You likely subscribed to my Substack because you read my article How to Easily Grow your Substack as an Artist in 2026

Thanks for that! I really enjoy being able to help you easily navigate this platform. But in a way that you can relate to as an artist and not a tech person. I mean, Substack support is awesome, but you really do need your chatbot decoder ring sometimes. haha

What I noticed from that article (and the ones following it) was much more interest in this subject than I anticipated.

Enough that I’ve decided Substack Growth for Artists is going to be its own publication! As a previous subscriber you will automatically be moved to a dedicated list filled with targeted tips for mastering and growing you artist account.

In a couple of days you’ll get a welcome message about what I’m planning to do, some of my new offerings and a free “5 min Art Account Audit Checklist” to say thanks for being part of the community from the beginning. I apprectie you. I really do. :)

Meanwhile, click one of the buttons in the poll below so I can make content that will genuinely help you out.

Chat soon,
Tanya

Draw a face with me in 15 minutes

Hello hello! Today we are going to do a draw along which is the fun way to get in a little portrait practice and try something new. I made this video for all skill levels so grab a pencil or your tablet and give it a try. We’re going step by step for beginners. If you’re a bit more expereienced, or already doing portraits on your own, this is a bit of practice time.

Subscribe to join a community of fellow artists and face-lovers getting exclusive access to tips, tutorials, and monthly portrait challenges.

lets start with a real photograph as a reference

I found this interesting persons image on Pinterest and made sure it was a real photo not AI generated - so that the proportions aren’t all wonky. I like this face because it’s somewhat androgynous and the features are straightforward. Plus it gives us flexibility to use the reference for placement and lighting, but you can also deviate a bit from the features if you like.

take it easy, this drawing practice is for fun and learning

If you don’t get a result you’re happy with, remember that the more you draw, the better you’re going to get. It took me a lot of practice to feel OK with where I’m at and I love that I’m learning every time. So please don’t judge yourself too harshly if you’re just starting out :)

If you have something that you are challenged by please ask me a question in the comments. And don’t forget to post your work in the Chat Room which is also a great way to connect with other like minded folks.

here’s my final drawing

before I go on to the next step and colour it in with alcohol markers. I invite you to draw along and have a bit of fun with the process.

should we do this again?

Sometimes it’s fun to have a buddy to draw with or even a small group. It can take the pressure off and it’s also fun to socialize a little bit. Let me know in the comments if you want to see more practice sessions. Or if you would like to join me and do a co-hosted drawing session that would be fun too.

Thanks for hanging out with me and let me know how it goes!

Portrait Pals is a section of Tanya Kucey Art for portrait artists and those who love the art of making faces. Chat. Live drawing sessions. Artist hangout.

Today I’m taking you on a walk-through chitchat in my watercolour portrait practice sketchbook.

in my ongoing exploration of different watercolour sketchbooks over the last couple of months, I thought it would be fun 2 share a little flip through of the cheap and cheerful CansoXL Watercolour Sketchbook . It’s not the top of my list, but for the price point and ease of use, I recommend it. It’s always great to have something fun to play and learn in, without the anxiety of feeling like you can’t start because you paid too much! Artists, you know what I mean, right? The dreaded blank page syndrome!

This Canson XL book is spiral bound and perforated. I personally am not a big fan of spiral bound sketchbooks because I find the coil either gets in my way or ends up lifting the book when I want it to be lifted or prevents me from lifting it up when I do. However, as this one is a bit bigger, I’m not finding it so bad.

My focus here is to have a sketchbook to learn and play with variations on a three colour watercolour paint palette.

In opposition to bigger portraits, which I can spend days or weeks on, I wanted a place to experiment with doing something a bit faster. I started out with one hour portraits and they’ve kind of crept up. Although the last one I think I spent at least three because I wanted to see where it would go if I kept painting. And I’m really happy with the result.

After trying some different paint combinations, I’ve discovered that I really love the variety I’m getting with Daniel Smith’s Quinacridone Coral, QOR Green gold and QOR Payne’s Gray. These three have given such a diverse variety of skin tones! I’m still surprised at it with each portrait I’m doing.

Hope you enjoy the walk-through and my commentary

Leave a questions or comments below – or just say hi. You know I love chatting with you :-)

Jump in the chat room and have some fun!

I created this space for all of us to have some human to human contact with peers who are doing similar subjects. As I said in the video, don’t let years of conditioning through social media let you think you can only share the best of your best work.

We all have days where the ugly phase makes us wanna quit! Or the paint isn’t doing what you want or you can’t get the freaking proportions right. So don’t be shy. Jump in one of the threads and connect or start one of your own.

Look forward to hanging out with you and I’ll chat with you next time

Tanya

First off big welcome and hello! If you haven't seen Portrait Pals before, it is a small standalone group I created for people who create portraits and those who love them.

With some fun changes and new offerings coming up, I decided to incorporate it as a section as part of my overall art profile. This makes it easier for you and for me with everything all in one spot. aahhhhh («-the sound of de-stressing)

If you know me from my other profiles (Substack Growth for Artists or The Artful Desk), you may not know I love creating all styles of art. But mostly watercolour portraiture. And while I love the support and creativity of the Substack art community, I couldn’t find a place to chat up people that just love making faces. So I created one :)

That group is Portrait Pals and it's a new section on my substack that you can subscribe to if you're interested in portrait art content.

You’re here probably for the same reason I was: you want to hang out with some like minded folks. Maybe talk about what you’re going through as a artist. See what other people are creating, join an art challenge or work along session get inspired and all that good jazz.

Making it happen!

Now that we're all connected, I think it's going to be fun creating some art playtime with you. I've got plans for live draw alongs, portrait practice, tutorials and of course don't miss out on the chat room which is a great place to meet some like minded folks.

But I also want to know what you have to say! What kind of offering would make you happy in your art life or in connecting with other people ? Drop a suggestion or comment in the Substack app or if you're feeling shy feel free to send me a Direct Message.

Can't wait to create together and I will chat with you soon!

Hi hi. Here I am on the other side of having moved house. Not just myself two weeks ago, but also my mum five days ago. It's been six solid weeks of Moving Boot Camp! And I now have buns of steel after packing, hauling up stairs then unpacking . . . but I digress! Haha

A few hours ago, I finished the first portrait I've done in four weeks.

It was some fun playtime doing a drawing and trying to get the proportions closer to what I wanted. I'm a big believer in either you go for the realism or you totally exaggerate, and this is sort of in between. Still have to work on that.
But I also know that I'm a little rusty and that's OK. 

I'm happier by the fact that I finally had a chance to sit down and do some art after such a long time away from it. 

So here's my little sketch 

Art Supply Roulette

The fun part of living in rooms of boxes after moving is that every time you open something it's like Christmas morning! You never know what you're gonna find other than some vague description of the innerds you wrote in haste. When I opened one of my art supply boxes and put my hand in I ended up grabbing out the Faber-Castel Goldfaber Aqua Watercolour markers.

I think my overall review on them is: meh :/

This is the portrait set, although I don't know who has skin this weird set of colours, but there you go.

I intentionally tried to use a decent paper in one of the few sketchbooks I could find. But these pens are (in my totally made up scenario) like some sort of chemical failure that weren't water fast. So they decided to market them as watercolour pens. Yet, they don't blend once the colour is down on dry paper. They don't really put colour down if you put the pen on wet paper. It doesn't seem to do much of anything when the water goes over top unless there is a lot of pigment down. And most importantly, and unfortunate of all is: adding them to wet areas completely shreds the paper. Something about their mechanical chemical makeup just eats it!! I tried them once before and they were a disaster, but I chalked it up to using a very inexpensive $10 sketchbook. Didn't think it would happen with the good quality one!

Technically, they go down more like alcohol markers. There’s a similar effect where layering creates a darker colour after you’ve let the initial colour dry, so that was familiar. Definitely didn't feel like watercolour at all. Overall not a great product for me.

But it was fun to do a quick draw and then colour it in in about an hour. Here’s how she turned out.

My next challenge will be putting together my art studio room

Yes an entire room dedicated to just my artsy office-I can't wait! But my beat up old antique oak desk with the crack in the middle where I sit down and do my art is in it's happy new home. Right in front of a triple window with a wonderful view and incredible light! I can't wait to see what comes next and share it with you.

Meanwhile, I'm determined to have at least one day this summer which actually feels like summer and not all about moving and packing or unpacking.

Yesterday after looking up and realizing six hours had gone by while I was trying to figure out how to work out some strange plumbing filter situation under the new sink, I decided to head down to the local farmer market and get a GF/DF ice cream. Once the $10 for a single scoop sticker shock wore off. (ok, it still hasn’t worn off) I enjoyed it immensely. But moreso, proud of taking time for myself and being completely present. And that, in fact, is a present to yourself, you know?

Walking home it finally sunk in that I am in a new place.

Not just physically, but emotionally and mentally as well. I’m finally able to focus on what I love and I am very excited about what's coming in the fall! Because my love of sharing and supporting you as a fellow artists is getting solidified into some actual offerings. Like Substack Growth for Artists coffee chats, and maybe a portrait snail mail club and definitely some more live videos.

All sorts of things are on my mind and it's going to be really fun to see what evolves in this new space where I finally feel freedom from neighbours and noise!

All right, I'm gonna leave it there because I am feeling chatty and could keep going, but I also know you probably don't want to read tons and tons. ( as an fyi – did you know that I try to do the voice for all of my posts? If you don't feel like reading, you can always listen to me instead )

Hopefully all my movement, changes and excitement have inspired you a little bit today to do something creative. That doesn’t necessarily mean art, It could simply mean finding a nice way to take care of yourself. If it has and if you find this article useful or inspirational, please comment below, share or restack on Substack.

Chat with you next time :-)

Photo by George Pak

How do I find buyers for my art?

It is the oldest and most commonly asked question in the art community. While I dont have a magic answer, I do have a great tip for you that’s going to help you get there:

Send new subscribers a welcome message.

This is such an excellent opportunity on Substack that you don’t want to miss! Welcome messages via DM are your first point of personalized contact. This is where people get to know who you are; that you’re not a robot but actually a person :-) Like your welcome email where you introduce yourself and share a bit about who you are, sending a personalized message lets you welcome that person into your community.
It gives people a sense of validation and lets them feel seen. Plus it lets them know you're invested and confident in what you're doing.

Let them know what to expect, share a little love and support, give them a little something and most of all: be yourself. Nobody wants cut and paste AI generated text slop! What they want is to see the weird, wild and wonderful artist that you actually are.

I’ve discussed this before in my article 3 more things to help grow your Substack as an artist in 2026, but I wanted to share some of the fun and details behind it here

To be real, in sharing this advice, I’ve heard:

• Are you crazy?

• That takes so much time!

• Why would you do that?

Well, lemme tell ya ;)

1. It lets people be seen! We all want acknowledgment, validation and connection. This is how you start a relationship with someone. And that someone may turn out to be a great supporter and even a collector.

2. It lets them know you are a real person. Again, nobody wants to read bot generated text. They want the real you. To know you care and are grateful they chose to spend their precious time with you - which sends a message that you are worth their time

3. It’s a great way to introduce yourself You could call a cliche, but I think it's true - the very things that make your unique, which you might even consider odd or unusual about yourself and your art, are the very things that are going to attract your buyers. Give people a little peek behind the curtain and be yourself.

4. It’s a great way to share extra features and services.
   *With the caveat that you don’t instantly try to sell something! Don’t be thaat guy.

And look at that. You’ve reached out, started a new connection that could turn into a friendship, peer support and great word-of-mouth.

OK wait. How does this actually sell my art?

The short answer is, it doesn’t directly. But Substack isn’t selling for you like a gallery, an art show or an agent. That’s why there’s platforms like Etsy or blue sky, your own website, galleries, and on and on. Here, you are your own promotion and marketing team.

Subscribe and Stay in the Loop

The key takeaway is understanding Substack is not like other social media.

In the art community, it’s a very laid back and genuine way of communicating. Think of it more like the get to know you coffee break at the live drawing class versus cold calling people with a ‘special deal’. Think of your own reaction when people try to sell you something like that - eeewh, spam!

This is a comfortable space with a community that is here because they want to connect with like-minded people. They want to be seen. You want to be seen. That acknowledgment and validation that subscribing to you isnt wasting their time is probably the best way to connect with somebody and keep them coming back.

The more people get to know you, the more they have an opportunity to see what you're up to and connect with what you're sharing. They are going to be the people that tell other people about what you're doing. And that is what generates sales.

So don't be shy. Take a chance and connect with your subscribers right out of the gate.

Start to build relationships and your own community. Share who you are, what makes you unique, what you are passionate about and how that is expressed through your art.

This one little step is the most valuable way to build your Substack community and lets people know they’ve been seen. And who doesn’t need a little bit more of that these days ?

Hello hello!

In time for the Summer Solstice, I'm excited to finally share my collection of Watercolour Portrait Art: The Seasons

This is a series of four female portraits where each woman tells the story of her season through the harmony of colour, texture and emotion.

Winter. Quiet Confidence
Spring. The energy of change
Summer. To relax and simply be yourself
Autumn. Reflect on your achievements

I have created a mini site to showcase the work and I'm doing something different for this release. I'm bringing back the human element to your online experience.

If you would like to bring home a piece you love for your home or gifting, you can have an email conversation with me to ask any questions and be sure you are getting exactly what you love. So much friendlier than just clicking buttons on an ecomm site, right?

Each art print Is made to order. Lovingly printed and crafted by me in my studio on velvety smooth matte paper. Yet the wonderful texture and colour of the original paintings show beautifully in these archival quality prints.

I’ve truely enjojyed creating and learning with this series and have documented most of them in short process videos. You can watch the paintings come to life on my Youtube channel playlist.

To learn more and enjoy photos showing you how you can display the art at home, please enjoy the mini site or contact me directly and lets chat.

Thank you for being here and supporting my art and notes through this series.
As always feel free to leave any questions in the comments and I look forward to chatting with you.

Hey, I’m Tanya-a watercolourist playing with paints and making videos about it. I love to share the process and how we don’t have to be perfect. My notes and thoughts are sometimes fun and silly. Other times, inspirational and supportive for you as an artist navigating Substack. If that sounds like fun, click the button to join, then grab your art supplies and let’s create! Or grab a cuppa, chill and enjoy the vibes.

join the fun!

Hello hello! So excited to share with you this week because a lot is going And a lot of extras which will tell you about at the end. And honestly in general, I'm feeling a little bit proud of myself right now! 🤩

Let's start with new watercolour portraits

If you haven't seen my substack notes in the last few weeks you might have missed what I've been working on. I'm in between large pieces right now and so have been playing around in my sketchbook. I think I might need to do a sketchbook flip through soon ;)

I'm still working with a limited palette of 3 watercolours.
I started working like this as a personal challenge to myself and honestly shaking my head at both how far I've come and how I seem to have adopted this as a new way of working. My three favorites at the moment are Daniel Smith Quinacridone Coral, QOR Green Gold and QOR Payne’s Grey. Remarkable how many shades and skin tones I can get from just three colours!

You can see my art work in progress images in these note or watch videos on my youtube shorts

now on to the art studio and personal update💥🚚 🦋

It's been a bit of chaos over here I'll tell you! In the space of 48 hours I discovered my elder mom was moving, the next day I found out I have to move and also had to freeze my credit cards because of a identity theft scare! Which honestly led to mayhem and crazy but good experience at the grocery store (which deserves its own post).

So send good wishes and manifestation juju and all the swallowtail butterflies as a sign that I can move somewhere great! With wonderful light to create and my own room for studio and business.

I'm staying positive and convinced that really as tough as it is, this is likely the best thing that could happen to me.

I also wanted to give a shout out to all of you that are participating in the June Art Challenge or just hanging out with me on Substack. This is one of my favorite places to be because I love the excitement of seeing you doing what you love. It's almost like a refuge, but I don't how often I'm going to be on here. So if you've posted something as a reply or tag me in something please know that I will be on it - i'm just not every day as usual at the moment.

Oh and a little shout out to all of you for your support and kind words on this note , I appreciate you :)

New art series print release!

I've decided to release 4 prints of my watercolour portratit series “The Seasons”. This is going to happen on the summer solstice which is such a lovely time of year! If you didn't see my last email, my web shop has basically been shut down by bot attacks. So I've decided to my offering differently. I'm going to share it in email and if you are interested in a print then I will be creating them in house on demand.

I'll be posting work in progress photos and videos I collected in my notes up till then, so keep and eye out!

See you next week with the art print release!

Tanya

Hey, I’m Tanya-a watercolourist playing with paints and making videos about it. I love to share the process and how we don’t have to be perfect. My notes and thoughts are sometimes fun and silly. Other times, inspirational and supportive for you as an artist navigating Substack. If that sounds like fun, click the button to join, then grab your art supplies and let’s create! Or grab a cuppa, chill and enjoy the vibes.

join the fun!

Hello! Gosh I can’t believe it’s been three weeks since you and I had a chat. If you’ve been hanging out with me a bit, you probably noticed I’ve got a lot going on. There’s lots of energy in the air and I’m organizing. And Creating! So I’m super excited to share 3 announcements because they can benefit you as an artist or art lover.

Here’s the BIG News

Substack Growth for Artists has it own new section and I am about to launch new services including Substack Setup for Artists!

Your response to my recent Substack growth guides has been incredible. After reading my guides How to Easily Grow your Substack as an Artist in 2026 and 3 MORE Tips for Artists on How to Grow Your Substack in 2026, I had great feedback. Then many folks eager for personal hands-on help from me to bring these tips to life.

Substack's back end has everything and the kitchen sink for options ;) But I know how overwhelming it can be, especially when you're not used to it. Even I had to dig in and for answers and I'll bet you didn't know that I used to do web design, teach and work in IT! But I love a challenge and finding out about all the new things to share with you and make things easier makes me happy.

So how cool would it be to have me guide you through your setup, answer questions and leave you feeling like yeah - that’s working and now I can just focus on making my art!

To give you the extra support you’re looking for, I’m thrilled to be launching some new 1-on-1 services designed for artists just like us. There will be 1-1 peer support, small group walk throughs and member videos. Plus public posts and tips always free. I want you to have basic information on how to run your substack, but in a way that's fun and comfortable. It’s going to be a blast and I can’t wait to share with you!

The Substack Setup for Artists launch offers are coming soon. In the meantime Check out these articles here and get motivated!

🎨 Love portraits? Let’s create together

I recently created Portrait Pals, a new publication for portrait artists and people who loved the art of making faces.

Get that? That’s me being punny…and then that was me laughing at myself hahah Anyhoo, as I do, I couldn’t find the specific community I wanted, so I made one for us.

This is a small relaxed group for those of us who love portraiture. To hang out, share our work or daily struggles, lift each other up and really just have conversations. Remember those - the very thing that we’ve all been craving on the internerds? Monthly art challenge and maybe some co-working sessions. All currently gratis because artists supporting artists is the way to be.

Portrait Pals

A place for portrait artists and those who love the art of making faces. Chat. Live drawing sessions. Artist hangout

By Tanya Kucey ART 🇨🇦

Another cool art activity for you!

I started a new video chat & create along series called Art Supply Play & Tell!
Like show and tell except a Substack live with myself and another artist where we talk about their favourite art supply and do some art together. It’s free to join as are the replays so you can come play and create with us! Included with a any subscription to The Artful Desk.

Art Supply Play & Tell

And I’m going to sneak in a cheeky little last thing 🤭

If you’ve hung out with me for a while you might have heard me talking about wanting to release my portrait series called The Seasons . Everything was ready to go but I was dealing with a pretty intense bot attack preventing my e-comm site from being active. Welp, after 4 months of trying everything, Ive have literally walk away from the website. So things are in flux but there will be an upcoming email about it and likely art will be available via DM here.

I really appreciate those of you who have enjoyed the portraits and been so supportive about them. For now you can see my “Autumn” over on Unearthed.

if you stuck with me all the way through to the end - you amazing! I really appreciate you being here and I'm excited to connect with you with all the new offerings.

lots of love to you, enjoy the cusp of the summer or winter season depending on where you're at and I will chat with you soon with more details about my portraits

Later alligator,

Tanya

If you only want to hear about my personal art, join the art challenges and watch my tutorial or process vids, then click on the unsubscribe link below in your email. Then simply click off the button beside the Substack Growth section. And don’t worry , I won’t be offended. I know you like me ;)

Hey, I’m Tanya-a watercolourist playing with paints and making videos about it. I love to share the process and how we don’t have to be perfect. My notes and thoughts are sometimes fun and silly. Other times, inspirational and supportive for you as an artist navigating Substack. If that sounds like fun, click the button to join, then grab your art supplies and let’s create! Or grab a cuppa, chill and enjoy the vibes.

join the fun!

Better late than never? hahah! Ok my friend, I got swamped with personal and biz stuff so I missed the boat for the beginning of the May. But the awesome folks in the chat room (have you checked that out yet by the way?) are up for the challenge anyways and they inspired me to go for it - So, your mission should you choose to accept it: is to create a piece of art that takes no longer than one hour in your favourite medium and then post your picture in this thread.

3 pics to choose from - or grab one of your own.

Grab your fullsized images here: Duck Piggy Lamb

Remember the whole point of this is to have fun and connect with people in the chat!

Make some connections, compare your art and enjoy some human to human time. No stress allowed, just grab your art supplies and make yourself a little something purdy.

Can't wait to see what you create!

~ Tanya

ps listen to the voiceover and get to know me ;-)

join the fun!

hello hello! time for a studio update and exciting news :)

First off, I hope you're doing great and I want to say a big thank you for hanging out with me on Substack. If you're new here, welcome!

If you haven’t seen my Substack notes lately, I completed my watercolour portrait series called the Seasons. And when I was in procrastination nation mode, I kind of went down the rabbit hole with portrait colour sets of alcohol markers. Daily portrait fun continues and I’ve decided to open some limited spots for full portrait commissions. Plus some fun mini sized ones available as digital downloads.

limited commission spots for full portraits are open!

Commissioning a portrait is fun and a lovely way to celebrate someone you love.
I have opened up 2 spots only to allow the time to create something you love. Mom for mothers day, relatives, friends and especially if its for yourself. Portraits are hand crafted in watercolour by me. Send me a message and lets create something special!

daily practice + mini portraits

I've been having tons of fun with the portrait colour sets of alcohol markers for the last month. I like to sit down every day and do a little portrait sketch. And of late I've been using the alcohol markers to fill them in. They're lots of fun!
For a limited time you can order your own custom portrait ( people only ) available as a digital download. This is a great way to purchase original art at a super affordable price with the added benefit of being cross border send-able. You'll receive a high quality digital scan that you can print out or email for gifting.

If you want to see the alcohol marker portraits from start to finish, I actually shoot my progress videos for Youtube shorts.

in the works

• a snail mail portrait print club as part of a paid membership!

• a long form video review of high-low cost marker paper. You’re going to be surprised which one was my favourite.

• the full painting process of Spring from the Seasons portrait series as a long form video with my notes and painting tips

• the slow -but in progress- review of sketchbooks I’ve been trying with watercolours

• ongoing daily portraits. I draw a portrait every day and then colour them in. My super cheapo 8$ little sketchbook is in my second section of 10. First pencil crayon, now alcohol makers, next up: watercolour marker pens!

Did you enjoy the update this week?

Let me know in the comments! And send me a note if you have any questions about getting a custom portrait created.
Catch you next time!

Tanya

I hope you get inspired or learn something new or useful from this post.
If you do, please share or restack. I appreciate you and your support and thanks for reading! ~Tanya.

Share

I hope you get inspired or learn something new or useful from this post.
If you do, please share or restack. I appreciate you and your support and thanks for reading! ~Tanya.

Share

Hey, I’m Tanya-a watercolourist playing with paints and making videos about it. I love to share the process and how we don’t have to be perfect. My notes and thoughts are sometimes fun and silly. Other times, inspirational and supportive for you as an artist navigating Substack. If that sounds like fun, click the button to join, then grab your art supplies and let’s create! Or grab a cuppa, chill and enjoy the vibes.

join the fun!

hello hello!

Welcome to another article with easy tips to grow your Substack account as an artist. If you didnt read the first post I highly suggest you do and implement those 5 simple but highly effective tips. I’ll bet you’ll see a difference right away.
(by the way, if you click the play article button at the top, you can hear me read this to you in my real voice )

today I’m going to share with you

1. how to customize your welcome email for new subscribers

2. how to welcome your subscribers with a personal direct message

3. why you should go live on Substack
   (don’t freak out if you’re an introvert, I have options for you!)

why am I doing this? Well like you, I'm an artist who moved over to Substack and was simultaneously impressed but also overwhelmed by the amount of options, tools and the confusing deep menus of the dashboard UI.
I like to call it Bag of Chips software as in “it has all that + a bag of chips” haha!

I quickly discovered there are a lot of fantastic people on Substack teaching you how to use it. Yet, there really wasn't anything geared specifically for us as artists. Nor was there a lot of specific detailed help outside of a paywall.

Lucky for me and maybe you - I’m deeply curious, pretty tech minded and good at figuring stuff out. Keep in mind that this platform is all about constant change and new features. It’s hard to keep on top of it when you’re just trying to figure things out! And likely, you have unsubscribed from Substack’s newsletter which has release notes of all of this jazz. So I’m going to give you my take on things in an easy way to help you right now - and keep it artist account focused.

🐝 Side note: me again. did you read the 1st post yet? Do yourself a favour, read it now. Those tips are the core of what will grow your Substack as an artist right away. Plus they give you an idea of how to use the platform. TIP: these pointers aren’t like other social media platforms. They are way more human. Ironical considering this is an AI driven platform. But you know, quiet anarchy and all that jazz.

Righto! Let's get on with it, you're probably saying! So grab yourself a cuppa and a notebook or open a text document to cut and paste and let do this!

3 MORE Tips for Artists to Grow Your Substack Account

1. customize your welcome email for new subscribers

For goodness sake, don’t skip this ! Know it or not, nothing gives off the air of “can’t be bothered” than signing up for a subscription only to get an email with Substack’s generic robot generated “You’re receiving free posts from [your name]. To get every post and other paid subscriber benefits, upgrade to a paid subscription…”

Doesn’t really create a warm feeling, does it? Why? Because there’s nothing special or unique there, nor does it give you any sense of welcome. And on top of it, you’re already being asked to upgrade. Yuck. So. Let’s fix that!

There are tons of ideas, fill in templates and suggestions out there on how to craft welcome emails. But in order, you'll want to include these basics:

• welcome message

• who you are and what your Substack/newsletter is about

• (dont skip this one!) what value people get by subscribing

• how often you’ll post / mailout / share notes / do live videos, etc.

• CTA (call to action) again, lots of options -but choose only one:
  read article / get discount on subscription / link to your archive / link to something you’re selling or promoting. You get the idea

2. welcome new subscribers with a personal direct message

Nothing says Oh my gosh there's a real human on the other end! than a personalized welcome message. It shares possibilities: human to human connection, being seen and connecting with like minded people

This is your way share your personality, build trust and engage one to one with your audience and share something they might be interested in. This is probably the most effective way to build relationships and grow your account.

BUT there are two important caveats!

1. you must personalize every message The whole point of this is to connect with people one to one. If you're going to cut and paste for everybody, it's going to be obvious. Instead take two seconds and find out their real name or interests and make sure you address them by it. Then if you're going to share basics you want to tell everybody who joins, you can cut/paste that. But you need that personalization touch otherwise there's no point doing it

2. stay away from “insta-selling”! it's the yuck factor again. don't tell me I signed up to your Substack only for you to try and sell me something first thing. Please! Instead, this is an opportunity to promote a feature, (your chat room, art challenges, your live schedule, links to your website or other socials etc. )
   If you do want to sell something, get consent! ASK first. People are subscribing to your Substack because they're interested in you and what you do. So if you ask them first if they might be interested in hearing about an offer - and they come back at you with a yes - friend, you are 100% ahead. Otherwise you’re just throwing it out there and potentially risking people unsubscribing.

3. go live on Substack!

This is your number one way to engage with your community, let people get a feel for what you do and your personality and grow your Substack.
That said, not everybody wants to be on camera. I get it. You are currently chatting with someone who had a picture of her cat as her avatar for over 10 years on social media. Because I didn't want to be seen. But I got over it. And now I really enjoy going live and its such a fun way to share!

But if the idea of being live freaks you out - the cool thing is - you're an artist!
You don't have to show your face, you just have to point your camera down at your desk. Or take people on a walk through of your studio as you're working. Or give them your insiders perspective. Do an art or sketchbook flip through. Swatch colours. And everybody loves to see work in progress or behind the scenes with artists.

Kay? No more excuses. Get out there, share your personality and watch your community grow!

there you have it, Three excellent tips to continue growing your substack as an artist. Let me know in the comments how it's going. Because I genuinely want to see you succeed. That's why I'm creating these articles for you, for free. one of the best things about the artist community on Substack is how we support each other, and I'm glad to be helping you out today.

There you go, 3 Simple Tips to Help your Substack grow
Tell me in the comments how it’s going. I’m cheering for you!
And if you found this useful, share with your artist friends. Let's support each other as we have a great time creating!

-Tanya

Substack References - aka Bot How To Guides

• How do I set up welcome emails on Substack? * remember what I said about bag of chips software? So of course they're gonna give you 4 different options!
  For now, focus on the welcome email to free subscribers then cut and paste your welcome message into all three options. You can fine tune as your account grows.

• Introducing direct messaging on Substack

• Getting started with Live Video on Substack

Did you read the first post yet? Do that now :)

Hey, I’m Tanya-a watercolourist playing with paints and making videos about it. Like you, I moved to Substack because I wanted to connect with other artists. You know, real people who like to talk with each other :) I love Substack, but the learning curve is real—even for a former IT gal. This space is my way of giving back by sharing fun, practical tips that truly work for artists like us. My goal is to help you enjoy your creative journey and manage your account with total confidence. If that sounds like the support you’ve been looking for, tap the button to join and lets create a community you love!”

join the fun!

Over the next few weeks I challenge you to use this reference photo and create a piece of art in your own style.

You can do digital or paint or markers. ballpoint pen or crayons - whatever makes you happy. And then share a photo in the community chat thread for the art challenge before the end of the month.

The point of this is to relax and enjoy. Take some time for yourself to chill out and enjoy having fun doing art. It's the best way to get away from enemies and subsequent thoughts which can be overwhelming.

There's no right or wrong way to do it and we're a pretty chillaxed supportive community so play along and then share your work so we can all have a fun time comparing the styles.

Okay, what's up with the reference photo Tanya?

I was in Victoria BC for a couple days and there was this odd little pocket in between all the bougie little houses in James Bay. It made no sense. There was graffiti and rubble and yet grass and deer grazing. Those guys have a hard life in the city, so the first thing that came to my mind was “Thug Life”😎 hahah. Let that inspire you - or not!

Feel free to use the picture how you like - crop it, zoom in, do the whole thing. Whatever makes you happy.

I look forward to seeing your art in the chat!

Have fun arting 👩🏻‍🎨

Tanya

Today I’m swatching 36 Alcohol Markers!

I recently deep dived into Alcohol Markers and today I’m swatching the 36 pack of Portrait Colour Art Markers by Ohuhu . It’s the Honolulu 02 series with the chisel / brush tip.

*hey! I’ve since edited to add chapters with all the colour codes and my tips.
click below to watch:

Why did I do this? Because I am continuing on in my mastery for the procrastination nation. Seriously though, I have a portrait that I’ve been painting and I need a break from it. So I’m having fun diverting into a completely different art form.

Art markers are something I remember from art school in the 90s. And I have avoided them since because the smell made me so nauseous. But things have really changed. Yeah there's still a slight odour, but it's not gonna get you light headed. I grabbed a small set about a month ago on a BOGO and having played with them figured I’d invest in a decent set when they were on sale. Et voila!

I mention this because apparently these Ohuhu’s are a phenomenon. They are everywhere. In tonnes of configurations and price points. Ranging wildly from 50 cents to $5 per piece! Having a full set means I can now play around doing portraits with a decent variety of colours to see what kind of shenanigans I can get up to.

Today it's me having some fun making a swatch sheet for myself . The colours arent accurate and I want a bigger visual reference so I can see the colour on the paper I like. (As an aside, Im working on a video comparing 3 types of marker papers and do chat a bit about this in todays vid) I’m also going to chat about random silliness like the naming convention of the markers which I didn't figure out until after the live video. So basic I'm kind of embarrassed because R is for red, B is for blue, Y is for … d’er. 🙄

But also, something is kind of off with the colour matched lids which aren't always matched. And somebody in admin might consider discouraging the staff in the ‘naming department’ from eating gummies on their breaks. For realios, who calls a salmon pink “Brown Black”? Looking at you BR208. There are entire threads on Reddit about this. Meanwhile, I still don’t understand the logic of it but someone somewhere maybe does… maybe.

Anyhow enjoy the video and some chill time as I swatch and show you how these markers look like on Canson XL Marker paper. How colours layer up and how they work a little bit. Plus a bit of silly time as I try to make sense of the nonsensical, give up and then decide I want to do it all over again so the colours are laid out how I’d pick them.

Oh, by the way, if you were one of the cool kids who tuned into my live video, thanks for hanging out! Catch you all in the next one.

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Since I chatted with you I have become a full on trainee to mastery of procrastination mode. Skirting around finishing the 4th portrait in my Seasons series.

Which I was intending to launch for Spring Equinox in 2 days. Depending on whether the bot attack on my website’s WooCommerce shop has chilled out or not. But that’s a whole different story. :/

Meanwhile, in an exploration to

a) create a stress free daily practice akin to the 100 day project but without the constraint of rules so I don’t give up halfway through and
b) to get some sketching practice in while using art supplies I haven’t touched in ages
I decided to grab a cute little nondescript 9$ sketchbook from the local art supply.

These little portraits are what I’ve been up to the last 10 days. Starting out as 1hr portraits but quickly shifting to 30 mins. Because unlike watercolour paints, these watercolour pencils are so much easier! I can literally see my ability to sketch coming back in 10 drawings. So far so good.

Now I’m ready to move to the next medium - aka I used all my colours.

So next up will be alcohol markers. If you’re on Substack, keep an eye out for my daily notes with updates.

If you found this post amusing, helpful or as a call to change in your own life, consider upgrading to support me and my art. and thanks!

you're awesome, I want to support you

other goodies

In another stellar procrastination nation move, I created the Dr Seuss Art Challenge for the month of March. It’s a no pressure way to create some fun art and share it in the community chat. Still 2 weeks left, so grab some art supplies and join us :)

So far I’ve worked on two pieces. You can see part 1 of my escapades here and hear me totally lose the plot when I created a story (with voices) about the characters on the page and somehow they decided they would be playing bocce.

Hey. I gotta be me!

and a big PS

I can’t do a poll here, but I would really like to know your thoughts on frequency of the Art Notes Digest.that I have been creating for about a year now.

I love doing them, but they are a tonne of work and time. So I’d like to know if it’s something that you became a subscriber for and maybe you’re missing it? And if not I might do them a little less frequently.

anyhoodle poodle, let me know in the comments.

Thanks for hanging out with me and I will catch you most days on the Substack

pps - for all of you who sent on the good wishes for my Salish cat Salish, thank you! She’s still recouping after surgery - but almost back to her regular shenagins.

Feel free to create along or just enjoy me having fun painting in the backgrounds my fun art piece. In part two I'm going to be inking in the outlines and probably playing with the other piece that I drew.

Feel free to ask any questions in the comments. I love chatting with you :)

Haven’t joined? Click below and we’ will see you in the community chat room!

Subscribe now

Hey friends. :) If you haven't been hanging out in the chat room you might have missed out on the new monthly Art Challenge thread. For March, I thought it would be fun to let you vote for your favourite because there's so much going on.
(poll below)

3 choices. 3 days to vote!

Results will go up in the chat on wed March 4th. Then you have the month to create as many - or few - art pieces you want. Share to your notes and post them in the chat.
It’s a fun easy-going art goal for the month and also great way to get a little traction in your notes feed from your fellow artists!

Ok ready? Let’s go!

After finding myself procrastinating for almost two weeks on doing another larger portrait, my artistic creative brain thought yeah- this is a great idea! Folks all over the place are doing the 100 day practice, my feed is full of amazing work, I’m inspired. And maybe a little jealous.

Not so much of the beautiful work Ive seen, but more, of having physical and mental energy and ability to commit to such a long project.

Also, I want to play around with getting more comfortable working a little faster. Poking that inner part of me who wants to be perfectionist and being too harsh a critic.

And most importantly, remembering that it's OK if I skip a day. Because I have a lot going on on top of dealing with some chronic fatigue health issues which I really need to pay attention to at the moment.

And if you want to see paintings from start to finish, I actually shoot my progress videos for Youtube shorts.

Next week Ill share how Im on the hunt for a watercolour sketchbook that works for me after using a cheap one and having a boxing match with the paper :/

Catch you next time. And remember, if you need a day off the dailes or the work, its ok to rest.

hello hello!

I heard about the best idea lately. It’s fun, easy and a great way to see and be seen on Substack. Especially if you’re new to the platform and probably wondering why you’re not getting as many responses to your posts as you would like. Real organic growth takes time, but what really helps your Substack grow is when people interact with each other!

introducing The SHARE & SUPPORT THREAD 🤗

As a subscriber you probably know that you have access to our Community Chat room. So I’ve just added the SHARE & SUPPORT THREAD.

Drop a link to a note you shared this week that isn’t getting as much engagement as you want. Then click on two other people in the list and give them a little love - comment, share and support each other!

This is a great way for us to connect with each other, support other artists and enjoy the reciprocity of someone doing the same for you.

See you in there!

Access is free because I love ya, but if you feel like supporting the tons of free content I share with you, you can do that here: subscribe to Tanya Kucey Art

Subscribe now

Today I’m sharing the process and fun that I have every year when I create sheets of mini love notes. Whether you are into Valentine’s Day or not, it’s a lot of fun to make hearts and write something a little sweet on the back. I like to gift them out anonymously but these are a fun project to do on your own or with friends and kids for Valentine’s or any time of the year you want to spread a little love.

SUPPLIES

I used watercolour, but you can use any paints, pens, chalks, crayons, pastels, pencil crayons. Even a ballpoint pen! Whatever you have on hand is perfect.

• Your favourite watercolours. I encourage you to experiment!
  Try using different colours besides just the red, pink, orange or purples

• Good quality watercolour paper, I like Canson XL because the price point is good and it also has a lot of sizing. Meaning that paint will stay on the surface and a little bit wet for longer which = more playtime

Have fun and if you're a subscriber, share your work in the subscriber chat!