Artist Strong

I'm going to try to ask for your feedback more in this space!

Which one of these do you like best?

2 months ago | [YT] | 6

Artist Strong

Well everyone, it's official! My husband has a job! And we are moving! Again!

We are moving to Calgary next week.

I want to thank you all for your amazing support during this personally difficult time. It's not quite over yet, but I feel a new chapter starting and I can't wait to share it all with you.

This was on our road trip to Calgary this past weekend when we went house hunting. I thought this was a lovely example of atmospheric perspective.

2 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 28

Artist Strong

A personal update I shared via email and feel I should here as well...

Personally, this has been one of the hardest years of my life.

In the past, I’ve had brain surgery, lost my father and brother, and faced numerous other challenges. But my husband’s recent layoff, our immediate move from Texas to B.C., and the uncertainty it brings has felt harder than anything I’ve ever known. For the past four months, I’ve been treading water without knowing when work will come, where we will live, or how this will impact my little one.

On top of this, the trust recession we’re experiencing both online and offline, paired with constant stress and uncertainty, has taken a heavy toll on my mental health.

It’s time to find a life vest.

One step I’m taking is paring things down. For example, I’m tired of Teachable’s constant price increases for hosting my courses, so I’m migrating them to a new platform.

This also means I’ll be retiring some of my classes, likely forever. You may have already received emails about courses that are closing. (I’ll send details about when and how to download content for paid programs that won’t be returning.)

Here are the classes I’m keeping:

-Self-Taught to Self-Confident
-Drawing Drills 3-Day Challenge

I’ll also continue offering 1:1 coaching to a limited number of people.

Here are two classes I may keep or retire (undecided):

-Fantastic Faces
-Embark on Art

Here are classes I will retire:

-Drawing Drills: Free 7 Day Art Challenge
-Create a Unique Artwork in 10 Days
-Soulbrush Sessions: Rediscover Your Sense of Play
-How to Build Your Artist Website
-Explore Mixed Media Techniques with Altered Books
-Sharpen Your Skills: Understanding Value
-Color with Confidence

I’m aching to have space to make art again and more time to create. My hope is that pruning my offers will allow me to show up as my best self, continue serving you, and also take better care of me. (It will also give me the flexibility I need when we move temporarily in September and again in the near future.)

Sometimes I worry about sharing “too much” when I write for Artist Strong. But I also dislike the curated feeds of relentless optimism, it’s simply not how life works. I want to be honest about the tough seasons, too, and how art and life intersect in those moments. I believe that this season of pruning back will make room for even greater blossoms in the next, and I’m here to share that journey with you.

If you have any questions or concerns about the classes you’re enrolled in, please reach out. I’ll be in touch as we get closer to moving everything onto the new platform, which…so far…I’m loving. Here’s a sneak peek of what the newly updated Drawing Drills looks like (it's the photo I have included in this post).

As always, thank you so much for being here.

Remember, proudly call yourself an artist!

Together we are Artist Strong. 💛

Carrie

3 months ago | [YT] | 24

Artist Strong

Since we've had an influx of new people choosing to be Artist Strong, I thought I should say hello.

I'm Carrie. I'm a multi-passionate human being who loves the arts, baking, craft chocolate, board games, reading, and my wonderful little family more than I can possibly express.

I've recently moved to BC Canada where I'm savoring morning walks that include making friends with young bucks, osprey and bald eagles.

I do this work because I deeply believe in our need to be creative and express ourselves. And if I can help even ONE person decide their interest in art is important and valuable, I've won. <3

Thanks for choosing to be here. Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment. And if you have ANYTHING you want to share about your art, I'm here to help.

Warmest of welcomes to our new community members (and big hugs to all you community veterans out there),

Carrie

4 months ago | [YT] | 34

Artist Strong

I thought I'd share an update since it's been a minute.

We are officially IN Canada! Right now we've set up shop at my in-laws, while we look for jobs and housing. We are still in a place of in-between, but I've started recording content again and I aim to publish weekly, if not twice a week, as we get more settled.

I'm curious: do you all like the captioning that I've been doing recently? Or do you prefer the youtube captions, which can be optional.

This photo is from a viewpoint in Kelowna, BC, where we are currently staying right now while my mum visits:

5 months ago | [YT] | 17

Artist Strong

Hey all! I'm FINALLY getting back in gear and plan to schedule 1-2 posts per week again. Our first one goes live tomorrow and I have a teaser for you here:

"There are many myths tangled up in the idea of completion. Some artists believe a piece is finished only when it matches their original vision. Others think it must reach a certain level of realism or technical perfection. And then there are those (hello, recovering perfectionist here) who keep fiddling long after the piece is ready to speak for itself.

The truth is: most of us were never really taught how to know when a piece is done. And often, we think more effort equals better art. But that mindset can be misleading, and even harmful."

Can't wait to get the YouTube ball rolling again. I appreciate all of your patience as I made a huge move, that is still unfolding. <3

6 months ago | [YT] | 9

Artist Strong

Hello Artist Strong lovely humans,

Due to personal circumstances, my family has to move countries, which means I’m moving from Texas in the United States to Canada in less than one month’s time.

I do not have a backlog of videos prepared and I am a company of one; I will get back to producing videos, hopefully, in early May!

In the meantime, please watch and share older videos to help me out? There are hundreds here… hopefully there’s one that can be new and useful to you. And if you have any ideas for future content you want to see please comment below.

Thank you so much for your support and flexibility during this unexpected time in my life.

Together, we are Artist Strong.

Carrie

8 months ago | [YT] | 24

Artist Strong

A reminder that I'm hosting a YouTube Live that will walk you through a process of studying an artist to then applying their ideas to your own work. The artist I will use as an example is Gustav Klimt.

I'm going to treat this like actual workshop time where I hope we pause and experiment so I recommend the following:

Art materials to play with (I recommend in a sketchbook or small paper or canvas).
A place to take notes
A computer to watch and look up images for your selected artist.
Image references/sketches/previous work you might want to use that reflect the kind of work you already create.

We start 1 pm CST Friday Jan 10. I suspect we will be between 1-1.5 hours.

11 months ago | [YT] | 16

Artist Strong

Content for 2025 - What topics do YOU want covered?

Think about problems you've had, questions you've wondered about, and more. Anything and everything art tell me it all!

1 year ago | [YT] | 3

Artist Strong

In addition to the art education work I do here on Artist Strong, I also make art about motherhood and my transition into becoming a parent.

I was recently interviewed about this experience and how my art was born from it. If that interests you watch and listen here:

1 year ago | [YT] | 0