Members Interview

We all know the sinking feeling we get when we’ve been working very hard but online or in real life we see people with much lesser experience getting huge opportunities and we start to doubt our creative ideas, thoughts, and journey. It hits a nerve because we put in the hours, poured ourselves into every piece, and yet it feels like someone else is being noticed first. The truth is, opportunity rarely lands purely on merit or years of practice. There are hidden factors, unspoken rules, and sometimes simple timing that…

Watercolour has a gentle way of slowing us down. It asks us to look a little closer and let small moments guide the brush. In this article, we meet five women who each have their own relationship with the medium—whether they’re sketching gardens, carrying paint on the road, teaching beginners, or building a lifelong practice. Their styles differ, but they’re all connected by the simple act of noticing the world and returning to the page with care.

I get it. Accepting criticism can be hard, especially when you have poured hours, days, or even weeks into curating and perfectly arranging your portfolio, only to have someone point out everything they think is wrong. That sting is real. Feeling defensive, frustrated, or even questioning your abilities happens, but hear me out, critique does not mean failure. A portfolio is more than just a collection of work; it functions as a communication tool. Sometimes, even the most talented artists unintentionally make choices that confuse the viewer or dilute the impact…

This might be perhaps the question that pops up the most in emerging artists’ minds: how do I create a career path that feels intentional, manageable, and actually sustainable, rather than overwhelming and chaotic? The art world can feel like a storm of opportunities, deadlines, social media demands, and endless “what ifs,” and figuring out where to start, or what to prioritize, can feel paralyzing. Feeling scattered does not mean a lack of talent or ambition. Many artists face the same challenge of balancing creative growth, visibility, and practical needs like…

Ivan Shishkin was born on January 13, 1832 (Old Style) ,  or January 25, 1832 (New Style) ,  in the town of Yelabuga, Vyatka province, Russia. He studied art first at the School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture in Moscow (1852–1856), and then at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg (1856–1860).In 1860 he was awarded the Academy’s Gold Medal and granted a stipend to travel and study in European art centers ,  Munich, Prague, Düsseldorf. His exposure to the techniques and realism of the Düsseldorf school helped shape his…

In this interview, Australian painter Alyssa Joy Black talks about how time spent sitting in her garden during a long period of illness slowly guided her back into painting. She shares how this shift changed her practice, what helped her start creating again, and what she hopes people notice when they stand in front of her work.

Deadline Extended! You now have until December 30th to submit your work for the “Faces” exhibition. This is your chance to share your unique vision, join a global community of artists, and have your work featured alongside extraordinary creations from around the world. Don’t miss the opportunity to be part of this inspiring showcase every face tells a story, and we want to see yours.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover” couldn’t be more true when it comes to open calls. On paper, they seem simple: submit your work, wait, maybe get picked. But if you’ve tried it, you already know it’s never that easy. Each call has little hidden rules, unspoken expectations, and tiny hints that can make the difference between getting noticed and getting lost in the pile. Here’s the thing, reading between the lines is what separates the submissions that feel random from the ones that actually hit the mark. You have…

The last thing artists expect is needed to stay consistent is emotional skills, but let me break it down for you. Most of us think being consistent is all about discipline, rigid schedules, or hours locked in the studio. Like, “if I just grind long enough, I’ll magically produce every day.” But the truth is way messier, and way more human. What really keeps you showing up is how you deal with the doubts, the distractions, the little inner voices that whisper, “Maybe today isn’t worth it.” That’s where emotional skills…

Stepping into Christine Dimaculangan’s studio feels like entering a quiet corner of her world. The air smells of oil paint and wood, and her walls are lined with studies, notes, and photographs that guide her next body of work. In this studio visit, she talks about her routines, the tools she keeps closest, the way she lets ideas settle, and how she moves through the space while working on several paintings at once. It is a warm look at how she builds her practice day by day, inside a room that…