 Well hello and welcome to ArtBizTV. In this episode I'm talking with the lovely Jackie Peach and we're talking all about her art workshop success story. Yes Jackie is not only a really well-known artist but she's also a teacher as well and if you've been interested in how to set up a successful workshop business and you like some of her secret tips and tricks then this is something that we're covering in this interview but I also talked to Jackie a lot about her story like where did she start out and how did she get to where she is today. So I hope you really enjoy it. If you want to know of course all the details of how to find out about the workshops that she runs or all the other you know socials and the usual things there will be links below this video to Jackie's website her social media where you can find out more about her. But in the meantime I think we should watch the interview don't you? Let's go ahead and dive in. Alright hello and a really warm welcome to this interview. Today I've got the lovely Jackie Peach in her beautifully lit studio and we're both in Perth today and today we're really talking about your artist's journey. So I guess we're going to start at the very beginning. Have you always wanted to be an artist Jackie? Yes I really did but I wasn't naturally gifted with drawing and so when I announced to my parents that I wanted to go to art school they were sort of like oh no you have to do something sensible. So I went to business college and I suffered it for a year got really good marks got a fabulous job at UWA saved every single cent and then really I took off travelling for probably 15 years all around Australia, New Zealand, the Mediterranean, Europe, Ireland all over the place. So I just sort of put my art on the back burner thinking well I'm I'm no good I can't do that. And then you know you get married and have children and but I finally reached a point where I could make whatever choice I wanted to. The family were grown and independent and I was at a stage where I thought this is it I'm going to art classes. So it's not even that long ago it was probably about 14 years ago. Wow okay that's an amazing what a lot of travel in there and all that travel I guess has probably informed your art. How's it looking at the work behind you on the wall? Absolutely yes and the colours and the feeling of different countries you know when I start a painting quite often something totally unexpected all end up coming out so yeah. And do you find that you're still drawing inspiration from those travel days to that sort of has that cut still comes through? Absolutely I love it okay yeah. Well what we talk about this tell us a bit more about your art I know we're primary talking about the workshops but before we got on a study recording you told us you told me something that you were changing focus a little bit or to just tell us a little bit about your own art and where that's at at the moment. Yes well you know we all need to make money so my art workshops are going really well and all the other things are going really well but you know that my actual art has been a little bit on the back burner and so I've just really decided to take the plunge and hire a wall in a gallery and really just go for it next year so it's financially it's quite a big outlay but if we don't jump in and take that loop of faith you never know. That's right I wonder how many people watching us they're going oh my goodness me you know it does come down to that sometimes at the end of the day you just have to go I just I have to get out there and see you know I have to just have to just take a pump now I can see behind me again on that wall and I know a little bit about what you do but tell everybody else you know you're growing up on the beach has that informed the work how was that informed the work and how has the work changed over the years? To start off with I was doing traditional art classes and I started getting really stressed with it so I asked the teacher if she could show me how to do outer space I wanted to do a nebula you know the birth of a star and so that was my very first paint pour and that totally captivated me and because paint pouring is so liquid it then was just the perfect tool for me to express my love of the ocean so all the blues, turquoise and all those gorgeous colors yeah and when you let's just get technical with the paint pouring because because this is not something I do so tell us what is paint pouring like what do you use what type of paints like how does it work actually? When I started there was very little that anybody ever knew about paint pouring and there was nothing on YouTube or Pinterest or any of those sites yeah and it was purely for me at that stage oil paint and turps but of course that's very toxic yeah I was painting outside middle of winter middle of summer so yes and then I decided that I would give acrylics ago and I started with acrylic paint and water that's okay and it doesn't work the same way like and so how do you start it just tell us how you know you and it's on board on canvas like you can do it on anything I've seen people do it on aluminium on timber so long as the products are primed you can do it on anything but I personally use canvas and the paint needs to be thinned down so it's kind of like pouring cream out of the carton so quite fluid yeah and yeah so the first paint pour is really interesting and of course you have to have a wet canvas for the paint to travel across but yeah if you're using a dark colored paint like that beautiful ultramarine blue yeah pour it onto a wet canvas it takes your breath away it's just wow and do you so then you pour it on it do you control it or do you allow it to do its own thing I really allow it to do its own thing and I see a lot of people on the different tutorials that have this gorgeous image and it's developing beautifully and then they pick it up and pour all the paint off it and it's like if only you'd waited so you do need to be you need to be patient so the magic happens because I've I'm learning much about it but I've seen it gets poured it gets tipped a bit to come off it and it's like oh okay I couldn't quite but now I'm talking to you I'm like oh I guess actually you need to you do the pour but then you wait yes patience is the key the other thing that's really really hard is knowing when to stop isn't that the case anyway oh my god I have the same issue I overpaint all the time okay so how do you how do you know when to stop I've learned through experience that sometimes it is a good idea to make sure that I have to actually go out and do something you know go to work or have other commitments where I have to leave the canvas and I'm invariably very excited when I get home and running as quickly as I can and it changes so much through the course of it that yeah I you're usually really thrilled to see what's happened wow okay I go back in after it's dry yeah I put it up and I'll look at it for a few days until I see which way I think it needs to go and you can pour over it again in different sections and so most of my paintings have got like 20 hours of work in them because it's a layering thing where you slowly add and tweak and that is right oh my god okay my mind's blown already because I think I I like probably other people have just seen those awful YouTube videos where it's pouring tip and I'm kind of like I'm not really seeing it but you know I look at the backgrounds and I'm like well how did you get those working okay so I'm pretty intrigued so it came a trend when did it sort of become a trend um I think it was probably about eight years ago yeah or somebody had added flow medium into the paint which makes it very creamy and silky and all sorts of cells and things appear but the market just became saturated with it you know there was just so much of it wow was it was that how you got into the teaching did you did you start teaching that or the teaching has nothing to do with the paint pouring like how did you how did you move from doing to to teaching I was doing an exhibition at the Rockingham Art Center um several years ago and there are a lot of artists in that area and lots of people kept saying to me how do you get that look what have you done and my niece who's an entrepreneur actually said to me you should be doing workshops and I said to her there's no way I can teach and she said how do you know have you ever tried and so to cut a long story short I did a few different workshops myself and kind of figured out what people expected and there are a few that I went to that were exceptional that set a very high benchmark and then others that were really disappointed and I disappointing and I thought well that's exactly what I don't want to do and so from that I did a lot of work to get my very first workshop happening but I only invited friends so I supplied everything and I said you know like this is we'll pretend that we don't know each other and I need your honest feedback at the end of the workshop which I got yeah and um from there I then met people such as yourself who gave me unlimited information on what avenues to take and I then ended up going to Sydney for a five-day business course for entrepreneurs nice and I just did as much research as I possibly could so that I could launch something that was professional so this is really interesting isn't it because I think you know that the idea of I well I could just go and teach a workshop and I love the fact that you've really taken it all professionally from the get-go you've done your research first what do I like what do I not like how can I how can I reach that top level how can my workshop be the best that's so important it's so important I love all of that yes keep telling us more how did you start to fill so once you've got your friends what's the friends you lost a wonderful friend I love that pretend we don't know each other yes and they gave you feedback and then presumably you tweaked and changed or whatever but Hannah how did you fill your first public workshops like what did you do Facebook advertising yeah yeah so um I did a campaign and I sort of started it was probably it's hard to remember now it's a long time ago but I think it was about a month before I wanted to actually have that first workshop yeah so I had plenty of lead time and I did it as an event um yeah and then um I was overwhelmed with because it was such a fad at the time as well oh and I also had my website up yes so they could go and see your work and other works on the workshop and how many workshops were you doing at that point two a week one on either Saturday or Sunday and one on a Wednesday and same workshop yes yeah a three hour intro and then from that I was also learning in my own practice and a lot of people were asking me about adding texture and all that sort of thing so then that became like an intermediate workshop where after you've done the intro you could then come back you know go home and practice for a bit and then if you had questions come back to the second workshop where we really focused on texture and taking that intro to the next level wow and then from that it turned into a full day workshop where as they do yeah where it was the intro and the textures and that's actually really good value and that's wow and how often were you running those then how often were the once every month or every six weeks for a full day still pretty full on isn't it considering your you know all the marketing and all the way you're managing to balance the two things where you're still getting your own work done or did you find the workshops for taking most of your time the workshops were everything because I'd actually quit my full-time job to do it yeah so I was really focused I was scared I thought I had a mortgage and it was like oh wow really this has to work there is no other option see that for me is super important isn't it because when you do that and I did the same back in the day I left my teaching job and it was like I've got two kids to feed and a mortgage to pay and you do the things that you wouldn't normally do is that you do the uncomfortable tasks yeah but it's worth it isn't it it's worth it 100% worth it 100% yeah absolutely so what what challenges did you have along the way as you built this I mean I imagine there must have been some challenges maybe not I think something is challenge was that it had completely overtaken my life and my social life suffered for it yeah and I think I was actually sort of becoming quite burnt out at one stage yeah it is extremely rewarding when you see people's faces when they're creating their own art and loving what they're doing for the first time but I think I sort of became a bit obsessive about the whole thing so how long give us a time like how long were you running it at that level how many probably about two years it's perhaps a long time to be constantly delivering workshops isn't it yeah and so what what did you do after that what what changes did you make after that I I sort of relaxed into it finally I realized that everything that I was doing it was working and I didn't need to be spending every moment thinking about it so if I did if I had a regular routine and I had a good timetable that I followed I found that I could actually fit a lot of other things into my life and still have successful workshop business running and then you reach that tipping point then it sounds do you remember that moment um where it was like okay this is working I can start so you spend less time on it do you remember that moment not really no just just came and sometimes you're like oh it was a pivotal moment and other times it was like no okay we're we're moving forward and for all those people who want to be as successful as you have been and still are with your workshops if you were to go you know that if you were to go back to the beginning and do it again like what advice would you give somebody starting out what do you think your successes were um I think speaking to people such as yourself um that um you know have all the knowledge and the information and you know like one of the first things you said to me was um you really need to have a website set up and running so people can see who you are and what you're doing um and you've got to get all the foundation in place um and also make sure that your actual workshop area is professional so for me it's in my home and my kitchen's attached to it but when people come all the personal things are put away you know there's there isn't dirty dishes and and all that sort of stuff it's really a professional studio that looks like a business location so have all the foundation in place before you actually launch I think that's really good advice isn't it and if so if somebody's wanting to start out I mean you are you know okay you you were very lucky because what you ended up doing was really trending at the time and I think that probably you know was was probably would have helped so somebody's somebody's wanting to do workshops now and they're not sure if what they're doing is on trend but they've got something they're really good at what would you suggest like how would you suggest they started out um maybe do the test run of a workshop um and invite people that are attached to um you know like your business group where you can actually invite a group of artists and say this is yeah this is a trial and I need your honest feedback yeah and you know what that's that's sort of that's a bit of a mindset issue isn't it because sometimes we don't want to hear the feedback but actually it's the feedback that enables you to grow and improve so you've got to get past that as well and getting people to be honest like don't try and protect my feelings I need you to tell me honestly absolutely and and you know you can see that you've got that beautiful professional studio and of course not everyone's as lucky as that sometimes you have to to hire a venue what would you be look so if you didn't have that studio what type of venue would you be looking for do you think well there's quite a few like close to me um there's you know like the lovely Victoria Park Art Center which is in a gorgeous old house and it's um it's got a really good if I have a really big group it's fabulous because I can fit 14 people in there yeah um but there are quite a few locations around Perth now in almost every suburb and also contacting your local council yeah and seeing what they've got absolutely so it shouldn't be because I know sometimes people might be watching thinking oh it's okay for you Jackie you've got your own beautiful studio I haven't got that but we mustn't put you off right if you haven't got a studio you need to find somewhere that looks like that that you can hire locally yes and I have done it for large groups um I've done it through Belmont yeah so um through the canning council so yeah there's lots of venues venues yeah yeah so when you say a large group so what's the normal like normally if you're running from home how many people do you normally have in there five and I've chosen that especially because of the fact that I want people to have step by step guidance I went to a workshop where there was probably about 18 people and the facilitator didn't even look at what I'd done so there was no there was you know she just stood up and told us what to do but it was I was a bit disappointed because it's like well I need to ask you things absolutely that's why you go to a workshop isn't it yeah absolutely rather than you could buy something online and not have any feedback that's really good that's really good to know isn't it so keeping the numbers low so that you can give your customer the best possible experience yes and let's talk about marketing because obviously you know Facebook ads of you know so if we we took Facebook ads offer off the plate if you had to start again the marketing from now what do you think you would be doing what would be your strategy um gosh trying I know I've thrown that out you a little bit sorry yes but finding your target market without having those tools is quite difficult there's Google ads is brilliant yeah you need somebody to be really good at SEO search engine optimization to get you on the front page um so that would be a really worthwhile outlay yeah and I think you know Instagram ads on their own aren't too bad either it's just Facebook is a little bit of a little bit of a in the mix at the moment um but yeah okay so that's because I love it so again very very professional right at the top you're not trying any of the take forever free strategies that you know might work eventually you've gone straight for this is this is how I'm going to fill the workshop and it's so worth it you know if you bite the bullet and jump in and go look okay I need to pay somebody that is good at getting me on the front page of Google um then yeah it really pays off 100 so I'm I'm hearing a bit of a theme there Jackie I'm hiring them all in the big gallery and I'm just going to go for it I'm going to straight in there and you know so you definitely advocate that that's going to be the best route you're going to take this thing seriously you're going to build an art business you need to look at it professionally and go straight in and do those things yeah otherwise you'll drag it out for years and just feel disappointed and then it fizzles out and you've lost your dream but um yeah sometimes you do need to pay a little bit of money but I also registered and got an ABN so a lot of those things you can claim back on your tax as well that's right and you're running a business so you know that's right once you get to that nice profitable bit all those bits come off it so I love it it's it's really it's really good it's really good um okay so what do you think overall has been the key to your workshopic success like the one thing what's the one thing do you think um one to one tuition really you know that giving people that time and also there's no negative words in my workshop you know a lot of people come in and they say I can't look I can't paint I'm not creative I can't do this and I smile and say to them tell me to add in three hours time and then you watch their face as you go through but it's that thing of encouragement and it is really scary if you've never painted before and you're going to a workshop you think am I going to make a fool of myself is my painting going to be horrible it's just impossible for it to be horrible with paint boring so it's a really good start that's a good yeah that was that was a really good a good topic isn't it and I think people need that encouragement and you know people who have that perception it's almost like they need to let you know just ahead I've got to apologise ahead of time I'm no no good I can't do it it's all that stuff isn't it and then to not only working away walking away from your workshops with work but they're also walking away with a confidence boost you know having discovered something about themselves so it's a bit of a double whammy isn't it really it is it's and I get so much back from it I've also learned a lot by the things that people do in workshops that because of the you know art classes I've done I think there's certain things you can't do well this is art there's really nothing you can't do and so I've seen people do things that I would never have dreamt of doing then when I said I go oh my goodness I love that I'll do that expanding my horizons with art too so that's a double whammy isn't it so yeah so again anyone who's thinking oh I'm not sure about workshops I mean I think you know there's been some really good advice in here Jackie I'm so excited about it and I think icing on the cake is that you you learn like you say you watch other people and you think oh that's what I'm going to explore that what a great idea because it's lots of minds isn't it in that room and um yeah so what's not to love what are there any downsides to doing workshops would you say apart from that burnout no I love it yeah I'd really do I really enjoy it and I think it you know it was where I was always meant to be doing something like this and it's great to give back you know to people too and it you know art can change lives can't it there's so many people suffering from depression and anxiety from a health point of view I do I do 12 hours a week disability support care work and I've started advertising disability workshops and having quite a few adults come through yeah that are in the NDIS scheme that their lives are debilitated with anxiety and depression and to see what happens to them when they come it's gorgeous wow so now there's a bit of a shift again isn't there I love it yeah do you think you'll do more of that yes I put it out there and um yeah wow how inspiring oh my goodness me thank you thank you for that I think I think people watching will be pretty fired up I think I'm pretty excited about getting their own workshops now if they want to find out more about you where should they you know what are you offering at the moment and where should they go where should that where would they find out more about you well I've got my website Perth Artist workshops and then that explains the different classes and things that they can do yeah also do private workshops so if anybody wants to do a one-on-one that's possible as well and I also do mobile so I've been out to places like Condinon and various towns and done workshops which is fantastic I love that as well well so obviously only within WA unless someone asks you and do you have do you don't do anything online then you'll just you just do face-to-face no online no online um I I really like that personal contact yeah yeah no I am totally with you okay so I will make sure there'll be wherever you're watching this there will be the link and you're of course on the old social medias as well yes Perth Artist workshops on Facebook and Instagram yeah okay so I'll don't forget there will be links below above depending wherever you're watching this so make sure to drop Jackie a message and just let her know that you've watched this and and what I'm what you think and now inspired and if you're going to you know off the back of this if you're going to start up workshops then we'd both love to hear as well I think because yeah absolutely yeah more workshops in the world more face-to-face contact in this whole world of online stuff more face-to-face stuff and now we're coming out of this period I think more and more of that can happen as well so yes thank you so much for being with me today I'm so excited I feel like we could talk paint pouring for hours on it that might have to be something we doing maybe we're going to have to catch up again once you've sold that wall at the gallery so thank you so much for being with me today and take care thanks Sophie