The Botany Works Artist Podcast Ping He

This week on the show Ping is answering an intriguing question she has received from one of her listeners, and a question that most new artists ask themselves - “I am an unknown artist, how can I become known and make a living from my art?” - Through sharing her own journey, the ups and downs that came along the way, and finally her success, Ping covers this topic in depth and reveals the secrets that will take you from a budding artist to full time professional.

KEY TAKEAWAYS


Don’t jump to the end first! This is a mistake Ping sees a lot with new artists, they try to get straight into galleries and sell their art for big money, but this approach never works. Ping shares what she believes are the best first steps for an artist to take. 
How can you get where you want to go if you don’t know where that is? Ping talks about the importance of having a plan and knowing what type of art you want to create. 
Don’t expect people to come to you, you have to go to them too. Ping explains how building a network and advertising yourself in the right places can help you achieve your goals faster. 
A lot of artists find it difficult to charge for their work, but, as Ping explains, you have to separate the business side from the creative side otherwise you’ll just be a hobbyist. 

BEST MOMENTS

“You’re not just selling a piece of art, you’re selling your years of experience.”

“Like anything else, becoming a professional artist takes time, hard work and perseverance.” 

“If you want people to buy your art, you have to create it like it’s your business and not a hobby.”

 

ABOUT THE PODCAST

Botany Works Artist Podcast - a podcast created by artists for artists, illustrators, creatives, and aspiring designers and art lovers.

It is a weekly podcast by Ping He. As a creative entrepreneur herself, Ping shares her insight and tips in addition to interviewing seasoned professionals who provide practical tactics and clarity to help listeners walk away with actionable items for improving their personal and professional life.

Botany Works Artist Podcast promotes a community of artists supporting each other through exploration and process while equipping them with a professional toolkit to become successful and thriving artists. 

Botany Works Artist Instagram

ABOUT THE HOST

Ping He

A mom, a botanical artist, a teacher, and mentor for creatives.

From developing a buzzworthy flower consultant business to running a home fragrance line, from self-publishing a stationery line selling in 180 stores in 18 countries to a creative mentor, Ping He is an example of how to make a successful career transition. 

www.pinghe.art

info@pinghe.art 

www.instagram.com/pinghe.art

This week Ping is here to talk about the importance of time management. Juggling being a mother, podcast host, artist and business owner, Ping knows everything there is to know about effective time management, but this learning only came through experience. In this episode, Ping shares her insights on time management, including some bad habits you might be guilty of and others that you just may not be aware of. She also shares her top tips on effective time management so that you can make the most of your day and reap the positive rewards on your career as well as your physical and mental health. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS


Ping shares a method she has developed to improve her time management. One that is centred around priorities and how asking yourself some hard questions might help you free up some time. 
Using basic tried and tested methods can help immensely with time management. As Ping explains, calendars, scheduling tools and diaries exist for a reason, and, if used correctly, can be extremely useful. 
Do you ever track your time during the day or do you always just find yourself running out of time. Ping started making notes on what she was actually doing during the day and the results shocked her. 
Ping talks about the importance of having good time management, not just on your career and work, but on your physical and mental health. 

BEST MOMENTS

“Everybody has the same twenty-four hours, so how can we learn from others and manage that time better?”

“Do you want to live to work, or work to live?”

“Find the task you want to do the least and do it first, this will help you feel a sense of achievement and help you realise that all your tasks are achievable.” 

 

ABOUT THE PODCAST

Botany Works Artist Podcast - a podcast created by artists for artists, illustrators, creatives, and aspiring designers and art lovers.

It is a weekly podcast by Ping He. As a creative entrepreneur herself, Ping shares her insight and tips in addition to interviewing seasoned professionals who provide practical tactics and clarity to help listeners walk away with actionable items for improving their personal and professional life.

Botany Works Artist Podcast promotes a community of artists supporting each other through exploration and process while equipping them with a professional toolkit to become successful and thriving artists. 

Botany Works Artist Instagram

ABOUT THE HOST

Ping He

A mom, a botanical artist, a teacher, and mentor for creatives.

From developing a buzzworthy flower consultant business to running a home fragrance line, from self-publishing a stationery line selling in 180 stores in 18 countries to a creative mentor, Ping He is an example of how to make a successful career transition. 

www.pinghe.art

info@pinghe.art 

www.instagram.com/pinghe.art

This week Ping is here to talk about the all important topic of self discipline. Most artists grow up with the idea that to create their best work they need to be free spirits. But what Ping, and many other successful artists have learned, is that this is simply not true. In fact, the opposite is true. To achieve success, both personally and professionally, it is vital that you have, and understand, self discipline. In this episode Ping shares how she finally came to this realisation, the steps she took to achieve self discipline and the long term benefits she now enjoys because of her new way of working. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS


Ping explains that when she was young she was told that artists had to be free and not have structure, but as she shares here, once she grew older and more experienced she realised that this wasn’t the case.


Ping talks about the dangers of having too much freedom when you work for yourself and how you can learn from your mistakes to create more self discipline. 
How does motivation affect self discipline and what happens when you have no motivation? Ping shares her knowledge and advice on this idea. 
Ping shares some of her top practical tips on how you can achieve self discipline, such as making a contract with yourself or finding an accountability partner.

BEST MOMENTS

“The best way to learn is from your mistakes, nothing else compares.”

“Self discipline allows us to achieve more than we ever thought we could and create a harmony within ourselves.”

“Look at the lives and working practices of successful people, you will notice patterns, and notice that they all come from self discipline.”

 

ABOUT THE PODCAST

Botany Works Artist Podcast - a podcast created by artists for artists, illustrators, creatives, and aspiring designers and art lovers.

It is a weekly podcast by Ping He. As a creative entrepreneur herself, Ping shares her insight and tips in addition to interviewing seasoned professionals who provide practical tactics and clarity to help listeners walk away with actionable items for improving their personal and professional life.

Botany Works Artist Podcast promotes a community of artists supporting each other through exploration and process while equipping them with a professional toolkit to become successful and thriving artists. 

Botany Works Artist Instagram

ABOUT THE HOST

Ping He

A mom, a botanical artist, a teacher, and mentor for creatives.

From developing a buzzworthy flower consultant business to running a home fragrance line, from self-publishing a stationery line selling in 180 stores in 18 countries to a creative mentor, Ping He is an example of how to make a successful career transition. 

www.pinghe.art

info@pinghe.art 

www.instagram.com/pinghe.art

This week on the show Ping is addressing the importance of having clarity in your creative journey. As Ping explains, having clarity isn’t just about what you are doing in the moment, but how it affects every aspect of your creative journey from your day to day work, your communication, your mindset and even your mental health. Ping breaks down the ways you can create clarity and what could happen if you don’t have it

KEY TAKEAWAYS


Clarity isn’t just about where you’re going, as Ping explains, it’s important to have clarity around where you’ve been and where you are. 
Ping talks about how having clarity goes hand in hand with knowing your ‘why’.
Clarity around communication is also key. Ping details the many ways in which communication clarity can help you and your creativity. 
Ping talks about how clarity can alter your mindset and positively impact your personality and creativity in numerous different ways.

BEST MOMENTS

“Ask yourself, what holds you back from being all you want to be or could be.”

“Having clarity not only helps you personally, but helps your business, your colleagues and your clients too.”

“Clarity clears your mind, gives you contentment and makes you a better version of yourself.”

ABOUT THE PODCAST

Botany Works Artist Podcast - a podcast created by artists for artists, illustrators, creatives, and aspiring designers and art lovers.

It is a weekly podcast by Ping He. As a creative entrepreneur herself, Ping shares her insight and tips in addition to interviewing seasoned professionals who provide practical tactics and clarity to help listeners walk away with actionable items for improving their personal and professional life.

Botany Works Artist Podcast promotes a community of artists supporting each other through exploration and process while equipping them with a professional toolkit to become successful and thriving artists. 

Botany Works Artist Instagram

 

ABOUT THE HOST

Ping He

A mom, a botanical artist, a teacher, and mentor for creatives.

From developing a buzzworthy flower consultant business to running a home fragrance line, from self-publishing a stationery line selling in 180 stores in 18 countries to a creative mentor, Ping He is an example of how to make a successful career transition. 

www.pinghe.art

info@pinghe.art 

www.instagram.com/pinghe.art

This week Ping is here to talk about the key factor in how she grew her business - trust. As Ping has learned, trust is not just something you place in others, but also something you have to earn yourself. Whether it be clients, colleagues or suppliers, trust is essential to running a successful creative business, and Ping has been there and done it. In this episode, she is going to share the key learnings from her journey so that you can build trust and your creative business can thrive.

KEY TAKEAWAYS


Ping talks about some of the challenges she faced when setting up her business and how she had to build trust with her clients to overcome them.
As Ping explains, for anyone to trust you, you must first trust yourself. But how do you get there?
Ping breaks down the main elements she has found to be successful in developing trust.
Ping talks about the importance of communication and setting boundaries with clients and colleagues in order to build trust.

BEST MOMENTS

“Many people can paint a painting or run a creative business, but the thing that distinguishes the good from the bad is trust.”

“Making sure your actions are aligned with your words is a key factor to building trust.” 

“Recognising and appreciating the strengths of your team members is a great way to build trust.”

ABOUT THE HOST

Ping He

A mom, a botanical artist, a teacher, and mentor for creatives.

From developing a buzzworthy flower consultant business to running a home fragrance line, from self-publishing a stationery line selling in 180 stores in 18 countries to a creative mentor, Ping He is an example of how to make a successful career transition.

www.pinghe.art

info@pinghe.art

www.instagram.com/pinghe.art

 

 

This week Ping is joined by illustrator and author Emma Block. Emma started her artistic career at the age of 16 and received her first professional commission at the age of 17. From there, she has gone from strength to strength. She has written and published numerous books, teaches other artists, hosts European retreats as well as being commissioned by prestigious companies such as Penguin, Bloomsbury and Harper Collins. In this interview with Ping, Emma recounts her artistic journey and shares countless valuable tips to help you on your creative journey. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS


Emma details the advantages and disadvantages of starting a professional career at a very early age. 
Emma, a prominent book illustrator, talks about the process of writing and publishing books and shares some of her top tips. 
Emma, who also teaches others artists, talks about the unexpected lessons she herself learned from teaching. 
Emma, who has a four year old son, talks about the challenges and rewards of balancing motherhood and creativity. 

BEST MOMENTS

“Your work needs to be constantly evolving to keep it fresh to your audience, but also to you as an artist.” - Emma Block

“There’s a huge gap between what you are doing and what you can do, because you block it with fear of failure” - Ping He

“Working on ideas, on notepads and sketchbooks, might not pay you in the short term, but all that work will come back around to pay you in the long term.”  - Emma Block.

 

EPISODE LINKS

Emma Block Website

Emma Block Instagram

Emma Block Patreon

 

The Joy of Watercolour

Life lessons I Learnt from my Dog

Get Started with Gouache

Watercolour Life

Slow Travel Journal

Keeping a Creative Sketchbook

 

Everyone Loves Paris - Leslie Jonath

The Adventures of Miss Petitfour

Quentin Blake - Drawing for the Artistically Undiscovered

Mary Blair - illustrator and Disney concept artist

Tove Jansson - creator of the Moomins

 

ABOUT THE PODCAST

Botany Works Artist Podcast - a podcast created by artists for artists, illustrators, creatives, and aspiring designers and art lovers.

It is a weekly podcast by Ping He. As a creative entrepreneur herself, Ping shares her insight and tips in addition to interviewing seasoned professionals who provide practical tactics and clarity to help listeners walk away with actionable items for improving their personal and professional life.

Botany Works Artist Podcast promotes a community of artists supporting each other through exploration and process while equipping them with a professional toolkit to become successful and thriving artists. 

Botany Works Artist Instagram

ABOUT THE HOST

Ping He

A mom, a botanical artist, a teacher, and mentor for creatives.

From developing a buzzworthy flower consultant business to running a home fragrance line, from self-publishing a stationery line selling in 180 stores in 18 countries to a creative mentor, Ping He is an example of how to make a successful career transition. 

www.pinghe.art

info@pinghe.art 

www.instagram.com/pinghe.art