News & Updates

by Mark J Ratcliffe Have you found your tribe? As an artist, we start out exploring what we like, what we don’t, what we are good at and what needs more finesse… but do we find ourselves as a loner or part of a group of people. Sometimes we need both; alone time to…

by Mark J Ratcliffe Inspiration I often get asked what inspires me as an artist. It’s never an easy answer because it really depends on so many factors. It could be a person, a season, a theme, a color…. But what I would say is as an artist it changes all the time as…

by Mark J Ratcliffe Learning, growing, living Hi 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…

by Mark J Ratcliffe You’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 Ratcliffe Time 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 Ratcliffe Managing your own Expectations As 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 Ratcliffe Evolve as an Artist Over 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…

by Mark J Ratcliffe The Process – from Start to Finish I’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 Ratcliffe The Seasons: Color Palettes to Inspire our Art Wherever 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…