Savvy Painter Podcast with Antrese Wood

• When Your Studio Becomes a Storage Unit

  What to do when decades of work are stacked against your walls and you can't remember the last time you made a decision about any of it.You know that feeling when you walk into your studio and see paintings leaning against every wall, flat files overflowing, canvases stacked so deep you've forgotten what's in the back?And underneath it all, that low hum of dread: What's going to happen to all of this?Maybe you've been making work for decades. Grad school pieces, late-night sessions after the kids went to sleep, that stretch when you were working two jobs and still carved out time to paint. It's all still there. And now you're standing in front of it thinking: Did I just waste my best work in obscurity? What was I even making it for?This episode is about how to sort through decades of accumulated work without spiraling into paralysis, and how to turn your studio back into a place where things are happening, not just stored.In this episode:The real reason you can't throw anything away. (Your brain is still waiting to find out if that painting meant something, or if it was just a phase.)Why every painting you haven’t decided about is costing you more than shelf space.A 30-minute sorting system that makes the mess feel manageableTwo questions that actually help you decide what stays and what goes. How to tell the difference between a painting that wants to be seen and one that already did its job.The “curate your own retrospective” game, and why pretending you have a show makes you braver, faster, more ruthless (in a good way).What happens when you group your work by something other than chronology, like color, texture, feeling, or that weird leaf shape you kept doodling for three years and forgot about.This episode’s for you if:Your studio feels more like a storage unit than a sanctuary You’ve been making work for years, but the question “What if no one ever sees this?” leaves you deflatedYou don’t want to leave your kids (or your executor) shelves full of unresolved choicesYou know there’s good work in there. You just need a way to see it clearly again — and decide what it’s still here to doDo you spend more time thinking about making art than actually making it? Start things you never finish? Make work and then stack it against the wall, facing inward, so you don't have to look at it?If any of that sounds familiar, I'd love to chat.Click here: savvypainter.com/survey to tell me what's going on. If it seems like I need more info, I'll reach out to schedule a call.Thanks so much!Support the showAnd hey - if this episode hit home, do me a favor, leave a review on Apple Podcast or come say hi on Instagram: @savvypainterpodcastI’d love to hear this episode resonated you. ❤️

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• Six Tools to Stop Treating Your Studio Like a Courtroom

  What to do when you catch yourself in “courtroom mode”You named it. You know you're doing it. You can hear yourself cross-examining every brushstroke, cataloging evidence that you're not good enough, delivering a guilty verdict before the paint dries.But what do you do when you catch yourself mid-spiral?This one's the follow-up to Your Studio Isn't a Courtroom — the practical side. Because recognition without tools leaves you stuck watching yourself repeat the same pattern. And if you've ever thought okay, I see it now, but how do I stop? — this is for you.In this episode:The simplest redirection tool (it sounds too easy, but it creates the split-second of space you need to choose differently)How to shift from prosecuting questions to investigating ones — and why "what's wrong with this?" keeps you trappedWhy experiments can't fail, but verdicts always doThe friend test: would you ever talk to another artist the way you talk to yourself in your head?What to do when you freeze — one concrete action that interrupts the spiral and starts the conversation with your painting againWhat your studio's actual job is (and why forgetting this turns every session into a trial)This episode's for you if:You can see the pattern now, but you don't know how to interrupt it once it startsYou stand there analyzing instead of painting, trying to figure out the move that won't get you criticizedYou're tired of the harsh voice winning every time — but kindness feels like giving upYou want tools that work in the moment, not theory you have to remember later—--------------------------------LINKS: https://savvypainter.com/356-your-studio-isnt-a-courtroom-make-yours-the-safest-place-to-create/Do you spend more time thinking about making art than actually making it? Start things you never finish? Make work and then stack it against the wall, facing inward, so you don't have to look at it?If any of that sounds familiar, I'd love to chat.Click here: savvypainter.com/survey to tell me what's going on. If it seems like I need more info, I'll reach out to schedule a call.Thanks so much!Support the showAnd hey - if this episode hit home, do me a favor, leave a review on Apple Podcast or come say hi on Instagram: @savvypainterpodcastI’d love to hear this episode resonated you. ❤️

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• Why You Can't Finish a Painting (And What to Do About It)

  You look around your studio and see them everywhere — canvases turned to the wall, paintings shoved under the bed, works-in-progress stacked in corners. Each one started with complete conviction that this time would be different. But somewhere around the messy middle, you bailed. Again.And now you're wondering: What's wrong with me?Nothing. You're not lazy, you're not lacking discipline, and you're not broken. You're doing something that makes complete sense when you understand what's actually happening underneath the behavior.In this episode:The moment when every painting goes sideways — and why your brain mistakes that moment for failureWhat you're actually avoiding when you start a new canvas (hint: it's not the painting)Why "finished" doesn't mean what you think it means — and how that misunderstanding keeps you stuckThe real cost of a studio full of unfinished work (it's more than just clutter)Six concrete strategies to break the pattern and actually complete somethingWhat to expect:A clear-eyed look at why you abandon paintings, what finishing actually requires, and how to build the muscle to stay with your work when it gets uncomfortable. No pep talks. Just the truth about what's happening — and what to do about it.This episode's for you if:Your studio is filled with more unfinished work than completed piecesYou keep telling yourself "this one will be different" — and it never isYou're tired of starting over every time a painting hits the hard partYou want to finish something for once, even if it's not perfectDo you spend more time thinking about making art than actually making it? Start things you never finish? Make work and then stack it against the wall, facing inward, so you don't have to look at it?If any of that sounds familiar, I'd love to chat.Click here: savvypainter.com/survey to tell me what's going on. If it seems like I need more info, I'll reach out to schedule a call.Thanks so much!Support the showAnd hey - if this episode hit home, do me a favor, leave a review on Apple Podcast or come say hi on Instagram: @savvypainterpodcastI’d love to hear this episode resonated you. ❤️

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• You Took Time Off. Now What?

  What really happens when you return to your art — and how to make work again without getting stuck in what could have been.You took time off from your art. Maybe it was a few months. Maybe it was twenty years.You built a life, raised kids, held it together, paid the bills — and now you’re trying to come back. But instead of feeling proud of everything you carried, you feel... behind. Disconnected. Like you lost something. Like you’re supposed to apologize for the years you weren’t painting.This episode is about that feeling — and why it’s lying to you.This one’s for artists who made a real-life choice — and now can’t shake the feeling they’re starting all over again.If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking I should’ve found a way or stared at a canvas wondering how much time you wasted... yeah. You’re in the right place.In this episode:The invisible comparison that’s keeping you stuck (hint: you’re measuring yourself against someone who doesn’t exist)Why “I’m behind” feels so convincing — and what your brain’s actually doing when it feeds you that lineWhat this costs you beyond just lost time (it’s happening right now, while you’re listening)The part nobody talks about: why that gap wasn’t wasted, even when it feels like it wasOne shift that’ll change how you walk into the studio tomorrowWhat to expect:No pep talk, no punishment. Just a clear-eyed look at what comes next — and how to make work again without dragging shame in with you.This episode’s for you if:Coming back feels harder than stepping away ever didYou can run a household or a business — but still feel like a beginner when you pick up a brushYou’re proud of your choices and gutted by what you didn’t get to do — both can be trueYou’re in it right now, wondering if it’s even worth trying to paint againDo you spend more time thinking about making art than actually making it? Start things you never finish? Make work and then stack it against the wall, facing inward, so you don't have to look at it?If any of that sounds familiar, I'd love to chat.Click here: savvypainter.com/survey to tell me what's going on. If it seems like I need more info, I'll reach out to schedule a call.Thanks so much!Support the showAnd hey - if this episode hit home, do me a favor, leave a review on Apple Podcast or come say hi on Instagram: @savvypainterpodcastI’d love to hear this episode resonated you. ❤️

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• I See You Scrolling Instagram Instead of Painting (Nine Patterns That Keep You Stuck)

  Ever spend half your studio time staring at a painting, mentally ripping it apart, but never actually picking up the brush? Or maybe you're scrolling Instagram right now instead of being in your studio. (I see you.) You're not broken. You're just stuck in a pattern. And once you can name it, it loses its power.In this episode, I'm walking through nine specific, observable behaviors that show up when artists are working through self-doubt. Not vague struggles. Actual patterns you can recognize in yourself.Because here's the thing: when you go from "What's wrong with me?" to "Oh, I'm doing that serial abandoner thing again," everything shifts. It's not a personality flaw. It's just a pattern. And patterns can change.In This Episode:[3:09] The Serial Abandoner — Starting painting after painting, always convinced the next one will be different[5:00] The Mental Critic — Spending half your studio time cataloging what's wrong instead of actually painting[7:53] The Comparison Scroller — More time on Instagram than at the easel, using other artists' work as proof you're not good enough[10:00] The Permission Seeker — Asking everyone's opinion before trusting your own eye[14:09] The Hiding Perfectionist — Making work, then stacking it facing the wall, waiting until it's "good enough"[15:34] The Apologizer — Can't show work without immediately explaining everything that's wrong with it first[17:03] The Workshop Collector — Taking class after class, convinced you need one more technique before you're ready[23:54] The Overthinking Planner — Hours planning the perfect painting in your mind, but never committing to canvas[25:34] The Corner Repainter — Repainting the same spot seventeen times while ignoring the rest of the paintingIf you recognize yourself in one or more of these? You're in good company. This is what shows up for skilled artists working through doubt. The episode walks through what's actually happening underneath each pattern and what to practice instead.Want to work with me?  Join Growth StudioPrivate Coaching for artists Do you spend more time thinking about making art than actually making it? Start things you never finish? Make work and then stack it against the wall, facing inward, so you don't have to look at it?If any of that sounds familiar, I'd love to chat.Click here: savvypainter.com/survey to tell me what's going on. If it seems like I need more info, I'll reach out to schedule a call.Thanks so much!Support the showAnd hey - if this episode hit home, do me a favor, leave a review on Apple Podcast or come say hi on Instagram: @savvypainterpodcastI’d love to hear this episode resonated you. ❤️

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