Learning art better, together

Weekly letter: August 15th 2025

What a whirlwind summer it’s been… Over a month since I last wrote to you here, and I can’t wait to get back to it.

My focus during July and August has been solely on my art business - on painting, local exhibitions, and my small, Swedish newsletter. I realized I had to press pause on most other tasks in order to pull through. And so I painted 24 watercolor paintings over the course of just a few weeks, and did three exhibitions. One of them still ongoing. It’s been exhausting, but also so much fun. And I’ve learned a ton of valuable lessons, which I’ll share more about here going forward.

The collection launch isn’t entirely finished. I’ve yet to bring the remaining paintings home, photograph them, and list them publicly in my online shop. So far, the paintings have only been available to my studio newsletter subscribers, some of which have graciously pre-ordered paintings. My seaside birds seem to have resonated with a lot of people. Not surprising perhaps, since I now live in a seaside town. Twelve paintings sold so far. I’m speechless. And so, so grateful.

But I’m also looking forward to painting more casually for a bit. Not churning out paintings under high pressure and a deadline, but painting freely with no goal other than to explore and improve. Last weekend, I took a class with one of my watercolor role models, and dear friend, Elisabeth Biström, where I learned many tricks that I’m eager to put into practice. Her brushwork is like magic to me, and just to be able to look over her shoulder as she painted was well worth the price and time. Online classes can be great, but they’re not a substitute for irl tutoring. I’m slowly nurturing a plan, (and gathering courage!) to start offering local art workshops. And I feel inspired to up my teaching game for my online classes as well.

I’m going to deepen my own art practice going forward, with lots more practice and exploration, and more time spent producing artwork. And I plan to invite you along to join me. I recently had a vision for what this place could be, and I want to make that a reality this year. This is the plan:

• More posts (on top of these weekly letters). I want to pour my heart into this channel instead of YouTube, which feels way too draining and demanding right now. I want to spend more time writing, and less time in front of the camera and editing.

• Monthly Q&As, where I respond to your questions about art, creativity, mental health, and growing a sustainable creative business. I will invite questions, and then respond to as many as I can in an audio post. Similar to the way I do in my voice note coaching.

• Regular community discussions. A place to share insights, struggles, tips and resources, and perhaps make new friends and collaborators.

• Community-led art challenges, where we choose a focus for our practice for particular length of time, discuss challenges and insights, and share our work.

• Quarterly online painting workshops, where I paint a subject from start to finish and talk you through my thought process the entire time. I will release these right here on Substack, for my upcoming Art Student tier (which I’ll launch in a few weeks. Stay put for more info about that.)

There’s inflation of everything right now, including online learning. I’ve noticed it in myself: I buy less art courses, and struggle to get through them. There’s just too much “content” everywhere that it can easily eat into the actual practice time. And improving at art is all about the practice.

And so the challenge nowadays, at least for me, lies more in keeping up a regular practice and learning more directly from the artists I look up to. Also, the community aspect feels more and more important. Not just practicing in a vacuum, but together with a close-knit group of people. That’s what I want to offer here, on my little corner of the internet. Instead of trying to “info dump” everything I know into a small number of overly ambitious courses that people likely struggle to get through, I want to simply share my own practice and invite you to learn and practice alongside me, together.

And so that’s what you can expect here going forward. Free subscribers will still get all of my weekly letters, as well as many of my other posts. Paying subscribers get access to the full archive, get priority focus in my Q&As, and get access to the community (the comment section, and the discussions.) And fellow artists who want to grow together will soon be able to join my yearly “Art Student” membership tier for access to all of my classes (past ones as well as upcoming ones), and the community-led art challenges. I’m so excited to kick this into gear!

---

OTHER NEWS:

Spots open for 1:1 coaching

Need some help getting unstuck in your creative business? I offer voice note/chat coaching via Telegram. You can talk (or write) to me however much you want during our time together, whenever it suits you. And I'll reply during my business hours. No need to fit Zoom calls into our busy schedules, and struggle with time zone differences and tech issues. Relaxed, flexible, and introvert friendly. 😌

I offer 1-day, 1-week, and 1-month packages. Currently taking bookings for September and onwards.

“I felt stuck with my art career, with too many ideas and no clue what to prioritize and how to move forward. I now finally have an actionable plan of concrete things I can do to improve how I make a living from my art.”

- Julia Klein, illustrator

---

FAVORITE THINGS:

• Crossword puzzles. One of those relaxing, offline activities that I always forget exists, only to rediscover it and become obsessed.

• This mini-documentary that made me all warm and fuzzy inside:

• Currently reading Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation, and getting renewed motivation to take control of my online habits and mental health.

• Robotpencil: “Talent is earned”:

• The Prism: “How social media shortens your life”. A long read, but well worth the time.

  How Social Media Shortens Your Life

Until next time, stay creative, stay calm.

Louise

---

Hi, I'm Louise - a watercolor wildlife artist, and creative coach. I paint - mostly birds. I hold online workshops for fellow artists who want to improve their craft. And I support creative solopreneurs with my 1:1 coaching.

If you enjoy my stuff, consider subscribing, and sharing my posts. You can also become a paying subscriber to unlock the full archive of posts, and join the community. Your support means a lot to me. 🖤