Happy New Year 🌱 If I’m honest, procrastination showed up for me last year too. Not because I lost my passion, but because my attention was being pulled everywhere else. Everyone wants it. Everything steals it. And when it came time to focus on the work that mattered to me, the muscle wasn’t always there. Did that happen to you too? What changed things wasn’t forcing discipline. It was learning how to reclaim attention in very small, simple ways. Through that, I got more done last year than I had in a long time, not by rushing, but by building one thing on top of another. That’s the approach I’m carrying into this year. I shared a short video about this here 🎥 https://www.instagram.com/p/DS78bQvDM6M/ These hacks are simple by design, but don’t be fooled, they’re powerful. They’re low pressure, don’t require hours of effort, and are designed to work with your biology, not against it. Each repetition trains the body to want to return to the work with less friction. One of the biggest things I’m grateful for last year was teaching over 100 students in person 🎨 It taught me how to support people deeply and gently as they stay with their creative work. It also gave me stamina. And stamina eats procrastination for breakfast. That experience is a big reason this community exists. One of the most powerful things we’ll be continuing with is our Make It Together sessions here ✍️ These are what I CRAVED when I started working as an artist. Accountability. Company. Focused time to do the work. Bring your work. Use this space. Turn up and move things forward alongside others. You can check the calendar for the Zoom dates. Or we can start a new poll for new dates if that suits the majority. Just comment below. If you’re here and haven’t really engaged yet, consider this your invitation 💬 Even a small presence helps others step forward too. If you feel like it, reply below: one thing you’re grateful for from last year ✨ one thing you want to give attention to in 2026 🚀

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been coming back from a viral infection, and it forced a reset I didn’t plan. As my energy returned, I was reminded of something simple. Over the last year I’ve done a lot. Making work. Sending to open calls. Teaching in person and online. Writing a book. There are to do lists, systems, and structures that help keep all of that moving. But the things that actually help me regain focus and momentum, without which none of it would be possible, have not changed. 👀 What still works What works for me isn’t going faster or trying to be more efficient. It isn’t skimming or pushing through. It’s slowing down in the right places and looking properly. = Staying with things a little longer than feels comfortable. = Choosing less when things feel overwhelming. = Writing things down to expose what really matters. = Letting quiet noticing become raw material for creative work. ✍🏽 The hand as a way back I’m sharing the image here from a blind contour drawing I made recently. It’s a simple exercise where you draw your hand without looking at the page. I use exercises like this often, both in my own practice and when I teach. They’re well known in the art world, but I use them with a different emphasis. Not as a drawing exercise, but as a way of rebuilding attention. The hand becomes a way of noticing when the mind drifts, and gently bringing it back. You don’t force focus. You stay with something long enough for it to return. 🎨 How the work evolved That approach has followed me through everything I’ve made. It’s how I moved from realism into abstraction. One realist painting reached the second stage of the John Moores Painting Prize this year, and the abstract series that followed grew out of hundreds of small, low pressure iterations that we informed by my particular approachto seeing, from my bed to when I have been travelling. That work will be shown at the Royal Scottish Academy in January. Looking back, what stands out is that none of this came from chasing motivation. It came from staying connected to the practice, especially in between projects.

I’ve been under the weather and a bit wiped out the last few days. It’s one of those moments that reminds me, again, that I have to take care of myself. I’d been pushing hard mentally, psychologically, physically. When you keep doing that, the body eventually intervenes. This arrived at what felt like the worst possible time with projects and deadlines. But it also turned out to be a necessary interruption. When you are forced to stop, you notice something important. Life continues. Things adjust. The world does not fall apart because you paused. This experience has sharpened my thinking around Creative Reset and why I am running it (in January 2026) . It is not a fluffy idea. It is about knowing how to rein things in before you go too far. So practically, how do you catch it before it tips over? Here are three simple checks that actually work. 1. Check in early, not when you’re broken. Ask yourself once a day how you’re actually doing. If something feels off, say it out loud to someone you trust. Asking for help early is far easier than recovering later. 2. Get it out of your head and onto paper. If there is no one to talk to in that moment, write. A few lines in a notebook is enough. Journalling is not about elegance, it is about unloading mental weight so it stops looping. 3. Think alongside someone while doing something physical This is why the Make It Together sessions exist in this community. You can talk, throw ideas around, get things off your chest while your hands are busy making art. It lowers guilt, lowers pressure, and puts you back into motion without forcing productivity. Also, the boring basics matter. Rest. Eat properly. Take your vitamins. All of this feeds directly into the Art With Courage work and the upcoming Creative Reset webinar. What I teach is what I have to practise, often the hard way. How are you doing right now, honestly? Drop a message below and let me know where you’re at.

Hi everyone, I wanted to share something I have been working on quietly in the background. Every new season I run a creative reset for myself. It helps me refocus, reduce noise and reconnect with my attention and imagination. This year I have turned that process into a workshop called Art of Attention, the Creative Reset. I will be delivering it in January as a mix of live teaching and recorded exercises. Here is the landing page if you want to have a look: https://artwithcourage.com/artofattention I would love your feedback on the page and the idea in general. If you feel this would help you start your creative year with clarity, let me know. I am considering a private community discount or a special bonus for Skool members only, so keep an eye out. Thanks for being here. This community keeps me focused and grounded.

@Sheena Bulpitt and @Sylvia Morgan dropped in for today’s Make-It-Together session. Sheena stayed longer and we chatted about exhibitions, open calls, finishing those half-done pieces, and the tricky bits of framing. Where did the time go? We got a lot done. Sheena is working on a previously unfinished painting that’s coming along beautifully. I got through a piece I’ve been developing too (more on that soon), and Sheena shared her first impressions — always so helpful to get another artist’s eye. What a delightful artist Sheena is, generous, open, and curious. Sylvia is part of my online classes in Glasgow with the Loveurart group run by Margaret, and we’re having our end-of-semester exhibition tomorrow of around 30 students. It’s the exciting culmination of all the work the students have been creating, and I’m looking forward to the collective dinner afterwards too. Join us again next Wednesday for another Make-It-Together. If you’ve ever struggled with consistency, focus, or motivation, these sessions will change that. Bring your project, your questions, or just come and soak up the creative energy. You’ll leave lighter, clearer, and ready to create again. 🎨 Show up, make progress, and feel connected.