talks about how, when she recovered from breast cancer two years ago, she decided to make a positive change in her life and follow her dreams, not knowing where she would end up or if it would even work, but she knew she was determined.  The ladies talk about motivation and discipline and the importance of keeping going on a project even if the fun aspect of it disappears.   Sarah talks about how over the last two years, she moved from being dedicated to only creating children's books to expanding into all kinds of illustration and the lessons she has learned from having a more open mind about her career.   Unlike the other two ladies, Dorien admits to not making firm plans and her preference to ‘go with the flow’ and expands how this affects her creative flow.  BEST MOMENTS“One of the most important things to have is persistence. Don’t take no for an answer.”“Intrinsic motivation brings you discipline.”“Regardless of how much or little we plan, things always seem to come together for the best.” ABOUT THE PODCASTA serious and fun podcast for female creatives hosted by Ping, Dorien and Sarah, three happy artists from Amsterdam. This podcast will inspire you to make a living out of your art. We welcome you to be part of this community of like-minded people.www.thrivingwomenartists.comwww.instagram.com/twapodcast ABOUT THE HOSTSPing HePing is a watercolor artist. Her work is inspired by nature and her motherhood experience. She develops her greeting cards brand and teaches Botanical Illustration courses online and offline.www.pinghe.artinfo@pinghe.art www.instagram.com/pinghe.art Sarah van DongenSarah is a children’s book illustrator and visual artist. She takes her sketchbooks and art supplies everywhere, which results in illustrations based on observation and daily life.www.sarahvandongen.comsarahvandongenillustration@gmail.comwww.instagram.com/sarahvandongenillustrations Dorien BellaarDorien is an illustration artist. Her work is mainly focused on illustration for children, editorial/food illustration, hand lettering, and she likes to combine those into both traditional and digital art.www.dorienbellaar.nlhello@dorienbellaar.nlwww.instagram.com/dorienbellaar

This week Ping is at a book fair. But don’t worry, Doreen is back at the mic and the ladies are looking inward. They discuss the topic of believing in yourself and how every artist should find their way to doing it as it will, ultimately, help you grow and produce your best work. KEY TAKEAWAYS What is the emotional value of art? The ladies discuss this idea and how they think it shapes the way artists approach their work. They talk about how, as children, we only see emotional value in the art we make for others, but at what stage do we lose this idea and can we get it back? If you don’t put your work out there, you’ll never know what reaction it will get. Are some artists reluctant to share their work for fear of rejection or because they think no one will be interested in it? Doreen and Sarah talk about why you should always try as you’ll never know if you don’t.  What is the difference between your inner critic and being critical of our work? How do you separate the two and how, once you understand this separation, can it lead to you flourishing as an artist? The ladies discuss the importance of making something from your heart. Don’t be tempted to follow trends or fashion as this will only lead you to compare yourself to others. It takes courage to be true to yourself, but the rewards far outweigh those that you may receive from being ‘popular’. BEST MOMENTS “Every artist should believe that what they are making will be interesting to someone, otherwise why are you making it?” “Just do it, and have fun doing it. That’s the most important thing.” “You never know what might resonate with someone.” ABOUT THE PODCAST A serious and fun podcast for female creatives hosted by Ping, Dorien and Sarah, three happy artists from Amsterdam. This podcast will inspire you to make a living out of your art. We welcome you to be part of this community of like-minded people. www.thrivingwomenartists.com www.instagram.com/twapodcast ABOUT THE HOSTS Ping He Ping is a watercolour artist. Her work is inspired by nature and her motherhood experience. She develops her greeting cards brand and teaches Botanical Illustration courses online and offline. www.pinghe.art info@pinghe.art  www.instagram.com/pinghe.art Sarah van Dongen Sarah is a children’s book illustrator and visual artist. She takes her sketchbooks and art supplies everywhere, which results in illustrations based on observation and daily life. www.sarahvandongen.com sarahvandongenillustration@gmail.com www.instagram.com/sarahvandongenillustrations Dorien Bellaar Dorien is an illustration artist. Her work is mainly focused on illustration for children, editorial/food illustration, hand lettering, and she likes to combine those into both traditional and digital art. www.dorienbellaar.nl hello@dorienbellaar.nl www.instagram.com/dorienbellaar

This week Ping and Sarah are joined by children's illustrator Emmi Smid. In an in depth interview Emmi shares her journey to becoming a children illustrator and storyteller, some of her success and failures along the way, her working practices and why it is important, to her, to share her stories with the world.  KEY TAKEAWAYS The guest, Emmi, discusses her journey as an artist. How she started working in fine art, then made the realisation that most of her paintings were narrative based. One day, looking at her bookshelf, she had a moment of inspiration, realising that she had always been fascinated with childrens books, from there, she took the leap to being a children's illustrator. The ladies discuss the difference between art being a hobby and a career. Do you lose the hobby aspect of it once you start to be paid for your work? Do friends and family take you seriously if you choose a career as an artist? And, what do the ladies define success as? What are your work habits and how do they compare to others? The ladies share their different approaches on everything from sketch books to full projects and discuss the need for each individual to understand what their unique process is and why they shouldn’t compare it to others.  Emmi talks about the importance of working on personal projects. She talks about how it helps her figure out what is important to her and how, through sharing her stories and perspective on the world, she may be able to help others see things from a different viewpoint or realise that they’re not alone.  BEST MOMENTS “You have to believe in yourself and follow the path that you are on.” “Society has conditioned us to think we are only successful if we make money. But this is not true, if you are doing the thing you love, then you are already successful.” “You’ve got to accept who you are, but at the same time, continue to push yourself.” EPISODE RESOURCES Instagram: @studio.emmi.smid ABOUT THE PODCAST A serious and fun podcast for female creatives hosted by Ping, Dorien and Sarah, three happy artists from Amsterdam. This podcast will inspire you to make a living out of your art. We welcome you to be part of this community of like-minded people. www.thrivingwomenartists.com www.instagram.com/twapodcast ABOUT THE HOSTS Ping He Ping is a watercolor artist. Her work is inspired by nature and her motherhood experience. She develops her greeting cards brand and teaches Botanical Illustration courses online and offline. www.pinghe.art info@pinghe.art  www.instagram.com/pinghe.art Sarah van Dongen Sarah is a children’s book illustrator and visual artist. She takes her sketchbooks and art supplies everywhere, which results in illustrations based on observation and daily life. www.sarahvandongen.com sarahvandongenillustration@gmail.com www.instagram.com/sarahvandongenillustrations Dorien Bellaar Dorien is an illustration artist. Her work is mainly focused on illustration for children, editorial/food illustration, hand lettering, and she likes to combine those into both traditional and digital art. www.dorienbellaar.nl hello@dorienbellaar.nl www.instagram.com/dorienbellaar

This week, Dorien is busy on a big project, but Sarah and Ping step up and talk you through planning studio time. The ladies pack their years of experience into a fun filled thirty minute episode and share some valuable tips and tricks that guarantee to make you more productive in your studio. KEY TAKEAWAYS The ladies discuss how spending time in your studio to make it tidy and organised is as important as the time you spend in there to work. But remember to personalise your space, decorate not just your walls, but your pen holders, workbooks and bookshelves…remember you are an artist! Remember that lighting your studio is important. You have to find a balance between a lighting set up that makes you comfortable and creates a productive working environment, but also one that will show a true representation of the colours you are working with. If you want to improve your productivity, why not make a diary of what you do in your studio over a week. After that week is over, review your diary and find out what you actually spent your time on. You might be surprised! The ladies discuss the idea of splitting your studio time into sections. Such as, Play Time’ - Where you create art for fun, or ‘Business Time’ - where you concentrate on generating revenue, or ‘Contribute TIme’ - where you try to help your colleagues, your community, a charity or some other third party.   BEST MOMENTS“My studio is a stage and I am a performer, so I need my stage to be organised.”“Sometimes allow yourself to be unproductive, to daydream, to create distance from your work.”“Every morning, prioritise your tasks from most urgent to least urgent.”“Know your “Why”, and then everything you do will be easier.” ABOUT THE PODCASTA serious and fun podcast for female creatives hosted by Ping, Dorien and Sarah, three happy artists from Amsterdam. This podcast will inspire you to make a living out of your art. We welcome you to be part of this community of like-minded people.www.thrivingwomenartists.comwww.instagram.com/twapodcast ABOUT THE HOSTSPing HePing is a watercolor artist. Her work is inspired by nature and her motherhood experience. She develops her greeting cards brand and teaches Botanical Illustration courses online and offline.www.pinghe.artinfo@pinghe.art www.instagram.com/pinghe.art Sarah van DongenSarah is a children’s book illustrator and visual artist. She takes her sketchbooks and art supplies everywhere, which results in illustrations based on observation and daily life.www.sarahvandongen.comsarahvandongenillustration@gmail.comwww.instagram.com/sarahvandongenillustrations Dorien BellaarDorien is an illustration artist. Her work is mainly focused on illustration for children, editorial/food illustration, hand lettering, and she likes to combine those into both traditional and digital art.www.dorienbellaar.nlhello@dorienbellaar.nlwww.instagram.com/dorienbellaar

This week, Dorien is missing, but don’t worry Sarah and Ping are here and they’re going to get personal. This week, the ladies are going to give you an insight into their lives but not the exciting projects they are currently working on, instead they are going to talk about their personal lives and the effect it has on their work. KEY TAKEAWAYS The ladies agree that hard work is the key to success. But advise you to remember to take time off for yourself. If all you are doing is working, then you won’t be able to look at your problems objectively and have any perspective.  The ladies discuss the benefits of a work life balance and how a healthy and happy home life will benefit your mental health and ultimately benefit your work  Sarah is currently not working on a big project. Whilst some people perceive that as her going through a bad patch, she is grateful for the break. It is allowing her to analyse her work and improve the areas she is not happy with. Ping discusses the need she has for her work to have meaning. She is not content with just making a living from selling her work. What she really wants is for customers to buy her works because it resonates with them. The ladies discuss bad moments in their lives and how they would tell themselves “Once we are better, we are going to do so many things.” They agree that it is important to remember that feeling once they return to the normality of daily life   BEST MOMENTS “Most importantly - enjoy this life you have chosen” “Take time to learn to grow.” “Find time for yourself, even if it’s just 5 minutes a day. Do something that makes you happy for those 5 minutes.” “Never forget why you started the journey you are on. If you get stuck, lose sight of your goals or lose heart, then ask yourself, ‘Why did I start?’.” ABOUT THE PODCAST A serious and fun podcast for female creatives hosted by Ping, Dorien and Sarah, three happy artists from Amsterdam. This podcast will inspire you to make a living out of your art. We welcome you to be part of this community of like-minded people. www.thrivingwomenartists.com www.instagram.com/twapodcast ABOUT THE HOSTS Ping He Ping is a watercolor artist. Her work is inspired by nature and her motherhood experience. She develops her greeting cards brand and teaches Botanical Illustration courses online and offline. www.pinghe.art info@pinghe.art  www.instagram.com/pinghe.art Sarah van Dongen Sarah is a children’s book illustrator and visual artist. She takes her sketchbooks and art supplies everywhere, which results in illustrations based on observation and daily life. www.sarahvandongen.com sarahvandongenillustration@gmail.com www.instagram.com/sarahvandongenillustrations Dorien Bellaar Dorien is an illustration artist. Her work is mainly focused on illustration for children, editorial/food illustration, hand lettering, and she likes to combine those into both traditional and digital art. www.dorienbellaar.nl hello@dorienbellaar.nl www.instagram.com/dorienbellaar

Sarah and Ping are joined by Ema Malyauka, a self taught children's book illustrator, whose Belarusian surname translates to ‘drawing’. Ema discusses her creative process, sharing invaluable advice for young artists, and her journey as a self taught artist from knowing nothing about the industry to becoming a successful illustrator KEY TAKEAWAYS Ema struggled at school with regular lessons, but attended art classes outside of school and constantly received high praise from her teachers. Despite this, Ema decided against attending university to study art and began a journey of self teaching, learning from books, short courses, friends and other artists. Ema is a lifelong fan of childrens books. From an early age she collected childrens books and images from the internet. When she finally decided to become an illustrator she did not hesitate to specialise in childrens illustrations. Ema’s first professional experience was working with a friend who self published their own books. She recommends this to all young artists as it was an opportunity to learn her trade and make mistakes without the pressure that comes with working with an established publishing house. When she started her career she didn’t know anything about the professional world of illustration including publishers and portfolio’s, but she found advice and guidance from fellow artists online that helped her career flourish. To generate her own stories, Ema asks herself a question central to her idea and then makes a library of images and thoughts as well as researching other fairy tales through books and podcasts to ‘feed her brain.’ Ema also recommends creating a nice environment to work in. She finds that she has more inspiration if she covers her sketchbooks in colourful fabric instead of leaving them with their natural covers.   Some of Ema’s favourite illustrators include Adolf Born, Jiří Šalamoun, André François and Varya Yakovleva BEST MOMENTS “It’s a great time for the illustration world because of the increase of mobile phones and tablets, everything has to be more visually pleasing.” “I always recommend young artists to try a project with a friend. You’ll be more relaxed, not afraid to make mistakes and get an understanding of the process.” “Find people in the illustration world online. They are lovely people and will be happy to help and advise you.” “Don’t compare your journey to others. Your journey is what makes you unique as an illustrator.”   EPISODE RESOURCES Ema Malyauka www.instagram.com/ema_malyauka Adolf Born https://historiek.net/de-wondere-wereld-van-adolf-born/146693/ Jiří Šalamoun https://www.pametnaroda.cz/en/salamoun-jiri-1935 André François https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/André_François Varya Yakovleva https://www.instagram.com/varya__yakovleva/following/?hl=en     ABOUT THE PODCAST A serious and fun podcast for female creatives hosted by Ping, Dorien and Sarah, three happy artists from Amsterdam.  This podcast will inspire you to make a living out of your art. We welcome you to be part of this community of like-minded people. www.thrivingwomenartists.com www.instagram.com/twapodcast ABOUT THE HOSTS Ping He Ping is a watercolor artist. Her work is inspired by nature and her motherhood experience. She develops her greeting cards brand and teaches Botanical Illustration courses online and offline. www.pinghe.art info@pinghe.art www.instagram.com/pinghe.art Sarah van Dongen Sarah is a children’s book illustrator and visual artist. She takes her sketchbooks and art supplies everywhere, which results in illustrations based on observation and daily life. www.sarahvandongen.com sarahvandongenillustration@gmail.com www.instagram.com/sarahvandongenillustrations Dorien Bellaar Dorien is an illustration artist. Her work is mainly focused on illustration for children, editorial/food illustration, hand lettering, and she likes to combine those into both traditional and digital art. www.dorienbellaar.nl hello@dorienbellaar.nl www.instagram.com/dorienbellaar  

Devon Holzwarth is an award-winning picture book illustrator, author, and painter. She joins Ping and Dorien to tell you all about her life as a Children’s Book Illustrator as well as her creative journey that led her there. Listen in for some great advice from someone who has broken into the illustration industry for themselves.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Devon went to Rhode Island School of Design art school where she majored in textile design. She majored in this because she thought that it had better job prospects than if she had chosen painting. She graduated in 2000 with a BFA. Devon moved her life to Germany when her husband was offered a job there. It was only supposed to be for a few years but she now calls the place home. The great thing about being an artist was that she could work from anywhere and the new environment could lead to new interesting opportunities. The moment that will take you to the next step can be scary and uncomfortable, which makes it hard for many of us to take it. Devon’s moment of taking that step was more of a push, so she didn’t have the opportunity to become wrapped up in whether or not she was comfortable or not. One piece of advice that has stuck with Devon is when she was told ‘you need to put ten years into something before it begins to become successful’. This freaked her out because she found something she enjoyed and didn’t want to wait ten years for it to come to fruition. This lit a fire in her and gave her focus to succeed faster than the ten years she’d been told. Devon decided she should make her own dummy book of her story about a boy and a bee which she took with her to Bologna. She showed it to the people she met there and one of the pieces of advice she got was to separate the one story into two. So she had one story about a bee and one about a boy. That advice she received really paid off after receiving a publishing offer.     BEST MOMENTS   ‘I can do the same thing from somewhere else and be somewhere more interesting’ ‘Sometimes it’s a matter of knowing who you are, it’s difficult to unravel in some ways’ ‘You just need one more little push then you recognise that your path’ ‘If an art director tell you to send them something, you better send them something’   EPISODE RESOURCES   Devon Holzwarth Devon Holzwarth (@devonholzwarth) • Instagram photos and videos devonholzwarth@gmail.com   ABOUT THE GUEST   Devon Holzwarth is a picture book illustrator, author, and painter. She is a recipient of the Schneider Family Book Award and a notable Sydney Taylor Award, as well as a Society of Illustrators gold medal winner. Born in Washington D.C., Devon grew up in Panama surrounded by nature and her dad's art supplies. She has lived in many other places, including Germany, where she currently resides with her husband, two kids, a galgo dog from Spain and a little dachshund from Romania. Devon earned her BFA in 2000 from the Rhode Island School of Design focusing on screen printing and painting. She has written & illustrated “Found You” and “Sophie’s Stories” and has illustrated a number of picture books including “Tia Fortuna’s New Home”, “LISTEN, How Evelyn Glennie, a Deaf Girl, Changed Percussion” and “Everywhere With You”.   ABOUT THE PODCAST   A serious and fun podcast for female creatives hosted by Ping, Dorien and Sarah, three happy artists from Amsterdam.  This podcast will inspire you to make a living out of your art. We welcome you to be part of this community of like-minded people. www.thrivingwomenartists.com www.instagram.com/twapodcast    ABOUT THE HOSTS   Ping He Ping is a watercolor artist. Her work is inspired by nature and her motherhood experience. She develops her greeting cards brand and teaches Botanical Illustration courses online and offline. www.pinghe.art info@pinghe.art www.instagram.com/pinghe.art   Sarah van Dongen Sarah is a children’s book illustrator and visual artist. She takes her sketchbooks and art supplies everywhere, which results in illustrations based on observation and daily life. www.sarahvandongen.com sarahvandongenillustration@gmail.com www.instagram.com/sarahvandongenillustrations   Dorien Bellaar: Dorien is an illustration artist. Her work is mainly focused on illustration for children, editorial/food illustration, hand lettering, and she likes to combine those into both traditional and digital art. www.dorienbellaar.nl hello@dorienbellaar.nl www.instagram.com/dorienbellaar

Sarah is back on Thriving Women Artists and this week she’s brought the topic of what to do when you’re feeling jealous of other artists. Listen in as Ping, Dorien, and Sarah talk about how they feel jealous, what they do about it, and how jealousy isn’t always a negative thing. Find out what positives can you take from this feeling to drive your own work and achieve your goals.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Jealousy is not only for artists starting out, no matter what stage you are on your journey you will look at someone else's work or where they are and feel envious. Feeling jealous of other people’s work is not necessarily a negative feeling, we can use it to drive our own work, find passion, and grow as an artist. The negative side of jealousy is being overwhelmed, we’ve all spent far too long scrolling through Instagram and feeling like you’ll never have what other people have. You should take action and change your mindset from scarcity to abundance. We all feel jealous of each other, you don’t get that ‘wow’ feeling at your own work. We aren’t surprised by our own work but the choices other people make are a surprise to us and it makes us feel jealous. Embrace your own uniqueness and your own skill set. Be proud of yourself and use that as a base to build off, don’t be jealous of others but be inspired instead. Confidence is the difference between being envious and inspired by others.     BEST MOMENTS   ‘I was depressed because I thought I couldn’t do it, I didn’t pick up my pencil’ ‘If you want something you can grow and learn and practice’ ‘It’s not going to change by itself’ ‘When I know what I’m capable of then I don’t worry about what someone else is doing’   ABOUT THE PODCAST   A serious and fun podcast for female creatives hosted by Ping, Dorien and Sarah, three happy artists from Amsterdam.  This podcast will inspire you to make a living out of your art. We welcome you to be part of this community of like-minded people. www.thrivingwomenartists.com www.instagram.com/twapodcast    ABOUT THE HOSTS   Ping He Ping is a watercolor artist. Her work is inspired by nature and her motherhood experience. She develops her greeting cards brand and teaches Botanical Illustration courses online and offline. www.pinghe.art info@pinghe.art www.instagram.com/pinghe.art   Sarah van Dongen Sarah is a children’s book illustrator and visual artist. She takes her sketchbooks and art supplies everywhere, which results in illustrations based on observation and daily life. www.sarahvandongen.com sarahvandongenillustration@gmail.com www.instagram.com/sarahvandongenillustrations   Dorien Bellaar: Dorien is an illustration artist. Her work is mainly focused on illustration for children, editorial/food illustration, hand lettering, and she likes to combine those into both traditional and digital art. www.dorienbellaar.nl hello@dorienbellaar.nl www.instagram.com/dorienbellaar

Today is a special episode because we have a guest on Thriving Women Artists, Jennifer M. Potter joins Ping and Dorien to talk about her career as a children’s book illustrator. Find out about how Jennifer left her corporate job to follow her creative and artistic passions. Don’t worry, Sarah will be back soon, she’s currently recording some courses for Domestika.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Jennifer was a graphic designer and art director in the corporate world before she had the idea that she wanted to make a webcomic. She worked on it for a year and while she was doing this she saw and signed up for a course in children's book illustration. Jennifer made a lot of really good friends through the Make Art That Sells community and that really helped her when she was struggling to make the adjustment to being her own boss as a freelancer and not having a communal environment. There’s a tip Jennifer has for getting out of her comfort zone. She is the type of person who over-prepares for everything, so by over preparing for the things that are outside her comfort zone it makes her feel more prepared for the challenge. There is a downside to over preparing, that is procrastination. We prepare so much we don’t ever get around to doing the thing. Ping has a solution for this, that when you’re 70% prepared you just go for it. The right feedback is priceless, but they are just people’s opinions so you need to know who is the right person with the right advice for you to listen to as an individual.    BEST MOMENTS ‘I learned how much I took for granted moving from working with people to working alone’ ‘The only way to make something comfortable is to do it’ ‘70% is good enough, you don’t need that extra 30% just to be perfect’   USEFUL RESOURCES 1) Miroslav Šašek https://thamesandhudson.com/miroslav-sasek-9780500023341 2) Edward Gorey https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edward-Gorey 3) Barbara Westman https://www.amazon.com/Beacon-Hill-Christmas-Barbara-Westman/dp/0395247268 4) Jennifer M. Potter https://www.instagram.com/jennifermpotter   ABOUT THE PODCAST A serious and fun podcast for female creatives hosted by Ping, Dorien and Sarah, three happy artists from Amsterdam.  This podcast will inspire you to make a living out of your art. We welcome you to be part of this community of like-minded people. www.thrivingwomenartists.com www.instagram.com/twapodcast   ABOUT THE HOSTS Ping He Ping is a watercolor artist. Her work is inspired by nature and her motherhood experience. She develops her greeting cards brand and teaches Botanical Illustration courses online and offline. www.pinghe.art info@pinghe.art www.instagram.com/pinghe.art   Sarah van Dongen Sarah is a children’s book illustrator and visual artist. She takes her sketchbooks and art supplies everywhere, which results in illustrations based on observation and daily life. www.sarahvandongen.com sarahvandongenillustration@gmail.com www.instagram.com/sarahvandongenillustrations   Dorien Bellaar: Dorien is an illustration artist. Her work is mainly focused on illustration for children, editorial/food illustration, hand lettering, and she likes to combine those into both traditional and digital art. www.dorienbellaar.nl hello@dorienbellaar.nl www.instagram.com/dorienbellaar