“The trouble is that we have a bad habit of considering happiness as something rather stupid. Only pain is intellectual, only evil interesting. This is the treason of the artist: a refusal to admit the banality of evil and the terrible boredom of pain.” - Ursula Le Guin

This is my absolute favourite quote of all time and it comes from esteemed author Ursula Le Guin. I came across this quote in high school whilst studying her text The Left Hand of Darkness (very good book, made better if you don’t have to write an exam on it) and it has stuck with me since.

Welcome back to the RoundUp, A series where I scour the internet for answers to common questions that tend to plague creatives and present my findings here.

Let’s end off this month with a bit of optimistic philosophy shall we? Today’s question is:

For those of you who follow SNL, Season 52 premiered recently with new cast members. One of which is Grace Reiter, a 25 year old comedian who started by making comedic sketches on TikTok with friends. After their channel American High became viral on TikTok, Reiter has appeared in Minimum Wage, a web series created by her and her friends, The Chair Company, a comedy-triller on HBO, and is now a member of SNL. Reiter’s first youtube shorts date back only to 2021.

As a first-year cast member on SNL, she’ll be making $3,000 per episode.

The web series Minimum Wage was bought by Netflix and will be premiering in October of this year. That’s another steady paycheck.

In my opinion her best work to date is her youtube video The Hunger Games (but better) - A Parody, which is a (near) shot for shot remake of The Hunger Games created by her and her friends for her birthday, with 14 million views so far, it’s a fan favourite and she’d working on a Twilight (but better) soon.

Another American High shorts alumni is Julia Dicesare. With 416.5K followers and 14.4m likes on Tiktok and 437k subscribers on Youtube, Dicesare’s youtube channel is a mix of her stand up routine, long form comedic series - The Reality of Apartment Hunting, White Women of the West Village and Every Episode of Sex and the City: Fornication and the Metropolitan Area. She is also part of Minimum Wage.

She has video diaries on her page, where she candidly vlogs her days, explaining that she moved to NYC to pursue comedy. It’s a rewarding experience to watch an artist before they ‘make it’, to see that drive and passion that’s so similar to yours, and want to reach out through the screen and tell them that they’ve done it.

What if it all works out?

Sometimes that’s a hard question to ask in the current world. Even from a creative standpoint, the idea of making it big in your industry may seem like such a long and daunting journey that requires items that you just don’t have in your pack.

Nepotism. A high follower count. Time to explore and make mistakes.

The average, has- a-full-time- job to pay the bills - artist is already been wrung out by the day. Then there’s the million other artists in the world ten steps ahead of you with every scroll of your thumb. Comparison is hard to outrun. But that’s not a reason to stop running.

I’ve been writing a book for the past five years. I just completed it at the start of this year (Hold for applause. Thank you) I kept coming back to it on and off absentmindedly. The first few drafts were terrible- that’s not self-depreciation, that’s just statistical- but it was good enough for me to keep writing. In the years of my life being unpredictable, it’s been something steady and growing- a linear progress I could count on while the initial years of adulthood proved anything but an assembly line of predicaments, each trying to one up the last.

I had the fleeting outline of an idea for it lining up to be let in the exam room for a very scary and stress-inducing test on Le Guin’s book. It instantly vanished from my mind when I sat and received lined paper.

When I returned to my locker, two hours later, very hungry and having no faith in my ability to understand the English language, the idea returned and something clicked into place enough for me to mull over it for a couple years, then finally open up a laptop and begin a five year long journey.

What do I have to show for it? What a strange way of thinking of the past five years. I was having fun.

Even if I hadn’t completed the book, it has served me in more ways than one. I know how to keep trying, I know rejection, I know late-night flow states, I know the satisfaction of smashing a word count. I know how to sit with discomfort, irritation, boredom, annoyance, intimidation, giddiness, joy, faith and curiosity.

And I have never had a boring train ride.

I think the reason I like the Le Guin quote is because it sort of says it doesn’t have to all be hard. Trying to get your creative career off the ground is a fun and challenging thing. Don’t let comparison extinguish the giddiness of actually following your dreams. And when you’re so wrapped up in what you could achieve in the next day, month, year, comparison just slowly fades away. Small side comments are met with confused disinterest and little things that you used to play on repeat to ignite your ambition gives way to soft, peaceful clarity.

Dedication beats obsession. Skill trumps talent. It will all work out.

And anyways, you have time.

***

Thanks for reading! It’s nice to meet you! Let us know if you like this type of content or if there’s anything else you’d like to hear from us.

You can find the creatives that were mentioned in this article down below, if there’s any topics or people you’d like to see me cover, let me know in the comments. (And if you’d like to be featured, let us know too!).

Thanks again for reading and remember - be kind to yourself!

Catch you later,

Kaye

Make sure to check out the artists mentioned!

Grace Reiter:

Youtube: @GraceReiter
Instagram: @GraceReiter
Tiktok: @reitergrace

Julia DiCesare

Youtube: @julia_disecare
Instagram: @@julia_disecare

https://www.juliadicesare.com/

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“Falling in love again with your craft is inevitable. Creativity is disinterested in the hive of productivity; it rejects the notion of optimisation and demands rest when it is needed. So rest.

And anyway, there’s always tomorrow.” - Me

We’ve got to that point in the RoundUp where I’m quoting my own past articles. Not sure yet if that’s a good sign or bad, but it does deepen the RoundUp cinematic universe I guess.

Hello, new reader who has no idea what’s going on and the other three regulars, - Welcome to the RoundUp! A series where I scour the internet for answers to common questions that tend to plague creatives and present my findings here.

Today’s question continues on from last article’s question - how do you fall back in love with your craft?

Falling in love, or falling back in love is really not up to you, it’s quite easy to follow the shiny new idea that pops into your head after watching a masterpiece of a tv show. Motivation and inspiration are excellent tools to get you started, but what happens when they slowly dribble away and you’re left with a dozen scribbles that require a lot of effort to make sense of and that next new idea is vying for your attention?

So, today’s question is a much more harder one to answer:

Answer: Discipline

Sitting with discomfort

American fantasy author most known for her Six of Crows duology (surprise third book already out, teenage me is screaming. adult me is too), is none other than Leigh Bardugo (has her own substack, check it out!). Her debut novel, Shadow and Bone, was the first book in her Grisha trilogy and was nominated for the Romantic Times Book Award and South Carolina Children’s Book award; it was picked up by Netflix in 2019, cut after season two.

It also came almost fifteen years after she graduated from university - something that she outlines in her TedTalk - The art of discomfort. It’s a masterful TedTalk which details the importance of sticking with your craft, even when the honeymoon phase ends.

Bardugo says that in that 15 year gap of finishing her degree and writing that first book, she “spent those fifteen years working a crappy job, trying to write a book but failing”. Why? Because she had not honed “the ability to tolerate discomfort”. Obviously, she has trained this skill, having completed the Shadow and Bone trilogy, Six of Crows duology, King of Scars duology, Ninth House trilogy and many more.

The beginner artist has very good taste and bad skills.

When they practise their craft, they can see the looming gap between what they’ve written and what is good. They are clever enough to recognise greatness yet not skilled enough to evoke it.

Yet.

That comes with years of practice, of repetition and curiosity. You may be able to write a scene with the most stunning prose ever written, but where does that sit in a narrative? How do the characters stand on their own, what drives them to that place in the story?

And can you mimic that same ease and flow for 150,000 words?

Perfection is never attainable but mastery is, it just takes years. Perhaps a decade or two. And time is the only difference between those who write a book versus those who only have an idea.

It takes more than one person to write a book.

Keeping with the book theme, it seems only fitting to talk about an editor next.

Alyssa Matesic is a developmental book editor -( she’s on Substack too) With 7+ years of editorial and publishing experience, Matesic first realised her passion for book editing when she was the editor in chief of her high school newspaper. From that she went to New York University for English and American Literature with a Certificate in Book Publishing. She’s worked for Ballantine Books, Henry Holt and Company and the Book Group. Now she has her own developmental editing agency, where she offers book editing services, publishing and writing tips and story self-assessments.

Her youtube channel, @alyssamatesic, which she started over 6+ years ago, has now grown to over 170k followers. If you’re a writer looking to get traditionally published or even self- published, her free resources on her website (linked below) and her youtube channel is very insightful into what developmental editors are looking for in a manuscript.

A series on her youtube channels features Matestic offering critiques to her subscribers, often picking from a range of genres and levels, her genuine, helpful advice anchors between tough love and good support.

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How do you stay in love with your craft?

I think it’s the same basis as the question ‘how do I love myself?’ It’s self-answering, really. If you try to love yourself, then you already do - that’s where the trying comes from. The same can be said for your craft, you just keep trying, on the good days and bad days.

This has been a very writing-focused RoundUp, but the same can be said for any other creative output. Taste is curated early, you know what you like, you know what’s a good piece of drawing or writing, or piece of music. The creation of your own sloppy drafts is ego-crushing and disappointing, but just because you can’t mimic the same ease that your favourite creator has, doesn’t mean your taste is wrong, it just means you’re young in your craft.

Being a good writer takes years to achieve. People put in years simply because it’s fun. And when it’s not fun, they still keep going because they know they’re onto something, that all that’s standing in the way of them realising the book they visioned years ago is dedication to their craft.

So believe in yourself, I guess, is my ultimate message. And there’s no shame in being bad at something. Everyone was bad at something at some point. Learning compounds differently for each person, perhaps you get better bit by bit, perhaps everything clicks into place in three years. Don’t judge success on other people’s triumphs, focus on your own.

And besides, learning to fight for what you want is never a bad thing.

***

Thanks for reading! It’s nice to meet you! Let us know if you like this type of content or if there’s anything else you’d like to hear from us.

You can find the creatives that were mentioned in this article down below, if there’s any topics or people you’d like to see me cover, let me know in the comments. (And if you’d like to be featured, let us know too!).

Thanks again for reading and remember - be kind to yourself!

Catch you later,

Kaye

Make sure to check out the artists mentioned!

Leigh Bardugo

Instagram: @lbardugo
Website: https://www.leighbardugo.com/

Substack:

We are the weirdos, mister.

#1 NYT best-selling author of The Familiar, Ninth House, Shadow & Bone, Six of Crows, The Invisible Parade, and suchlike🌙

By Leigh Bardugo

Alyssa Matesic

Youtube: @AlyssaMatesic

Instagram: @alyssabookeditor
Website: https://www.alyssamatesic.com/

Substack:

Chapter Break

Writing advice and book publishing insights from industry leaders and established authors put together by your friendly neighborhood book editor!

By Alyssa Matesic

Ready for more?

Read Part 1: How Do You Fall Back in Love With Your Craft?

Front Row is your backstage pass to our essays, workshops, and online summits on navigating the future of creativity. Built by, for & with independent creatives.

We’re also publishing on: Instagram | YouTube | TikTok | LinkedIn | Threads

I have no idea, but you’re here aren’t you, with all that wonderful creativity that- let’s be honest, you wouldn’t trade for the world.

Happy Sunday everyone! Welcome back to the RoundUp, A series where I scour the internet for answers to common questions that tend to plague creatives and present my findings here.

Today’s question is:

Answer: When your brain gets quiet again.

Our first creator of this article is Linda Sun, a Youtuber that I found back at the start of lockdown (which was six years ago!?). Her youtube channel @lindasunyt has amassed over 1.58 subscribers and her videos can be consistently described as feel good, introspective and wildly motivating. Although her content leans more towards fitness, food and navigating adulthood, her video editing, voiceover narration and overall approach to being grateful for life and living is infectious and a wonderful accompaniment while you’re eating dinner or doing household tasks.

A core part of Sun’s brand is her healing journey with food and fitness and how she chooses to move her body in a way that’s fun and rewarding. She’s competed in the London Marathon, the Berlin Marathon, half marathons, Hyrox and is currently training for an Ironman. Between fitness and food content, she has travelling vlogs - Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore. A long scroll down to the start of her channel and you’ll find clothing hauls and ‘what I eat in a day’.

Although perhaps creative-adjacent, Linda Sun’s story details someone who shunned away from something passionate - fitness - and returned years later to form a healthy relationship with her craft.

Sometimes we warp our self worth with the state of our creative projects - and how can we not, it’s a piece of our identity, a very deep and personal piece of our identity. But sometimes it’s good to peel yourself away from your desk and realise that it doesn’t have to be that deep, it doesn’t have to impress anyone but yourself and once you allow yourself to take a break if you need it, motivation and curiosity will return, if given the right elements to blossom.

***

Viral ice-skating star Alysa Liu captured the hearts and interest of the internet at the Olympics a few months ago. At 13 years old, she was the youngest ever US women national champion, she then went on to be a 2022 world bronze medalist and a 2025 - 2026 grand prix finalist, finally winning gold for America in 2026 at just 20 years old.

And at just 20 years old, she’s developed a perspective that can best be described as optimistic nihilism. Her ubermensch-like ability to detach herself from her art and do it for herself is something that people much older than her have struggled to do. After burning out and retiring from skating some years before, Liu returned to the skating rink for herself, to simply have fun - and by having fun, she won a gold medal.

At the ISU World Figure Skating Championships she’s stated that “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t retire for a little bit, so I just am glad that I listened to myself and do whatever cause it just works out in the end”

And it did work out for her. She’s been in Teen Vogue, Time Magazine and Sports Illustrated. She is the new Brand Ambassador for Louis Vuitton, as starred in Laufey’s Madwoman music video and presented an award at the American Music Awards.

Perhaps all you need to fall back in love with your craft is a little rest.

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How do you fall back in love with your craft?

Burnout and artists’ block are real things, it often means that we’ve spent too much time creating our art without flexing our consuming muscle.

In the middle of re-writing a draft, it’s embarrassing to then switch to the masterpiece of a book that’s been edited fifty times over and marketed with your person in mind. Suddenly, your afternoon writing session seems amateur and basic by comparison. It’s easy to close the laptop and shun away from your art, wondering where you got the audacity to keep writing and how on earth you’re going to get it back.

But sooner or later you find yourself drawn back to your manuscript, a moth to a flame, re-reading your past work with such speed because you just couldn’t let it die. And that’s the truth of it; you fall out of love by mid morning and return after dinner, sleeves rolled up and ready to write into the night, because at the end of the day (no pun intended) this is you.

Comparison is fine if it helps you realise what you might need to change. Copying the greats, investigating why the band in the same genre as you is headlining, wondering how that sculptor is affording their studio, these are all seeds that will grow into insights as you go about your craft.

Comparing yourself to the yet-to-be-published writer next to you who’s putting in more consistent hours than you are will have you reflect on your writing habits. Comparing yourself to a published author, twice your age will rob you of the genuine fun you’re having.

Because at the end of the day, you don’t create for an audience, or a market, or a deadline, you create because you picked up a paintbrush/pen/pan/pick/ (say that three times fast) when you were bored and created something wonderful. And you’ve been chasing that feeling ever since.

And anyway, there’s always tomorrow.
***

Thanks for reading! It’s nice to meet you! It’s been a while since the last RoundUp, we’ve been testing out new articles, so it’s glad to see you back here.

You can find the creatives that were mentioned in this article down below, if there’s any topics or people you’d like to see me cover, let me know in the comments. (And if you’d like to be featured, let us know too!).

Thanks again for reading and remember - be kind to yourself!

Catch you later,

Kaye

Make sure to check out the artists mentioned!

Linda Sun:

Youtube: @lindasunyt
Instagram: @lindasunyt

Alysa Liu:

Instagram: @alysaxliu

Ready for more?

Read the newest issue of The RoundUp: How do you create consistently?

Read the newest issue of The Practise: The Artist’s Way: Week One

Read the newest issue of The DeepDive: The World Needs What You Make

Read the newest issue of Futureative Favourites: July 2026 Edition

Front Row is your backstage pass to our essays, workshops, and online summits on navigating the future of creativity. Built by, for & with independent creatives.

We’re also publishing on: Instagram | YouTube | TikTok | LinkedIn | Threads

Ah yes, Sanderson. While the rest of us writers are being hounded by our beta readers for the next chapter, the man’s written his next bestseller. So of course, (spoiler alert) he’s going to be one of the creatives I cover in this week’s RoundUp.

On that note, good afternoon and welcome to the RoundUp! A series where I scour the internet for answers to common questions that tend to plague creatives and present my findings here.

There comes a certain point that the words optimisation, monetisation and productivity becomes the siren call that enchants the finance bros from their mutli-level marketing meetings.

Yes, consistency and dedication are very good skills to have, but not at the expense of curiosity, boredom and discomfort. And creativity lives in the middle of that trifecta. Just because you do not have a grind mindset, does not mean you are any less creative than the person next to you.

Case and point, when was the last time Rihanna put out an album? And would you slander Rihanna?

No. Exactly.

Before, this introduction gets away from me, today’s question is:

Answer: Just keep going

Best known for his fantasy series Mistborn and The Stormlight Archive, Sanderson has dominated the writing industry since he first made his debut with Elantris back in 2001. He has become synonymous with the ability to write consistently, working on multiple projects simultaneously and still outwriting others around him by treating his writing as a 8 hour work shift, clocking in and out each day.

The Final Empire, Mistborn Book 1 - Brandon Sanderson

Recently, the Cosmere universe - the world where most of his novels reside in, has been picked up by Apple TV and he retains a huge amount of creative rights.

A progress bar can be seen on his website, outlining his current projects, including the Mistborn screenplay as well as Ghostbloods Book 1, Songrise 3.0 and Riftwake Book 3.

In addition to his fantasy novels, he’s written young adult novels - The Reckoners and Skyward, has two graphic novels (White Sand and Dark One) and has finished Robert Jordan’s series The Wheel of Time.

His podcast, Intentionally Blank, co-hosted by Don Wells, and his youtube channel @BrandonSanderson (871k subscribers) has incredible advice to young creatives and interesting reviews about all things music, movies and storytelling.

In a video entitled “How to write 100k words a year” and ‘How do I Motivate Myself to Write’ Sanderson states that his first book took him 3-4 years to write. Since then he’s honed his practice to 100K a year - that’s a draft per year. He articulates that it’s important to know what type of writer and/or worker you are. Is it easier for you to block out a few hours on the weekend to get to your word count? Or is multiple 30 minute sprints throughout the week more your style? Both are the right answers, “Learning how to make yourself do the things you want to have done” is how you get words on the page. It’s also how you go through adult life as well, funnily enough. For Sanderson, a progress bar and the steady upping of percentages each day is what motivates him, for others it could be something else, like writing groups, a writing partner, external motivation or some form of the carrot and the stick.

Writing is hard. Even before you take the leap and try to publish, there’s a thousand re-writes before you get critiques. The trick is to just keep going, to keep writing and more often than not, if you like writing, it won’t take that much to get back to your desk. Your love for writing was never in question, your talent has no choice but to compound over time. Consistency is a muscle that you can train and the worst thing you could do is write a bad book. And that’s not the end of the world.

***
Sam Yang, aka SamDoesArts, is another creator that’s developed his art through arts of consistency. Having an aptitude for drawing and painting growing up, Sam started to take his art more seriously than a hobby around 2020 and has since then created a youtube channel with 2.04m subscribers (@samdoesarts), as well as a patron, instagram and online shop. He is also featured in 3dtotalshop with his art book entitled The Art of Same Yang, featuring his anime/manga style digital illustrations. With his friendly and funny narration, his youtube videos debunk drawing myths, offers tutorials on art techniques and reviews his subscribers’ art. In his video entitled “You’re a better artist than you think (here’s why)”, he drops multiple insights on the realities of pursuing art.

“You see your own worst work while you see everyone else’s best”

Comparison is the thief of joy, that’s well documented, but this supposedly inevitable rabbit hole can be avoided by realising that you’ve been trying your best for years; which is why you’re blind to how much you’ve improved.

The Art of Sam Yang - Sam Yang

And imposter syndrome stems from insecurity, yes, but also humility. You understand that you are not the best artist in the world and you have the ambition to realise that there are things you still need to learn. That positions you to become a better artist, a better writer, a better dancer. The ability to accurately establish where you are and what you have to do to get better is a useful mechanism to keep going.

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One of the most common excuses for a late draft, or an unpolished script is that ‘life got in the way’ and I always thought that was such a strange phrase. I understand the need to show up consistently to be creative if that’s your job, if you’re relying on that income but, for the creatives out there that do not rely on their creativity for income, or are just looking to start monetising their craft and are stressing about being unable to focus completely - there’s no need to put pressure on yourself.

You didn’t write because you were tired from work. You didn’t paint because you were out dancing with your friends. You didn’t go through that song because you started chatting with the drummer.

…okay? That’s good!

Before you take that step into diversifying your income stream (that sentence was painful to write), just relax and let the ideas flow, for not every moment sitting at your desk needs to be productive (brought it back, phew).

And anyways, comparing yourself to others never has the desired outcome.

***

Thanks for reading! It’s nice to meet you! Let us know if you like this type of content or if there’s anything else you’d like to hear from us.

You can find the creatives that were mentioned in this article down below, if there’s any topics or people you’d like to see me cover, let me know in the comments. (And if you’d like to be featured, let us know too!).

Thanks again for reading and remember - be kind to yourself!

Catch you later,

Kaye

Make sure to check out the artists mentioned!

Brandon Sanderson

Website:

https://www.brandonsanderson.com/

YouTube:

Spotify: Intentionally Blank, Brandon Sanderson and Dan Wells

Instagram: @brandonsanderson

SamDoesArts

Instagram: @samdoesarts

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/samdoesarts

Website: https://samdoesarts.com/password

Book: https://store.3dtotal.com/products/the-art-of-sam-yang

YouTube: @SamDoesArts

Ready for more?

Read Next: How do you find your artistic style?

Front Row is your backstage pass to our essays, workshops, and online summits on navigating the future of creativity. Built by, for & with independent creatives.

We’re also publishing on: Instagram | YouTube | TikTok | LinkedIn | Threads

Thanks for reading Front Row by Futureative! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

If you’re new here, hello and welcome to the RoundUp! A series where I scour the internet for answers to common questions that tend to plague creatives and present my findings here.

Today’s question is more of a quiet contemplation and I invite all of you in the comments to let us know what has worked for you as with all aspects of the creative process, unlike maths, there are no wrong answers! (No, it was not my favourite subject in high school, how’d you know?)

Anyways! Today’s question:

Answer:
Throw everything at the wall and see what sticks.

Process > results

Melbourne born contemporary visual artist Tahlia Stanton, best known for her Borrowed Wing collection, has been dominating the arts industry long before she first opened her print house in 2020. As an abstract-expressionist mixed media painter, Stanton began as a self-made artist when she decided that art school was not for her. She won Young Australian Artist of the Year from 2015 - 2017 and has amassed hundreds in her collection including fine art prints, woven tapestries, commission and The Pioneering Artist - a painting workshop.

With over 15m on TikTok and 327k subscribers on youtube, Stanton has a range of videos from vlogs to commentary. In her short entitled “Make work you’re not proud of” she states:

“who cares. It’s just a painting, have fun express yourself, it’s not that serious…we need to make work that we’re not proud of, we need to make work that is experimental and fun and weird and just an absolute explosion of expression because without that, we’re just chasing perfection and what is perfection, it doesn’t even exist”

Finding your art style requires the continuous repetition of finding the fun of the process. Every time you put brush to canvas, you find out what you’re drawn to, what would make sense to your eye. But this must come from a place of playfulness, of fun.

“Strong Heart” Oil on Canvas, Tahlia Stanton

Follow what piques your interest

Being a good painter requires painting (wow, can you imagine). As is writing, public speaking, cooking etc.

It also requires research and study. Not in the stressed, hunched over a laptop, late into the night in a coffee and Redbull induced haze, but in the follow-what-makes-you-curious way.

The book that catches your eye in the local library or the youtube video you see on writing during your lunch break whilst working in a cafe. There are a lot of free resources for you to use to improve your art. (Support your local libraries!)

As a writer, I stumbled across The Closer Look some years ago on Youtube and I insist that any writer or anyone interested in storytelling should watch his stuff.

*A small side note here to say that as always, all links to the creators mentioned are at the bottom of the article :)

Created in September 2016, The Closer Look’s youtube channel has steadily grown to 1.15m subscribers. The creator, Henry Boseley, offers free video essays “where (he) helps aspiring writers hone their craft”. He’s covered a range of topics from ‘How to introduce a character’, focusing on Death from Puss in Boots 2 (a very good movie), “How to write a terrifying villain” - Homelander from The Boys and ‘How to do a plot twist’ - Knives out.

His works mostly focus on screenwriting, though sometimes he veers into gameplay (How to Fail At adaptation - The Witcher) or writing prose.

Finding other creators that can explain how they work their creative process is just as fulfilling as creating yourself.

Finding a space to share mutual appreciation and interest in a creative work infuses your own practice.

Subscribe now

***

An important thing to note when you’re finding out your artistic style is that heyo- nothing is original anymore.

Billie Ellish’s early work sounded a lot like Birdie with a hint of Lorde and Lana Del Ray.
Art Deco looked at Cubism and said, ‘mmm, a little to the left’.
Brandon Sanderson, George R.R. Martin and Robert Jordan could all sit at a table and point accusatory fingers at each other.

Artistic style is curated by consuming a range of media that piques your interest. Creativity is like wit, it sharpens when put in different conversations. Consume like a madman and start making whatever makes you curious. Place quantity over quality to overpower the nagging voice of perfectionism and slowly but naturally you will stumble upon a genre or niche that delights you every time you pick up a paintbrush or scroll through Letterboxed.

Eventually, eventually. You will come across something.

Rare? Maybe. But undeniably unique. And that’s your style - built on the frequented Pinterest boards and dog-eared novels that kept you entertained for years.

Ultimately;

Because at the end of the day, it is fun. Creating is fun. Fun infuses progress, progress rewards dedication, dedication is born from curiosity.

And anyways, the best doodles are made in the margins of graph paper during maths class.

***

Thanks for reading! It’s nice to meet you! Let us know if you like this type of content or if there’s anything else you’d like to hear from us.

You can find the creatives that were mentioned in this article down below, if there’s any topics or people you’d like to see me cover, let me know in the comments. (And if you’d like to be featured, let us know too!).

Thanks again for reading and remember - be kind to yourself!

Catch you later,

Kaye

Make sure to check out the artists mentioned!

Tahlia Stanton

Website:

https://tahliastanton.com

Youtube: @tahliastantonart

Instagram: @tahliastanton

Henry Boseley / The Closer Look

Youtube: @TheCloserLook

Pateron:

https://www.patreon.com/henryboseley

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Read Next: Should You Monetise Your Art?

Front Row is your backstage pass to our essays, workshops, and online summits on navigating the future of creativity. Built by, for & with independent creatives.

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After every art block, it will come back.

And this self-regenerative ability is very attractive to capitalism. Capitalism thrives on the next new thing but there comes a time when an iphone cannot be improved annually, a company cannot squeeze out more money from their usership without cutting corners, or putting in add-ons to simply jack up the price (looking at you Netflix).

But creativity? Creativity is liminal and self-planting. Unfortunately for the finance bros, it takes a long time to curate - hence, their clear besotment with A.I.

Before this becomes a diatribe on artificial intelligence, I’ve brought this up to articulate that we live in a hustle culture and it’s not uncommon that the question posed has not entered our minds, even for a brief period of time - and this is the Round Up after all, a series where I scour the internet for the answers to common questions that tend to plague creatives and present my findings here.

Am I getting better at segways? That’s not today’s question - today’s question is:

Answer: Sure.

Do it the right way

To aid in the defence of monetisation, let me introduce Kelsey Rodriguez, a visual artist and content creator. As well as selling her own oil paintings- picturesque scenery that blends earthy tones with soft sunlight, Kelsey is an avid Youtuber, whose channel @KelseyRodriguez has over 298k subscribers. She offers free advice for up and coming creatives looking to start a brand on their own terms. Her videos range from business breakthroughs to specific art advice. Her approach is to “(guide) creatives toward financial stability without sacrificing their integrity”.

“California Coast” 18x18 by Kelsey Rodriguez (all links at bottom of article)

Rodriguez’ approach to monetising your business comes from a genuine place of love for art and I highly recommend following her, or other creatives that understand how to become a successful creative without compromising why you started.

Another artist that offers free advice and teachings is Mark Carder, also known as @DrawMixPaint on youtube. Creating his channel in 2012, Carder has a range of videos on the specifics of oil painting for realism, from paint mixing, brushstrokes, painting supplies and studio setups. In his own words “My goal is to eventually cover all essential instruction for painting realism in oil so that anyone can learn to paint for free”

His videos are easy to follow, I highly recommend his ‘how to mix paint videos’ which have cut down my prep time for paintings by about half. In his video ‘paint what you personally love - something new - do not listen to anyone else” he states. “You have to trust your own taste, it’s the only thing you have”.

As an artist who started professionally painting in 1986, he’s most well known for his commissioned painting of George W. Bush and has sold paintings for up to $75,000. It’s invigorating to know that a person of his mastery and experience still stands by the fact that as an artist, we know what’s best for ourselves and we know when our art needs changing or when we’ve gotten it right.

“Portrait of a Little Girl” - Mark Carder

I think it’s important to follow through with this advice when we’re asking if we should monetise our art. There is no universal answer, but take comfort in the fact that thousands of creatives before you have tossed up the same decision.

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My own answer:

Annoyingly, I think that only you will know that answer, I also think that answer can and should change depending on where you are in your creative journey.

In all honesty, it’s not as big of a question as it seems to be. Both answers are perfectly okay, but come with some headaches that we may toss and turn over that in the end, for example:

I want to monetise my art but what if people don’t buy it?

Say you put out a song and no one listens to it. You’re in the exact same position you were in five minutes ago. If no one listened to your music when it was in your private folder and no one listened to your music when you promoted it on socials, then you have experienced no loss. It’s still 0-0.

I want to monetise my art but what if it’s really bad?

Say you wrote a script and my god, it’s terrible. It’s so ludicrously inane and that it makes Riverdale look like a Shakespearean drama. That’s fine. Perhaps pivot to comedy?

Just kidding, what I mean to say is that consumable art to a third party is either forgettable or good.

Both are fine. Both do exactly what they’re supposed to do. Perhaps you need to write several chewing-gum novels before you discover your magnum opus.

It takes a lot of directed, focused effort to make harmful art. Anything other than that is good, and where all genuine creatives operate. There’s no such thing as bad art, only forgettable art, and that’s brilliant because when you do make that good piece of creative work - which you will, all that hard work and training compounds - that will be what you’re remembered for.

I want to monetise my art but I don’t want to be an influencer

So don’t. You can’t keep up forever anyway. Post what you like, follow who inspires you and document what you would love to look back on.

And now let’s look at the adverse:

I want to keep my art as a hobby but people keep telling me to monetise.

Non-creatives often have this bright idea and it’s usually coming from a very eager, genuine place, but only you know if monetising will lead to burning out. If painting is something you only do a couple times a month to unwind, then turning it into a profitable business where you churn out a print each week is not going to be sustainable and will lead to you not picking up a paintbrush in years.

If you want to monetise now, go for it, if you want to do it in a year, do it, but don’t take advice from someone who isn’t on the same wavelength as you.

Perhaps you monetise your writing. Perhaps your painting is just for your loved ones. It’s all good.

And anyways, it’s never too late to change your mind : )

***

Thanks for reading! It’s nice to meet you! Let us know if you like this type of content or if there’s anything else you’d like to hear from us.

You can find the creatives that were mentioned in this article down below, if there’s any topics or people you’d like to see me cover, let me know in the comments. (And if you’d like to be featured, let us know too!).

Thanks again for reading and remember - be kind to yourself!

Catch you later,

Kaye

Make sure to check out the artists mentioned!

Kelsey Rodrigeuz

Website: https://www.kelseyrodriguez.com/

Youtube: @KelseyRodriguez

Instagram: @kelseyrodriquezart.

Mark Carder / Draw Mix Paint

Instagram: @drawmixpaint.

Website: https://www.drawmixpaint.com/

Youtube:

Ready for more?

Read Next: How do you know if your idea is good enough?

Front Row is your backstage pass to our essays, workshops, and online summits on navigating the future of creativity. Built by, for & with independent creatives.

We’re also publishing on: Instagram | YouTube | TikTok | LinkedIn | Threads

…Or are you delusional?

Does it really matter?

Genuinely, does it really matter? Before creativity got warped by the idea of monetisation, we all went to our sketchbooks and journals with the thought of putting an idea into the world simply for the sake of its existence. And some of those ideas sucked.

Most of them were unpolished, unfiltered, unrefined.

Some were masterpieces in the middle of the night and a jumble of chicken scratches impossible to decipher over coffee the next morning. So what did we all do? (after a moment of insecurity and deflation that lasted between 5 minutes to 3-5 business days),

We tried again. For the fun of it all. For the rush of getting it right.

And on that note, hello again! Welcome back to the RoundUp! A series where I scour the internet for the answers to common questions that tend to plague creatives and present my findings here.

Today’s question:

1. Rejection

2. Perseverance

3. A gut feeling

Answer: All of the above.

“If you have an idea, that you genuinely think is good, don’t let some idiot talk you out of it”

- Stan Lee

The quote from Stan Lee comes from a Keynote presentation at the UCLA 2017 Graduation Ceremony. The late great comic writer explains the initial stages of pitching the superhero ‘Spiderman’ to publishers, only to be told it would never happen. Cut to now, Spiderman is one of the most popular superhero comics, with three separate live action eras, the newest addition being second highest-grossing film franchise of all time, grossing over $11 billion worldwide, a groundbreaking animated movie series (Into the Spiderverse), and several spin offs like Vemon, Morbius and Madame Web.

Needless to say, he was onto something.

Spiderman is a very well written character, obviously. But some reasons stick out.

1. A teenage superhero - not a sidekick. Spiderman is a nerdy, nervous, scared to talk to girls school student, something that teenagers - the primary demographic of comic books, especially in the 1960s, could relate to.

2. Spiderman is the story of the little guy, the “friendly neighbourhood spider”, he’s not a super strong alien (unrelatable) or a billionaire orphan (somehow less relatable). Spiderman’s story lends itself to social commentary on wealth, privilege and doing what’s right by the means you have.

3. Spiderman could be anyone - an accidental custom design, but something that allowed readership, regardless of background to imagine themselves as the character

In hindsight, these notes seem like a home run for publishers, but if Stan Lee had not backed himself, we wouldn’t have gotten the beloved character we have today.

Believe in Your Art

Speaking of backing yourself, we’re pivoting from comic books to live wedding painting! With that smooth segway, let’s talk about Rebekka Lord-Johnson, or as she’s known online, The Wedding Painter.

Live wedding painting is exactly what you think it is. A live wedding painter has the time during the ceremony and reception to create a portrait of the happy couple. Touchups and small edits can be made in post production, but speed, accuracy and skill are required to have something beautiful within 4-5 hours.

Starting her current business in 2021, Rebekka has captured over 275 moments on canvas and has over 722k followers on instagram, with her most viral posts frequently hitting the million mark. The South- East Melbourne painter has won numerous awards for her work and is brilliant at her craft. Her portraits so easily capture the small facial expressions and beauty of the moment with a level of precision that reflects decades of practice.

And although she’s painted since a child, a business this successful suddenly looks all the more amazing when you realise that she started it in 2021.

A quick check onto her instagram account will tell you:

2026 = Fully Booked

2027 = Fully Booked

2028 = Currently open

5 years ago she had an idea.

Now she has a legacy.

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My own answer:

It’s a curse that siphons a lot of joy from creativity. That’s a whole other article in itself, but there is some intersectionality between the pursuit of perfection and the desire to do better.

Understanding that your work is unpolished, but could be something great, keeping it to your chest until it’s ready for an audience is a nuanced, practical decision that might be doubted by others but is ultimately right because you’ve decided it so.

Scrapping draft after draft because you hate the ‘youness’ of your voice and wishing you weren’t anything remotely recognisable as yourself is an ouroboros paradox that won’t get you anywhere.

A complete ten book series doesn’t come full fleshed out to someone one Monday morning, nor does it appear ten hours into a writing session, it’s revealed, excruciatingly slowly, bit by bit in the half-moments between our mundane tasks and only when we pool our findings together night after night do we mold it into something we can begin to write draft one, then two, then three, then eleven!

The genuine truth is, you create for the sake of creating and there’s nothing wrong with that.

And anyway, the journey is fun. :)

***

Thanks for reading! It’s nice to meet you! Let us know if you like this type of content or if there’s anything else you’d like to hear from us.

You can find the creatives that were mentioned in this article down below, if there’s any topics or people you’d like to see me cover, let me know in the comments. (And if you’d like to be featured, let us know too!).

Thanks again for reading and remember - be kind to yourself!

Catch you later,

Kaye

Make sure to check out the artists mentioned!

Rebekka / The Wedding Painter

@the.wedding.painter

https://www.theweddingpainter.com.au/about

Ready for more?

Read Next: Is the Fear of Being Seen Holding You Back?

Front Row is your backstage pass to our essays, workshops, and online summits on navigating the future of creativity. Built by, for & with independent creatives.

We’re also publishing on: Instagram | YouTube | TikTok | LinkedIn | Threads

Unfortunately, he has a point.

Welcome back to the RoundUp! A series where I scour the internet for answers to common questions that tend to plague creatives and present my findings here.

Today’s question is less of a self-reflection and more of a threat to the introverts out there (just kidding, game recognises game), but it does sit differently for half of the population out there. Speaking as a once very shy child, the idea of putting myself out there was an insane prospect and speaking as a slightly less shy adult, I have to say, they had a point.

Regardless, let’s dive into the question:

Short Answer: Yes

“Who is the judge in your head?”

This question is posed by Jen Carmiel, a watercolour artist based in Colombia, whose portfolio showcases idyllic, heart-warming frames of cats, coffee and the small joys of life. As an art school graduate and a full time artist, Jen has achieved what beginner artists have dreamed about. In her video “How I Got Over the Fear of Being Seen (An Artist Perspective)” she asks the question:

Is it a grade three bully? Is it a colleague from a past job? An unsaid but somehow very loud social presumption that takes the form of someone in your childhood town? Someone’s voice in your life has weaseled their way into the folds of your brain (yes, that’s the scientific term) set up shop and sometime between the sprouting of an idea and the execution of it, you’ve determined that their voice has more merit than your own.

Carmiel offers a solution to this, saying “what you have to come back to is why are you doing this?”

Most of the time, it isn’t because we want attention. Yes, we want our art to garner attention and maybe sales, but that’s a side effect of making something you’re proud of. Assuming that the world will have the same instinct to be negative towards your work is narrow-minded. Especially when the truth is:

Your art is not for everyone.

Kayla Carlile is an Australian artist, specialising in realism and portraiture. Her ethereal underwater paintings evoke feelings of calmness and femininity. Starting by selling her artwork at Saturday markets, Carlile has grown her platform to become a full time artist, working on murals, art classes and growing her youtube channel, already at 141K subscribers. In her video entitled Your fear of being perceived is holding you back. Carlile states that “if people don’t like (your art) then you have succeeded because you’ve actually done something of substance in the world”, she reiterates that “as a creative, art is supposed to make people feel things”.

“Things” unspecified. Walking around a gallery, people will be drawn to different art pieces. I prefer Monet over Van Gogh. A Van Gogh over a Picasso. A Gentileschi over Monet.

The point is, Carlile is right on the money when she states “if my paintings angers someone but it makes someone else feel seen then I think I did my job as an artist”

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***
My own answer:

I think one of the most difficult parts about being known is introducing ourselves. As a creative, no one wants to show up to an online space being an amateur, or sub- par to everyone else. We assume that we must work on ourselves until our work is polished and shiny and anything less than immaculate must be sent back to the drawing board instantly.

The truth is that the best writers, singers, dancers etc, all started out as people terrible at their craft (except maybe Meryl Streep, she can just do that), who toiled and thought and kept coming back to their workspace with genuine love and interest, until they got big enough to catch our attention.

Sometimes we assume that our work is too unoriginal, too similar to another work and - barring actual plagiarism, (don’t do that, obviously), therefore shouldn’t exist. But what’s better than one well written action adventure book series with great characters and a brilliant plot? TWO well written action adventure book series with great characters and a brilliant plot.

There will never be another Billie Eilish, or The Last Airbender, or Jumanji.

Scratch that last one.

The point is, no one can truly be you except you and the world should not be deprived of your creativity because of your fear of what might happen.

And anyways, it’s all for fun. : )

***

Thanks for reading! It’s nice to meet you! Let us know if you like this type of content or if there’s anything else you’d like to hear from us.

You can find the creatives that were mentioned in this article down below, if there’s any topics or people you’d like to see me cover, let me know in the comments. (And if you’d like to be featured, let us know too!).

Thanks again for reading and remember - be kind to yourself!

Catch you later,

Kaye

Make sure to check out the artists mentioned:

Jen Carmiel:

Website:

https://jencarmiel.com/?srsltid=AfmBOoqZ-03pH6qt-vH0PKOumEkyZfdNu3KvjPCKsk3Gke6P5MmV5YUy

Kayla Carlile

Website:

https://www.kaylacarlile.art/

Ready for more?

Read Next: Is Failure As Important as Success?

Front Row is your backstage pass to our essays, workshops, and online summits on navigating the future of creativity. Built by, for & with independent creatives.

We’re also publishing on: Instagram | YouTube | TikTok | LinkedIn | Threads

What’s the RoundUp?

A curated piece of content where I scour the internet for answers to common questions that tend to plague creatives and present my findings here. I’ll be sifting through established creatives, eager ingenues as well as hopping across multiple industries - music, art, filmmaking - to see what answers people have come to for the hard hitting questions.

And today’s question:

Short Answer: Yes.

Failure as Redirection

Demi Lovato’s It’s Not That Deep Tour is officially in progress and whilst Lovato’s journey is a beehive of the importance of persistence and re-direction, I want to focus on the opener for her concert.

Adela Jorgova, or known by her stage name Adela is a Slovak singer, songwriter and dancer that debuted her first solo song in 2024 and now has signed to Capital Records. She has slowly but steadily grown her artistry and fanbase to become a household name. All of this began because she was eliminated from a pop survival show.

Adela was one of thousands of girls that auditioned for the chance to debut as one of the members of global girl group KATSEYE, a K-pop inspired music group created by Hybe x Geffen. Over 120,000 auditionees were whittled down to 20, to participate in Dream Academy, later shown in the Netflix reality show Popstar Academy: KATSEYE which was released in 2024.

Despite scoring amongst the highest in vocals and dance, Adela did not gain enough public votes to stay in the competition which led to her heart-wrenching leave from the competition just before the remaining girls were set to journey to Korea.

And thus started her solo career.

Her newest single KGB hit No.11 on the Hot Dance/ Pop Songs chart, just above Madonna’s I Feel So Free. She’s set to sing at Lollapalooza 2026. Her solo career is skyrocketing in a way that can be compared to Chappell Roan, and as a solo artist, she has the creative autonomy to pursue her passions in a way that fulfils her.

Adela is not the only person out of Dream Academy to find their footing as a solo artist, Karlee Tanaka, known as Karlee Girl, launched her solo career in April 2025 and her newest single “Right Back!” has amassed over 2.3 million views on Youtube. Another three auditionees Lexie Levin, Samara Siqueira and Emily Kelavos are set to debut in girl group SAINT SATINE.

Pivoting Careers

Our next deep dive is on Eve Cornwell, a trainee solicitor turned tech product manager. - I did say we were shifting through multiple industries - I’ve been a long time fan of Eve Cornwell, her casual yet sophisticated youtube vlog-style videos date back since she was studying law at university.

With just over 345k subscribers, @evecornwellchannel has grown into a community of like-minded, studious people who became invested in the one dream that became synonymous with her brand - becoming a lawyer. Yet, in a 2022, in a youtube video entitled “I quit my dream job”, Eve explains that through the self-reflection that being in a global pandemic will have you sit with, “the one thing (she) could not compromise on was having a creative outlet” and refound her purpose as a tech product manager.

As one of her long-time fans, this news was first surprising and then uplifting. The comments under that video are littered with cheers and well-wishes, fellow creatives who enjoyed watching her videos happy that she’d found what works for her.

We tend to amplify them and think that that will be all the reaction there is, but the honest truth is, most people are happy for your success or indifferent to it. And both are blessings.

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The Sunk Cost Fallacy

The Sunk Cost Fallacy is the human tendency to continue with an action or behaviour that is proving ineffective because we’ve already invested our time, money or energy into it.

For example: Sitting for an entire movie’s runtime because you’ve paid the full ticket price even though halfway through you realise that horror films aren’t your thing.

Another example: Continuing with a career that you know you don’t have enthusiasm for, because you’ve burnt out, the industry has changed or maybe you’ve changed. We have a tendency to push down those nagging thoughts and persevere, because the alternative looks like giving up and heading home with nothing.. The realisation that if you stop now, all those long nights of work, those early mornings and monthly sacrifices were useless because you thought you were making progress instead of mistakes.

This is the wrong frame of mind, anything that you’ve learnt will be helpful to you in the future.

If you’re a carpenter turned film- maker, you know the colloquialisms of the work place, you’ve met a range of diverse people with unique voices that will inform your writing. You’ve seen homes that could inform set pieces. And then there’s the practical skills - you know bargaining, time management and working in a team. Everything informs everything. Adaptability is a skill and trusting yourself will only get easier over time.

***
My own answer:

Failure is the most consistent thing in my life. That’s not a complaint - (well sometimes it is) and I believe the same is true for all other creatives out there.

A little bit of background on myself - finishing high school, I had no idea what I wanted to do other than write, I had no idea about the publishing industry, or indeed the entertainment industry, I just knew that no one was going to pay me for writing just yet. Cue a good couple years and a few failures that incurred a mound of student debt, it was only through my seemingly endless assembly line of failed ventures did I stumble upon Futureative and land this job and now - I’m being paid to write. Isn’t that funny? It would be more funny without the student debt, I agree, but my point is, none of the paths that lead me here would have appeared if I didn’t have the courage to make mistakes, have the humility and self-reflection to keep going, even if I didn’t necessarily know where I was heading.

I think creatives are so hard on themselves, and we don’t need to be. At all. Especially since “success” means different things for different people.

Non-creatives tend to confuse success with virality and income. Oftentimes, they don’t understand that some creative people do it for the love of the game.

That sometimes they have an idea in their head that just. won’t. go.

That takes work. That takes failure. But that’s the point.

And anyways, you can always just start again : )

***

Thanks for reading! It’s nice to meet you! Let us know if you like this type of content or if there’s anything else you’d like to hear from us.

You can find the creatives that were mentioned in this article down below, if there’s any topics or people you’d like to see me cover, let me know in the comments. (And if you’d like to be featured, let us know too!).

Thanks again for reading and remember - be kind to yourself!

Catch you later,

Kaye

Make sure to check out the artists mentioned:

Adela:

KARLEEGIRL

Eve Cornwell:

Other:

https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/the-sunk-cost-fallacy Pilat, Dan, and Sekoul Krastev. “The Sunk Cost Fallacy.” The Decision Lab, 2021, thedecisionlab.com/biases/the-sunk-cost-fallacy.

Ready for more?

Read Next: Creative careers sure don’t work like they used to.

This article is the first of a 3-part Deep Dive on the future of creative careers; current obstacles and solutions we can all work together on.

Front Row is your backstage pass to our essays, workshops, and online summits on navigating the future of creativity. Built by, for & with independent creatives.

We’re also publishing on: Instagram | YouTube | TikTok | LinkedIn | Threads