Being an artist & creative is a challenging path to say the least! My professional artist & creative CV reads that I've built & sold two creative businesses, had work on the BBC and multiple solo and group shows including two London solo exhibitions to date. I've also used my creativity to take me to every place around the world I wanted to see & explore to now finding myself happily settled in North Devon over looking the water.

 

But what that CV doesn't tell you is of the blood, sweat, tears & tantrums with my art that there's been at times. The highs have been amazing but the lows have been soul destroying at times. I truly understand why there's a battlefield of lost passions, heart ache, frustration & mental health care challenges in our history. 

 

Research has found that if you work in the creative sector, you’re three times more likely to have mental health problems (I prefer the word challenges but we’ll come to that) but especially with anxiety and depression.

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Professor Siobhan O'Neill from the Psychology Research Institute at UU led the research team. Sourced from the BBC

 

So for me the mental health care & advice side to my work is an essential tool I use, but to release it to others has been brewing since 2017. I set then to writing it all as some notes to leave my family & friends should any pursue a passion where they become an artist within their field or trade.

 

To me it doesn't matter if you're a scientist, a poet, a mathematician, tree surgeon, carpenter, chef or physicist. The list goes on because artists reside in  most professions where you are simply following a passion for what you do with your whole heart.

 

It's a very different career path when you do. One loaded with amazing highs, but the lows can be extremely challenging too.  From losing all your money (least of the worries) to losing your love and passion of what you're doing (a much bigger problem) to losing your mental health & all that you care about around you (the biggest danger). It's sad but true. Statistics within the arts are shocking & I don't think this just runs to traditionally what we think of as stereotypical arts. I've worked around a lot of the trades & there are many artists within it, but I'm hearing of more & more mental health care struggles. 

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Now I'm clearly not a doctor or psychiatrist and would always recommend seeking professional help from the relevant trained professionals. But what I have done is set up and sell multiple creative businesses while constantly skating on the knife edge of sanity in being a full blooded professional artist. It's a hard balance but I've learnt a lot of tips & tricks along the way. It's been a pleasure to help & guide other people to set up & grow their own businesses and I'd like to do more.

 

My help is aimed at those with an extreme passion & dream that they simply have to follow, whether this is as a business or within education or just as a hobby.

 

If you’d like to book a session, it’s all done online, just feel free to email me, to arrange our diaries. For costings your first session would be half price. This is for you to see that I’m the right fit for you. It’s a personal choice which I completely understand. 

The price would be £37.50 (First session. 1 hour)

Second session and there after £75 per hour.  

 

For Bookings please email me at dontloseanear@gmail.com

 

Best wishes on your journey and most of all don’t give up on your passion, creativity and love. There should always be a tiny pocket of time in your life for your passions, it's what allows our souls to breath. If there’s not, then this is your starting point to realigning your balance. 

Food for thought.

All the best. 

Russell