7 tips for creating art while working full time! 🎨 

Are you balancing art with a full-time job (or other time- and energy-consuming responsibilities)? What tips have you picked up over time to help you strike that balance? Have you implemented any of the tips I mentioned in this video? I'd love to learn from your experiences! THANK YOUUU for being here, and for sharing your insights!! 🫶

I appreciate the tips but I want to emphaize too that there are times, your job or aspects of your life won't let you have barely any energy and I am referring to months or years. You are just trying to survive day by day. That absolutely stinks and is completely understandable that you don't have energy to do art or let alone take care of yourself because that also takes energy. Thanks again for great tips and I would put #7 as #1 for Be Kind to Yourself.

I find that if I go too long without making things, I feel more drained. In spite of painting or drawing when I'm tired, I find that even if I spent 8 hours a day 4 days into the work week, if I spend an hour or two of that night drawing, then at the end of the week I feel better than a week where I didn't make anything. Creating relaxes me, I have so much fun making things that it really helps keep me alive.

Being a GenX artist, an organized space is different than a clean space. I have a mindset to change by not trying every craft and by getting rid of items I haven’t used for literal years! An organized CLEAN space ensures you have time to create.

It's all about finding time for sure. I bought my first acrylic painting set today as it will help me focus on my recovery from addiction. I feel nervous, as i have not painted since i left school 20 years ago!

Like you said, I think it’s important to remind yourself why you like art in the first place. We tend to place so much pressure on ourselves to create an artwork that we’re happy with, but the real joy and catharsis comes from the process of making the art. Seeing it as an opportunity to do something you enjoy and escape for a while will feel more like a form of self care than a chore. As someone who usually prefers to start and finish a complete artwork in one sitting, I’m teaching myself to become more comfortable and content with just creating something like a rough sketch, or doing an exercise to practice. Thanks for your tips! I really hope to get back into making art a part of my routine.

Re: “Making things easy to grab.” I currently live in a fairly small space in terms of what is my own vs what is shared with others. I use “kits” to keep things easy to grab - a backpack or tote with everything ready to go. I periodically revisit and “retune” what’s in my current kits so that it’s supporting my ability to sit down and make something. Ahh! Master studies as “classes”! I’m so glad you liked that concept. It’s a helpful one for me too. (Haha, and always, yay cats! 😆🐱♥️)

I'm a stay home mom with a toddler and newborn and it's been SO hard to get painting time in. I love your idea to just have your supplies ready but with watercolor and my art room being on a different floor I find it too difficult. So you inspired me to pull out my watercolor markers and try to at least get something creative out everyday! Loved this video 😊

Thanks for sharing all this! I really needed to hear “don’t hold a grudge against yourself.”

I have used vacation days from my job to make art, and it was a wonderful vacation! Also, part of the reason I prefer painting in watercolour to gouache is because it's so much easier to wash my brushes afterwards! 😅

#1 is very true. I have my work station for my day job and, I have my art station that consist of my drawing display that I go to after work. I keep both in separate corners and it helps out to mentally switch over.

It's not correct to say that you cannot sell Master studies. If the artist has been dead for 100 years it's public domain. You can absolutely sell a master study

Love these tips! So practical and inspiring. My trick for getting started is to tell myself, "I'm just going to sit here and listen to this podcast/video/audiobook, and to keep myself awake I'll just draw while I listen." Any evening when my hand is moving across the page is a "win" even if it's just a doodle. And I love what you say about how the best work sometimes comes from those quick or simple marks on the page. So true! Love your videos and good luck with the move!

Thank you for this video! I have an ADHD brain that deals with this work/art struggle on top of it. I feel like artists, for the most part, don't talk about this subject enough. I love that you took some time to. I'm going to keep this video in mind moving forward....I've also saved this vid for reference :)

2:09 also just a friendly reminder just because we call them kitchen cabinets doesn’t mean you need to keep kitchen supplies in them.

Thank you for this great video! The “follow your natural energy” tip was very helpful to me. It made me realise that I’m a night owl. I’ve been forcing myself to create in the morning and it just doesn’t work quite as well as when I work at night 😂

You are badass, thank you for sharing these ideas. Appreciate #7 especially, I think a person's energy, focus, responsibilites, motivation can vary so much from day to day, week to week, month, year, etc that a person really has to feel it out literally daily. I like your ideas because they do help a person train themselves to "do" even when our minds are not feeling it and it is true that if you start engaging in art making even when you don't feel like it the motivation comes after you have begun and sometimes you do get some new ideas and insights from the short work burst of 10- 20 min because that was all the time you had that otherwise you might have lost had you given in to the mental fatigue. thank you again for your time and effort to put this info out and help others

your hair looks so gorgeous 😍

Love this video so many helpful tips which I really needed! Especially the don't hold a grudge against yourself and make your supplies accessible! I still haven't got into the habit of doing art after work as the barrier feels so high to just get started. But I've found what can help me is setting clear and realistic with intentions from the moment I wake up about what I will be completing that day so I have something to hold myself to rather than letting the evening slip away which can be just too easy after a long day at work 😅

This rings so true with me. I started my art channel 3 weeks ago, I work full time, and we're expecting our 1st baby in August. Great time to start right?! 😂 Your tips are really helpful, especially using even the smallest amount of time to create something. Thanks for sharing! 🙌

thank you for this. I'm working on improving my artwork while working a full-time job, and these tips are helping me pick myself up this week :D

Thanks for sharing those valuable tips. It sounds so simple but it truly is building long-lasting reliable habits and discipline (healthy routines) to be able to fall back on. Your videos and work inspired me to make my own patterns and one of the ideas I had was a much more abstract type repeat. If you have any tips on how to approach that, think, big blocks of al paste oil paint, texture, shapes, bold contrasts, that isn’t as easy to blend the seam lines with Stamp tool in PS, I’d be super grateful. Thanks so much in advance!

im only "part time" in my freelancing so i dont have the same time constraints as you but wow! this was really inspiring and encouraging. sometimes you really do have to push against your inner body telling you to lay around and do nothing (like me rn lol) but im sure once I get into the creative flow of things I'll feel and think differently.

I’ve gone digital mainly because I have no time for cleanup

Great video and super practical helpful tips, plus I just really appreciate your honest attitude towards art. I've been trying to get my art practice more consistent with the craziness and business of life, and have tried a few of these ideas already which has helped. Definitely taking a bit away from this. Thank you 🙏🎨

One benefit of being a digital artist: I can just work on my smartphone and take out a finger and make art. Insta-art. Say goodbye to the days of art supplies and paints that run out. Hello digital art!

Tip #4 is a big one and one that I struggle with! I think dedicating a set time to paint and even setting yourself a time limit, like you suggest, can help to just get over that un-inspired feeling! I find that once I get started I often don't want to stop once my timer goes off!

As someone who is currently in the middle of a personal challenge to paint 12 paintings by the end of June my advice is to spare yourself from any such insane notions.

I love this video! What I’ve come to realize is that there are major drawbacks to pursuing a passion like making art as a full time career. “Passion” only lasts so long in any job, but especially when you’re faced with the realities of instability and a low income that’s common to many creative fields. I really firmly believe that you don’t need to pursue art full time to make art that’s worth making and likewise, that making a living off of art isn’t what makes someone “an artist.” There are so many ways to live a fulfilling life and be an artist in your own right.

Can you please share your lighting and filming setup to use for filming your art at night ? Thanks for the helpful tips I’ll be using them as a busy mom of two little kids who are a full time job to me and a priority that comes before my art every day

Shout out to the rolling storage cart I keep near the dinner table for my art supplies. It’s all nearby to access but I can clear the table too

Awesome video..I like the limiting supplies.. One thing that helps me is exercise and eating healthy. When I physically feel like crud and I'm already exhausted from work and life making to the easel is next to impossible

WOW, I can't believe I just found you ! I'm literally in this situation right now where I work full time and then come home to do artwork after taking care of my family. I have a little 2 year old boy and a wonderful husband. I am EXHAUSTED. I think the hardest part is doing art even when I am not inspired to because I am so tired...

Thank you for sharing these tips with us 🧡 I'm currently doing a 100 days challenge, it's pretty simple because all I need to do is draw for 6 minutes, if I feel like doing more, I do more, if I'm not, then I leave it there. I'm practicing my fundamentals and it has been really helpful, I do it first thing in the morning before I get busy 😅 btw this was a challenge created by a fellow artist called Kesh, check out his channel if you haven't seen him, he's really good 😊

✨🌹such great practical tips! if its not too much trouble, would you be so kind to drop the link to your master studies video in the description box or in a comment reply? I’m interested in watching it but for some reason its not showing up in the video cards nor can I find it on your channel. Thanks so much for sharing! 🌹

Also interested in how you manage a RU-vid channel along with a full time job and making art on the side 😊 Hope you make a video on that someday!

So you are actually practicing STEAM. Not just STEM

I am wondering what you do for a living?

I also like working in day light but it's always " oh so much is pending I will do this first then sit, do that one then sit" and when everything is done it's already night 🗿, light might not be there but atleast my mind is clear , there is no work pending at night there is no one calling at night and other disturbance. So when I have to record something then I make a space in between the daily routine to record in light.

I appreciate your authenticity!

These are really good :) I cannot express enough how much figuring out tip#1 was a huge help for me. Having my supplies in a box meant expending too much energy to get them out before painting, while just grabbing them from a dedicated shelf made it so much easier. Now I definitely want to implement tip#2 :D

YES! Thank you for this!! Sometimes it seems like everyone has all this time and energy to make art - but not everyone has the same life demands or responsibilities or situations. There's no point in comparing, it's more worth it to be kind to yourself and do what you can - when you can :)

Thank you for sharing your knowledge 💖 your video came into the perfect time in my life, keep going ❤❤❤

@2:40 - Just wanted to say that's actually an eighth-sheet pan. What most think of as.a full sheet pan is a half-sheet pan. A full sheet is 26 inches by 18 inches (660 mm by 457 mm.) If you're looking for a smaller wet-palette, look at some of the products aimed at miniature painters. Red Grass Games, The Army Painter, Game Envy, and many more companies make and sell wet palettes aimed at mini painters that also include some other useful features. I'd definitely give them a look as they may have something that's perfect for you. Okay, enough pedantry and rambling back to the tips! EDIT: Re: Tips 2 and 3 - This reminds of something I've heard before, limits foster creativity. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it does make sense when you think about it. If you have a hard limit you have to work around, then you'll start thinking outside of the bounds you normally set for yourself. It also limits what my old boss called analysis paralysis, when you have to make a decision and you just can't get past mulling it over. The more options you give yourself, the worse it gets. Then again, you do have people like me that fear the blank page, we can limit ourselves to just a pencil and a sheet of paper and still wind up overthinking things and doing nothing. I started calling this "the fear of the blank page" when I realized I had a lot of thoughts and reflections on the day when I went to write in my journal, but I would freeze up every time I started to write. It's something that happens to me when I draw as well. Re: Tip 4 - Preach is sister! I find that once I get going it's easy to keep going, and not pressuring yourself is something that I thing more of us could stand to do in more than just our art. True, some of us (me!) need to put a little pressure on ourselves or else nothing gets done, but that doesn't mean we have to be so hard on ourselves when we don't do everything we set out to do. A flip side of this is giving yourself permission to suck or embracing failures. You're not going to be instantly good at everything, and even when you do get good at a skill, you're still going to make mistakes or even backslide some. It's okay if not everything you make is beautiful or is technically perfect. Embrace the imperfections as part of the learning and growing process. Don't set out to create a masterpiece. Set out to make some marks on paper and if it looks great, that's just a bonus. Sketchbooks are not sacred, so no need to treat them as such. Re: Tip 5 - This is something that I need to do. I've never done it outside of an art assignment when I took classes in college, and I kinda regret that now. I think it could also be helpful in figuring out what you like and why you like it, as well as seeing how master artists saw things like color and how they used the theories of art in practice. The flip side of this, of offloading the creative decision making to make it easier when you're mentally spent to make/practice art, reminds me of something I heard recently: Those that work with their hands should rest with their minds and those that work with their minds should rest with their hands. It's not an exact quote, but I think it gets the point across. If you work in a field that is physically hard, then when you relax, you should do things that engage your mind. If you do things that are mentally hard, then when you relax you should do things that engage your body. I think this is why so many people in IT and STEM fields, especially those that work with computers all day, are turning towards physical and tactile hobbies. I know that as I've gotten older I have been less interested in doing digital art and wanting to do more with analog media, like ink, watercolor, oils, acrylics, and gouache. I still want to do some of the digital things, like 3d modeling and sculpting for 3d printing, but I'm not as invested in learning how to do that exclusively as I was in my teens and early twenties. Re: Tip 6 - Oh this applies to so much more than making art. Re: Tip 7 - Again, this is something that's important to do in more than just art. If we give ourselves some grace, we aren't wasting energy beating ourselves up. This is a lesson that's taken me over twenty years to learn and put into practice. That isn't to say that discipline isn't important, but discipline doesn't mean punishing and insulting yourself over and over again for your failures, especially years after the fact. If you physically can't do something, then there's no reason to beat yourself up over it. You may wish you could, but we all have to understand that we aren't omnipotent. We can't do it all. We can't even do everything that we may want to do. I know that's the case with me. Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing at all. Thanks for posting this. Hope you enjoy your journey through this life. May God bless you with many years of enjoying making art.

thank you for the insights and for working through the ever present NOISE

Hahahahaa all the noise in the background reminds me of my life 😂. It's like a comedy movie ❤

It’s amazing how universally obvious these tips feel when you hear them explained to well. It’s so easy to get bogged down mentally so hearing you lay these tips out so clearly has helped so much. Thank you and I wish your artistic journey well!

It’s a very useful video! I am in the same situation with the exactly same issues with a full time work and a kid😅 I try to apply to me a very simple rule in my case: just do one thing every day. Even if I am tired, I found out I can always manage to do something even small for my art 🙌

i love this video

So grateful for this video. It’s so great to see so many are in the same position. Great tips thank u!

Thaaank uu

This are all great tips , I do have a desk where I have a box with the paints I use more a cup with mix of pencils markers pens and blushes I use more. If I am painting something that's going to take longer I leave it as display and work slowly on it when I can 😊 between that make small art cards. It's all so much fun 😄. I'm a new sub and I also love to paint thanks for the video 💖

I really needed this video, by job is so draining sometimes but I have a big goal of becoming a full-time artist. I feel like I'm failing anytime that I'm not drawing if I'm not at work 😓 I'm going to implement the masterstudy idea, and I already keep my tablet on my nightstand, it's very relaxing before bed! I'd also like to add that I've given myself a small amount of time to meet by the end of the week, I can draw for as long or as little as I want, every day or only a few days as long as that time is met (right now it's 7 hours per week, had to drop it from 10 because life happens!)

Thank you for the tips! ❤

Awesome tips! Loving your videos❤

Omg I have the same exact brushes and gouache as you! (Although I'm typically a watercolor color person)

one sentence in, I was like yeah that's exactly it.

Nice- glad to find your channel

I love how real and helpful you are haha. This is great for artists who are just tired, but we gotta keep going

Great video x thank you ❤

Great tips but it isnt true you cant sell your master studies, you can do it if copied artworks are in public domain.

Great video thank you ❤😊

Great video! Really helpful 😄

The tips are much appreciated ❤

I 100 % agree to these tipps!

Good luck with the move !!

Nice video keep it up 😁

Its not the full time job, part time meaning thing…try adding two kids, or god forbid 3. Having just a full time job and a part time meaning is easy after you have experienced having kids