Seven Years as a Self-Employed Artist
The last newsletter I sent you in July was about 'not giving up' and sowing seeds for later, keeping busy etc. etc. Well, those seeds? They're all coming up now! I've been flooded with opportunities and work which is amazing, but I've also been happy to tick off a few boxes and call projects finished. Let me show you a few things.
On Not Giving Up: Saving My Art Career & a Long Overdue Update
I worked really hard to save my business these past months and what I mean by save is that I completely depleted my financial buffer because of external reasons. I needed to fix it. I wanted to fix it.
Walking South to North: Skye Trail
In april I went on a hiking trip to Isle of Skye, Scotland. Me and my partner hiked 130km of the Skye trail, walking from south to north. I liked drawing the same subjects a few times, making small and large alterations.
Alternative social media: starting a Patreon
Alternative social media: starting a Patreon as an artist
I'm full of ideas: here's what I'm committing to this year
A creative update from artist Roxy van Bemmel about a surge of energy and ideas after a slow period. She outlines her approach to committing to projects — learned through building a YouTube channel — and announces plans for online illustration workshops, more commissioned portrait work, and most importantly, developing her ongoing painting series into a coherent body of work.
Getting back to the studio… slowly, and that's okay
A candid personal essay by artist Roxy van Bemmel about exhaustion after months of house renovations, a hand injury scare, and the familiar freelance anxiety of a quiet first quarter. She reflects on guilt around rest, rebuilding a daily painting practice, and learning to be kind to herself as a self-employed creative.
A new body of work
A personal studio update from artist Roxy about returning to oil painting after a period of client work. She reflects on her intuitive, photograph-based sketching process and introduces the first painting of a new unnamed figurative series. She also mentions an ongoing exhibition of six oil paintings at Bunk Hotels in Utrecht.
Born from frustration, making something that makes me happy
Discover how a copyright dispute inspired a nine-piece floral collage series. Handmade original artworks born from frustration — now available to buy.
A personal essay by an artist describing how a copyright claim over floral paintings led her to create a nine-piece original collage series. The post covers the creative process, her response to the dispute, and how the works are now available at an accessible price point.