Why I've Started a Patreon

I was in the studio recently, creating some content for Instagram. Unwittingly, I had somehow found myself drifting back into the ‘constant creator’ vortex, and as I sat editing some photos for my Stories I suddenly sat back and paused. What, and more to the point, who, was this for? I had noticed less and less engagement of late on my social media, and often felt like I was talking to an empty room - it was dispiriting to say the least.

Thinking it over, I realised I’d most likely spent the best part of a couple of hours that week alone on honing images so they were on brand and looked good; of writing captions and re-taking pictures to get the best shot, of posting on Instagram and then sharing on Facebook…Social Media took up time and energy that I didn’t have to give, and it was all feeling a bit futile again.

I knew it was time to step off the social hamster wheel - again. I’d been down this road before, and just last year made the conscious choice to not become a slave to it, yet I’d somehow been drawn back in. I felt frustrated that what I was doing wasn’t being seen by the people who probably wanted to see it, and I wasn’t getting much engagement which is the whole point of social media, isn’t it? Life is fast paced and so many of us are really busy, we don’t have time to stop and comment but just scroll on and on, never really digesting what we see. I also feel that Instagram is becoming more of an online market place these days, with so many businesses in my feed only sharing things that they’re selling instead of also using it as a place to connect and build relationships and trust through the sharing of pictures and stories.

I decided I wanted something better, something where I could dedicate some time each week to share my art process, to give exclusive peeks behind the scenes into my life as a working artist. To share paintings in progress, work in my sketchbook, advice and inspiration, the delicious unboxing of new art supplies and my favourite materials.

So I chose Patreon.

In case you haven’t heard of Patreon, it’s a membership style platform that allows Patrons to pay a sum of money to a creator in return for exclusive content. Each member can have one or more tiers, offering different levels of membership (so the higher the price, the more you get for your money). I chose to start with one tier, and charge just £3 a month for behind the scenes content, my art process, short video clips and access to a close friends Instagram group where I’d share day to day content of my personal and studio life.

I’ll see how this tier goes for a few months, and maybe think about adding other tiers in the future.

Some of you may recall that I started a membership on the Ko-fi platform early in 2021, and how I closed it down in Autumn.

2021 was really challenging for me, I suffered enormously with my mental health which culminated in some kind of emotional burnout mid year. I didn’t work much at all during the Summer, taking on only a couple of commission briefs and making art felt arduous and empty. I met regularly with my friend who also happens to be a medical herbalist, and she helped to reset my nervous system with gentle plant tinctures.

Recovering from something like that takes time and come the Autumn I had to make the decision to close my Ko-fi membership down, as it was simply too much for me. I spent many days walking, reading and doing meditation and yoga, a practise that I still use daily today as I understand how essential it is for my wellbeing. I’m glad to say that the last six months have seen a definite improvement in my mental health, and I feel much happier and settled, and able to commit to new projects.

The reason I picked Patreon over Ko-fi is that it felt like a fresh start. It has a great reputation as an established membership platform and I liked a lot of the features that they offer creators.

My hope for my Patreon is to grow a community of people who enjoy following my journey, and have the ability to support what I do. I hope that by starting a Patreon I’ll be able to connect more easily with the people who like what I do, and in exchange for their support I’ll be sharing some really inspiring monthly content.

You might be wondering if this is the end of my time on social media? Well no, not quite. I definitely won’t be as active on there as before, as I’ll be devoting the majority of my time and content creation to Patreon, but I will still be using both my Instagram and Facebook to keep people in the loop.

The other way to keep in touch with what I’m up to is to subscribe to my mailing list (see link below), where you’ll receive a monthly Art Bulletin, and the occasional email to let you know about any new offerings or sales.

In the meantime, if you are interested in finding out more about my Patreon, please click the button below.