My new year's resolution
I wrote a Substack at the end of the year about how tired I am of artists who are certain. You can read it here if you're interested.
It just feels as though our Instagram feeds and Youtube home pages are increasingly filled with artiss giving tips, instructions or strategies on how to succeed, or on how to know you are succeeding in some way.
I get it,. We're all seeking knowledge. I also understand that may more artists are now teaching online and needing an audience. And finally, I get that AI has made it possible for anyone to quickly whip up a 'top 5' list.
But I find it exhausting and also slightly irritating. Because my experience of being an artist is so far removed from all that certainty. My experience could best be described as the exerience of wading through treacle with my legs tied together and a blindfold on.
Ok, maybe I am being melodramatic, but what I mean is that I am usually mired in some combination of self-doubt and confusion.
It's not unpleasant - I actually welcome it because it means I am doing something new and that's always exciting. But it's definitely not what I see in my Instagram feed.
"Why your art isn't selling!" says one headline.
"5 ways to know you've found your own artist voice!" shouts another.
"3 colour mixing tips that will never let you down"
The list goes on.
In the past, I've made my fair share of instructional content. Maybe I'll do it again. But 2026 feels really different to me. It feels like we are being overrun by AI-driven confidence and certainty, and it makes me want to run in the opposite direction.
So this newsletter is going to become more honest, more uncertain, and more vulnerable. I'm not going to try for easy answers or lists. I'm just going to share what I'm doing, or thinking, or struggling with.
The same applies to my Instagram my Substack and my Youtube channel. Less instruction, more sharing.
I have a feeling that's what many of us are craving as we move into this new year.
I know there's a lot of fear about AI and what it might mean for artists and other creatives, but I honestly see nothing but positives ahead. We don't want to read blog posts or articles that all sound the same. We don't want our TV shows and films to become increasingly homogenised. We don't want our social media feeds to be filled with AI schlock and we don't want our art to be made by computers.
AI will replace many jobs I'm sure and it will bring great benefits as well as potentially great harms. But I genuinely believe it makes artists and creatives more special and more valuable than ever before. Let's lean into our individuality (including all our flaws and foibles) and our vulnerability. Let's be honest and open with one another. Let's give our very best creatively.
This is how AI will improve human connection in my opinion. As we run screaming from another AI-generated listicle, we will search for those people who are sharing honestly and openly in a way that resonates with us.
My new year's wish is that I can be that person for you, and that you can be that person for others :)