A weekly note from the studio
Oh hello!
This week has been all about refining, from my painting process, my materials, and the way I show up online. I’ve been deepening my watercolour skills while also shifting my marketing toward platforms that feel more evergreen and less draining.
Realistic Watercolour Painting Skills
I’ve been deepening my dry‑on‑dry watercolour technique as part of Anna Mason’s Nature Studio membership. What a difference the right materials make.
Key takeaways:
- Investing in high‑quality art materials is absolutely worth it. They change the entire painting experience. You get smoother blends, richer pigments, and far less frustration.
- Creating realistic watercolour art takes time. Slow, attentive time. And when the materials support you, the process becomes more joyful.
- Working on hot‑press watercolour paper (with its beautifully smooth surface) makes background removal in Photoshop so much easier. Less texture = fewer hours spent erasing tiny bumps.
- You don’t need dozens of colours. A limited palette of professional paints can create extraordinary results.
My current palette favourites: Payne’s Gray · French Ultramarine · Burnt Sienna · Permanent Rose · Winsor Green (Yellow Shade) · Winsor Lemon
I’ve included a few of the paintings I completed from Anna Mason’s Watercolour 101 course. Each one a little milestone in learning to see more clearly and paint more patiently.
Building a Sustainable Creative Business
Over the past month, I’ve stepped away from Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Instead, I’m pouring my energy into evergreen marketing.
Platforms that grow quietly in the background and continue working long after you log off: LinkedIn, Pinterest, and my blog.
This week I’m attending a masterclass with Amy Smith, a LinkedIn coach based in Australia. The session is all about building a predictable pipeline and positioning yourself so the right premium clients find you first.
Here is some key reminders I have taken to heart from one of her free trainings online.
- You can’t sell a secret.
- Show the human behind the profile: share your stories, lessons, and lived experience.
- Be ultra‑specific about what you do so you stand out.
- Your LinkedIn profile should act as a landing page and a lead generator. Remember, you have six seconds to capture attention.
- Add visual media on your LinkedIn profile, it can increase views by 21x.
- Play to your strengths. Share content in a way that feels natural and sustainable.
- Clients come from conversations. Remember, LinkedIn is a professional networking platform. It's important that I show up, add value, and engage.
- And the golden thread: Consistency. Consistency. Consistency.
If you’d like to watch the session, here’s the link:
I’d genuinely love to hear — What’s your current marketing game plan? Which platforms feel aligned with your energy, and where have you found the most meaningful client connections?
Book Recommendation
This week’s studio read: We Need Your Art by Amie McNee
An encouraging reminder that your creative voice matters and that the world is richer when you share it.
On the Blog This Week:
Print Design vs. Woven Textile Design: Which Do I Need?
This week on the blog, I’m sharing something I wish more interior designers knew: the difference between print and woven textiles, and how this single choice can completely change the outcome of a project. Over the past year I’ve been diving deep into textile design, and it’s opened up a world of creative and technical freedom that most designers don’t realise they have.
From custom colourways and pattern scaling to fibre selection and long‑term durability, there are so many ways to tailor textiles to suit a specific interior. And yet these options are rarely talked about in our industry.
If you’ve ever wondered how to choose the right fabric for a project (or if you didn’t even know you could customise textiles), this week’s post will give you clarity, confidence, and a fresh perspective on what’s possible.
You can read the full article here. I think it will genuinely change the way you look at fabrics in your design work.
Please share this email to friends and family you think might find it useful and interesting.
