Courage or fortitude is making the choice and having the ability to persist and prevail in something, often against the odds and in the face of personal discomfort or even pain - physical or mental.

According to Professor Daniel Putman, "courage involves deliberate choice in the face of painful or fearful circumstances for the sake of a worthy goal"

If you have the courage to start, you have the courage to succeed. In the words of John Wayne - "Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway." 

Commitment is an agreement or pledge to do something in the future. To undertake a task or activity and stick to it for the long term.

Popularised by Malcom Gladwell in his bestseller Outliers: The Story of Success, it has been famously referenced innumerable times that artists (or anyone) should undertake 10,000 hours of practice in their chosen medium/genre in order to become experts/masters in their given field. 

“Motivation is what gets you started. Commitment is what keeps you going.” Jim Rohn

Confidence is the state of being clear-headed: either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct, or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Confidence comes from the Latin word fidere which means "to trust". In contrast, arrogance or hubris is a state of unmerited confidence—belief lacking evidence and/or a reason. 

Being confident is not normally a constant or consistent state across all areas of ones life. 

Self-confidence is trust in oneself, one's personal judgement, ability, power, etc. One's self-confidence often increases as one satisfactorily completes particular activities.

 Your success will be determined by your own confidence and fortitude – Michelle Obama 

 “Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.” – Dwayne Johnson 

Clarity is the golden key that can unlock your success and help you achieve anything you have ever imagined.

To have clarity means to be clear on what you want and to ensure others are also clear on what you want and what it looks like to you.

To have clarity is to have freedom from ambiguity, confusion and indecisiveness.

Like a diamond - the more clarity we have the more value we bring.

Success is often 3% brains and 97% not getting distracted by the internet! - Shane Parrish

It is easy to focus on the small things, like enjoying your favourite song. However, giving your full attention while doing your monthly accounts and budgets or keeping focused during an important meeting can be very challenging. 

“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.” – Jim Rohn

Theodore Roosevelt once said, “With self-discipline, almost anything is possible.” 

Discipline creates habits, habits make routines, and routines become who you are daily. 

“Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds.” - George Eliot

Integrity is "Doing the right thing, even when no one is watching" 

“I know you’ve heard it a thousand times before, but it’s true – hard work pays off. If you want to be good, you have to practice, practice, practice. If you don’t love something, then don’t do it.” - Ray Bradbury

Passion is the key to staying inspired and pushing ourselves forward. Without passion, hard work can often feel boring, tedious and uninspiring.

Passion gives us a sense of purpose, which in turn adds meaning and fulfilment to our lives.

"To be authentic, we must cultivate the courage to be imperfect—and vulnerable". Brené Brown

To be successful we must never give up!

The difference between success and failure is acceptance, adaptability and action…

“For good ideas and true innovation, you need human interaction, conflict, argument, debate.” Margaret Heffernan

Every professional artist will be required at sometime to write about their art and art practice. The activities in this module will help you with awareness, ideas and skills to undertake this writing.

In the words Alice Waters "we are what we eat".

Our stomach is often referred to as our second brain and is a vital organ linked to both our physical and mental health. This module helps us increase awareness about ourselves and develop skills to look after ourselves better and truly thrive.

Surrealism was a political and cultural movement which developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I and was largely influenced by Dada. The movement is best known for its visual artworks and writings and the juxtaposition of distant realities to activate the unconscious mind through the imagery.

It's leader André Breton was explicit in his assertion that Surrealism was, above all, a revolutionary movement.

When bankers get together for dinner, they discuss art. When artists get together for dinner, they discuss money!

- Oscar Wilde

Money is an uncomfortable subject for many, but, love it or hate it, we live in a society where we need money to live. 

We need to connect with money and make it work for us, because, at the end of the day, money is just a tool that gives us choices. 

To attract more money we need to hone our abundant mindset, strong in the belief we will receive what we need. 

There is a voice in the art world that would have you believe that artists are intended to fight in constant competition with each other – for sales, galleries, for everything. This is simply not true.

Today, with the continual rise of social media, online platforms and a change in the traditional gallery and selling structure it is clear that artists need to be working together and collaboratively to achieve their goals.

Trust us, you will achieve your goals a lot faster with collaborative working, over going it alone.

Art collaborations 

• Fuel creative exploration
• Links audiences
• Spreads the word
• Promotes each artist
• Can lead to further art projects

Abstract art is that which does not attempt to represent an accurate depiction of a visual reality, but instead uses shapes, colours, forms and gestural marks to achieve its effect.

Goals are more intentional and focused than dreams, hopes and desires. Setting goals means that a person has committed thought, emotion, and behaviour towards attaining the goal.

Effective goal setting also involves the development of a plan in order to motivate and guide a persons actions toward a desired outcome.

January is traditionally a time for setting out our new years resolutions; our plans for the year ahead. But it can also be a time when we feel tired, overwhelmed and exhausted.

So now is the perfect time to sit quietly, reflect and practice gratitude.

Find a podcast and binge listen. 

Download an audiobook

Have a digital detox

Meditate

Go for long walks in the fresh air; in nature or by the sea...

Let your brain breathe and relax.

Notice what you notice.

Notice what you feel and where you feel it.

Take the pressure off....

According to Roberta Smith of the New York Times, drawing is really the best of all art mediums.

Its history is long and encompassing, truly global, virtually unbounded. It facilitates many other art forms, among them painting, sculpture and architecture. But the mark-making basic to drawing is the starting point of so much else: the development of written language, numbers, musical scores.

Today art competitions or ‘Opens’ are everywhere. Yet many artists ignore them, thinking they're a waste of time or worse still don't pay sufficient attention to the details or put in sufficient time and effort before applying.

The competition can be fierce. Hundreds (sometimes thousands) of artists vie for a limited number of coveted spots in a juried art show. Since the jury never sees you - only the images of your work and your application - these become your “audition.” 

If you are serious about growing your career, opens can be an excellent tool you can use. But proceed with caution and don't waste your money by going in blind or unprepared. 

Genuine confidence is authentic and real.

We are not born with confidence, it is a skill that takes time to develop and requires 3 key ingredients:

• A feeling of trust in yourself, sufficient to engender courage and bravery.
• An attitude of faith in yourself, sufficient that you believe you can achieve your goals.
• An open and adaptable mind-set and willingness to try things, and take action even when things seem unfamiliar, feels uncomfortable and the outcome is uncertain.

The formation of the Vienna Secession (Art Nouveau) movement in 1897 marked the formal beginning of modern art in Austria. It was the coalescence of the first movement of artists and designers who were committed to a forward-thinking, internationalist view of the art world. Led at the beginning by Gustav Klimt, the Secessionists gave contemporary art its first dedicated venue in the city.

Designed by Josef Maria Olbrich, the Secession Building in Vienna is the movement's physical and spiritual home and its permanent visual form. 

When bankers get together for dinner, they discuss art. When artists get together for dinner, they discuss money!

- Oscar Wilde

Money is an uncomfortable subject for many, but, love it or hate it, we live in a society where we need money to live. 

We need to connect with money and make it work for us, because, at the end of the day, money is just a tool that gives us choices. 

To attract more money we need to hone our abundant mindset, strong in the belief we will receive what we need. 

Cubism was a revolutionary new approach to representing reality invented in around 1907–08 by artists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. They brought different views of subjects (usually objects or figures) together in the same picture, resulting in paintings that appear fragmented and abstracted. 

What does it mean for artists to market themselves?