The Creative Climb

I’m reading The Courage to Be Disliked, and instead of just highlighting passages and saying “wow, I needed this,” I’m going to actually test it.

For the next few months, I’m paying attention to how much of my creative life is driven by what I think other people will think.

Should I post this?
Is this good enough?
Will people like it?
What if they think I’m trying too hard?
What if nobody cares?
Should I be doing what everyone else is doing?

And then I’m going to practice doing the opposite.

Make the thing.
Post the thing.
Try the idea.
Change my mind.
Say no.
Say yes.
Take the class.
Make the body of work.
Stop explaining myself.
Stop checking who noticed.

Not recklessly. Just intentionally.

I want to see what changes when I spend the next few months making decisions based less on approval and more on what I actually want to create.

Because there’s a big difference between considering other people’s opinions and being controlled by them.

I encourage you to read with me! Let’s compare notes. 📝

Monday reminder: if you want to keep growing, you have to make time to learn. ✨

Don’t wait until you “have time” to learn something new. Put it on the calendar.

Every Monday, I’m challenging myself to intentionally schedule one hour each week to learn something I don’t know yet.

A new technique.
A new medium.
A new skill.
A new perspective.
Something that stretches me beyond what I already know.

As artists, we spend so much time creating that it’s easy to forget that learning is part of the creative process, too.

What you schedule, you make room for.
What you make room for, you grow in. 🌱

So before this week gets busy, look at your calendar and ask yourself:

“What am I going to learn this week?”

Then write it down. Schedule it. Show up for it. And track your progress.

That’s exactly why I created The Creative Climb Planner—to help you turn the things you want to accomplish into things you actually make time for.

🎨 Download The Creative Climb Planner and start planning your growth, tracking your progress, and making space for the creative life you’re building.

Because you don’t become a better artist by simply creating more.

You become a better artist by staying curious.

🚨 Poll for my painting people… 🎨

What’s your ride-or-die paintbrush brand?

The one you’d protect in a fire.
The one you secretly judge other artists by.
The one that has no business being as expensive as it is. 😂

Drop your favorite brand below. I’m on a mission to find the brush. 👇🖌️

🎨 Commission artists… let’s talk pricing.

I just finished this 12” × 12” acrylic pet portrait, and it got me thinking…

💰 What would you charge for a piece like this?
Are most artists undervaluing their time and talent… or are some pricing themselves out of the market?

And if you’re an art collector, I’m just as curious:
What would you honestly expect to pay for this painting?
No right or wrong answers—I genuinely want to see how much pricing varies across artists and buyers.
Drop your number in the comments and let’s compare. 👇

Every artist starts with a spark.

Not a masterpiece.
Not a million followers.
Not a perfectly curated studio.
Just a spark.

I believe every creative climbs through seven stages:
✨ The Spark — where curiosity begins.
🎨 The Artisan — where you learn your craft.
🌿 The Messy Middle — where doubt, mistakes, and growth collide.
⛰️ The Rising Artist — where consistency starts creating momentum.
💼 The CEO — where you learn to build a business around your creativity.
👑 The Legacy — where your work becomes bigger than you.
🌎 The Impact — where your art changes lives and opens doors for others.

No stage is better than another.
Every artist you admire has stood exactly where you are now.
The goal isn’t to skip stages, it’s to keep climbing.
So…where are you today? Tell me your stage below. ⬇️