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Hello, my name is Jo, and I’m a full time artist and illustrator.
I'm probably best known for my dog portraits, but I also design greeting cards, work on freelance illustration projects and paint original paintings that I hope evoke a sense of connection, warmth and joy.
I first studied art at York College of Art and went on to complete a BA in Art History and MA in Visual Culture at Middlesex University in the early nineties. But really, I've been drawing for as long as I can remember and I've loved painting dogs since I first fell in love with Snoopy aged about 5.
For approximately 20 years, between studying art and setting up my own art business, I worked with arts organisations, from Tate Galleries and The Lowry, to The Royal Collection and Barbican Centre gaining a wealth of insights and experience in what it takes to run and market a large arts organisation. It certainly provided me with a very solid knowledge base on which to set up my own business.
Now after 15 years of running my own business I pop up quite regularly as a guest speaker for The Design Trust and their business club and I share more of my experience in how I created a business that works around our lifestyle and stories about our travels in what is best described as my magazine which I host on Substack and acts like a second newsletter.
The man at the window is Mr Dean, and the dog has disappeared, rolling their eyes and thinking
‘Oh crikey, here they go again!’
A few years ago, we upped sticks, rented out our home, and went travelling in our motorhome around the UK and Europe, taking my art business with us. I started to loosely document our journey with stories and images from my sketchbook and this became The Travelling Artist blog/magazine/email list? Whatever you would like to call it, in exactly a year it grew from zero to over a thousand subscribers and you will more than likely find me here online and not on my social media accounts.
Who is it for?
I'd say it's for anyone who'd like an inside look into what it's like to work and travel and come along for the ride.
More specifically I'd say it's for other solo artists/makers/writers who would like a look inside how others work and who would like some company while they work on their own art business.
Emails are sent about once a week to your inbox, and whilst the majority of content is always free, there is a paid option for anyone who'd like a bit more time with me, to pick my brians, on my monthly Zoom call.
I send out illustrated posts, stories from our travels, this year I'm running a series of interviews with other artists, taking a look inside their businesses and I write in detail about how I set up my greeting cards, commission work and licensing.
It's like a magazine or a blog and it runs separatley to my monthly 'regular' newsletter. If you just want monthly updates on what I'm working on then sign up here.
I've a small range of merchandise available if you'd like to show your support for The Travelling Artist 😎