In this episode, I sit down with Swedish watercolour artist, educator, and creative business coach Louise Stigell for an honest conversation about building a sustainable creative practice on your own terms.

Louise's journey is one of transformation and intentional choice-making. After burning out from her career as a freelance writer and web designer in 2020, she rediscovered art as therapy and never looked back. What started as painting birds for healing became a thriving multi-faceted creative business that includes original artwork, YouTube content creation, online courses, and voice coaching for fellow creatives.

Louise doesn't mince words about what she calls the "pornification of art" on social media platforms. We dive deep into why Instagram's highlight reel culture creates unrealistic expectations and how she's built her business primarily through YouTube and email marketing instead.

From her game design background, Louise brings a fascinating perspective on gradually "levelling up" your comfort zone. We explore how she overcame social anxiety to start a YouTube channel and how that confidence translates across all areas of her creative practice.

Finally, Louise offers invaluable advice about the tension between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation when you turn your art into your livelihood. She's refreshingly honest about the challenges of maintaining your love for your craft when it becomes your income source.

✍ Read the full show notes here: https://zuzushausofcats.com/journal/ep13-louise-stigell

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🎶 Music by the incredible Caspar Riis: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://soundcloud.com/caspar-riis⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Used with permission.