News & Updates

by Mark J RatcliffeLearning, growing, livingHi everyone! I hope you’re doing well and 2025 is being kind to you? I personally sign up to newsletters from a number of inspiring people and I want to reflect and discuss something I read in one of those as part of my Blog...

by Mark J RatcliffeYou’re Stronger Than You Realise Last month, I suggested we do an exercise together writing down one thing each day that you were either grateful for, what you’ve achieved and what you’ve learned. Did you do it and were you amazed at all the stuff...

by Mark J RatcliffeTime is a Learning Curve As I sit down to write my monthly blog, I’m reflecting on how quickly time goes. As time passes, we learn and evolve and I think that is true in all areas of our life and I know I have as an artist. We can learn so many...

by Mark J RatcliffeManaging your own ExpectationsAs an artist, I think it’s fair to say we can sometimes (mostly) be our own worst critics. I know I can, and I was reflecting on why that might be? I came to the conclusion that it would be for a variety of reasons...

by Mark J RatcliffeEvolve as an ArtistOver the last 11 months I’ve explored various topics, including why we paint, what inspires us, fear of failure and creativity in general. I’ve really enjoyed being able to discuss my thoughts and dive deeper into various topics. ...

by Mark J RatcliffeThe Process - from Start to FinishI’ve been “creative” since a child and I’ve always really enjoyed the Arts. I fell in love with fluid art and abstract art over 5 years ago, and decided to give it a go myself. Fast forward to now and I’m proud of...

by Mark J RatcliffeThe Seasons: Color Palettes to Inspire our ArtWherever we live in the world, we probably experience the traditional seasons - Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. The seasons will show us temperature changes but what I really love about seasonal...

by Mark J RatcliffeFear of FailureWhen we paint or we want to explore our creativity even more and expand on our own knowledge and skills what is the one thing that really stops you from doing that? Just going ahead and trying something new! I’ve been thinking about...

by Mark J RatcliffeWhy Do We Paint  I often wonder why I started to paint in my 40’s, and why I was drawn to paint now. For those of you who know me, you know that I reignited my passion to paint five years ago and took that one step further and created a YouTube...