Welcome back to Empowering the Artist Within, this is the space for creativity, self-expression, and personal growth!

I’m your host Liz Ross, and this episode is all about allowing for freedom in your creativity through traditional & digital art journaling.

If you’ve ever felt stuck staring at a blank page, pressured to “finish” an art journal spread, or afraid of ruining something you like, you are not alone. So many artists get caught up in perfectionism and fear of the outcome. In this episode you’ll hear about my experience with art journaling, how it can provide us with a safe space for expression, and how digital art can change everything.

We’ll talk about how digital art tools, like Procreate, can open new doors to creativity. Just like traditional art journaling, they give you permission to experiment, explore, and create without the pressure of a finished result.

💛 In this episode, you’ll discover how to:

• Release the need for perfection in your art journaling.
• Use unfinished and layered pages as part of your creative practice.
• Use digital tools like Procreate to inform your artistic practice and create new art from old.
• Gather photos of existing work, gel prints, collage papers and photographs and use them in a Procreate.
• Use Procreate as a playful, pressure-free tool to explore, experiment and play.

Art is not about the medium, it’s about the freedom to express yourself. Your creativity is valid, meaningful, and worth celebrating🌿

✨ Mini Challenge:

1. Import a photo of your art into Procreate

If you don’t know how sign up for my FREE Procreate Masterclass and I’ll show you

1. You could choose to import a gelli print, collage paper, page from your art journal or a canvas piece.

2. Play around with the brushes, make some marks and have some fun playing.

3. Export as a jpg and sae to your camera roll.

4. Come over to my new Facebook group and share your explorations with us.

⭐️Question of the week:

Do you use Procreate or another digital tool in your creative practice? How do you feel about mixing digital and traditional ?

Head over to my new instagram account and let me know your answer in the comments - look for the question above in my feed and pop your thoughts under it.

💌 Connect & Support:

• Support the Podcast; Buy me a coffee ☕️ — Every cup helps me create more inspiring episodes for you!
• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts to help more artists find the show.
• Join me on Instagram at my new podcast account: @empoweringtheartistwithin
• Explore my art, free resources, and creative inspiration here: www.artbylizross.com
• Follow me on instagram https://www.instagram.com/artbylizross/
• Submit a question: Email liz@artbylizross.com with a question you’d like me to discuss on the Podcast or if you want to reach out and let me know your thoughts on any of the episodes so far - I love to hear from you.

🗣️ Mentioned in this episode:

Kaisa Hart - 7 Day Mark Making Challenge https://www.kaisahart.com/mindful-mark-making-challenge

Kaisa Hart Free Art Journaling Course https://www.kaisahart.com/art-journaling-joy-course

Follow Kaisa on instagram https://www.instagram.com/artistkaisahart/

Keep creating, keep exploring, and remember your art doesn’t need to be perfect to be powerful. 🌿

✨ Welcome back to Empowering the Artist Within, the space for creativity, self-expression, and personal growth! I’m your host Liz Ross, and today’s episode is a gentle yet powerful affirmation session to help you show up boldly as a creative, even when fear or self-doubt shows up.

If you’ve ever hesitated to share your art, felt nervous about posting your work, or worried that your creations aren’t “perfect,” these affirmations are here to ground you, remind you of your worth, and encourage you to take brave steps in your creative journey.

💛 In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

• Build courage and confidence as a creative

• Feel safe to show up imperfectly

• Transform fear and self-doubt into motivation

• Embrace vulnerability as a strength in creativity

🎨 Sample Affirmations from this episode:

• I am learning to show up with courage, even when I feel afraid.

• I am learning to show up with courage, even when I feel afraid.

• I celebrate my creativity; messy, imperfect, and beautifully mine.

• I am safe to take up space as an artist.

• Every time I share my art, I grow stronger and more confident.

✨ Remember: confidence is built step by step, one brave moment at a time. Take a small action this week: Share your art, try something new, or simply acknowledge your progress. Every act of showing up is a victory!

💌 Connect & Support:

• Support the Podcast; Buy me a coffee ☕️ Every cup bought helps fuel more creativity and wonderful episodes!

• Leave a review on Apple Podcasts to help others discover the show!

• Follow me on Instagram to keep the conversation going at my NEW instagram account for the podcast www.instagram.com/empoweringtheartistwithin

• Explore more inspiration and art here: www.artbylizross.com

Keep creating, exploring, and keep believing and trusting in yourself. Your voice and your art matter.

Support my podcast by buying me a coffee - I give all my supporters a shout out on my show and link their instagram acct in these notes!----more----

So many of us long to share our art, our voice, or even just a glimpse of ourselves online but when it comes to actually doing it, confidence crumbles. The inner critic kicks in, negative thoughts spiral, and before we know it, we’ve shrunk ourselves small again.

If that feels familiar, this episode is for you.

I open up about my own journey of building confidence; from barely being able to speak up on video calls, to recording podcast episodes without a script. Along the way, I share the practices and mindset shifts that helped me grow braver, and the importance of having community support when you’re learning to show up.

Together we’ll look at:

• Why negative thoughts and limiting beliefs keep us quiet and small.

• How to reframe those stories into encouragement and possibility.

• Why giving yourself permission to be imperfect is one of the most freeing things you can do.

• The magic of sharing your work even if it’s messy, unfinished, or unpolished.

• How letting go actually makes space for new opportunities.

You’ll walk away from this episode with encouragement to start showing up as you are, permission to be imperfect, and a reminder that your creativity is worth celebrating.

Because your art is magic. And it deserves to be seen.----more----

With thanks to my supporters; @artistkaisahart @annafmacdonaldart @sg_art_and_journals

----more----Connect with me - Liz Ross: For more inspiration & creative encouragement follow me on Instagram @artbylizross or sign up for my newsletter at artbylizross.com

☕️ If you enjoyed this episode support the show by buying me a coffee

Grab my FREE Procreate Masterclass here