The Creative Couch with Sam Marshall

Episoade

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  Episode 30: An Honest Q&A About Art, Life, Choosing to Be Child-Free & Single, and the Story Behind My Positivity 15.09.2026 1h 2min

  In this week’s episode of The Creative Couch, I’m doing something a little different. While I waited for some new creative dilemmas to come in, I asked you to send me your questions instead, and you certainly did. Questions came in through Instagram DMs and the Creative Couch email, and there were far more than I could possibly answer in one episode, so apologies if I didn’t get to yours. I’ll definitely do another Q&A in the future. This is probably one of the most open and personal epis...
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  Episode 29: Imposter Syndrome, Pushing Your Work Further & Selling Your Art 08.09.2026 43min

  ⭐ I’m desperate for more dilemmas! ⭐ I’ve now reached the end of the dilemmas currently sitting in my inbox, so if there is something you are struggling with in your creative life, however big, small, specific or strange it might seem, please send it in to: [email protected] While I wait for some new dilemmas to arrive, next week’s episode will be a Q&A. So if there is anything you would like to ask me about my own creative practice, running an art business, teaching, printmak...
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  Episode 28: Finding Coherence, Making Art Responsibly & Fear of Criticism 01.09.2026 42min

  In this episode of The Creative Couch, I respond to three thoughtful creative dilemmas from Amandine, Jen and Michelle, exploring artistic identity, environmental responsibility, creative guilt and the lasting impact of criticism. Amandine lives in France with her husband and four-year-old daughter and works full-time, so her creative practice has to fit into the small pockets of time she can find. She sketches in the evenings, draws alongside her daughter and keeps a bag of materials ready i...
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  Episode 27: Retiring as an Artist, Marketing Your Work & Finding Time to Create 18.08.2026 49min

  A little podcast note: there won’t be an episode of The Creative Couch next week as I’m away for ten days and taking a short break. I’ll be back the following week with another three creative dilemmas. In this episode of The Creative Couch, I respond to three thoughtful creative dilemmas exploring what it means to retire as an artist, how to market your work when you really don’t enjoy marketing, and what happens when a demanding working life leaves very little energy for your own creative pr...
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  Episode 26: Rejection, Finding Your Style & Protecting Studio Time 11.08.2026 44min

  In this episode of The Creative Couch, I respond to three thoughtful creative dilemmas from Kate, Anabelle and Ruth, exploring rejection, artistic identity, finding your style, rebuilding confidence and learning to protect your creative time. Kate has spent the last six months trying to turn her lino printing into something more professional. She has created an Etsy shop and website, approached stockists and applied to craft and print fairs, but so far has had very little response. At the sam...
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  Episode 25: Creative Chat with Sarah Jane Moon | Portraiture, Teaching & Creativity 04.08.2026 1h 4min

  In this episode of The Creative Couch, I sit down with the wonderful artist and portrait painter Sarah Jane Moon for a relaxed and thoughtful conversation about creativity, portraiture and building a life as an artist. Originally from Wellington, New Zealand, Sarah Jane shares the story of how she moved to the UK, found her way into painting without a traditional Fine Art degree, and gradually established herself as one of today's leading contemporary portrait painters. Along the way, we talk...
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  Episode 24: Success, Grief & Creative Overwhelm 28.07.2026 48min

  In this episode of The Creative Couch, I respond to three thoughtful creative dilemmas from Kate, Susan and Coralie, exploring creative success, grief, burnout, overwhelm and how to protect the joy of making when life and work begin placing too many demands upon it. Kate returned to painting during lockdown after a twenty-year break from creativity. What began as a joyful, private practice gradually became a successful full-time career, with books, products, licensing opportunities and a larg...
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  Episode 23: Solo Exhibitions, Returning to Art & Creative Uncertainty 21.07.2026 36min

  In this episode of The Creative Couch, I respond to three thoughtful creative dilemmas from Craig, Anouk and Linda, exploring artistic permission, returning to creativity after a long absence and building a creative life alongside chronic illness. Craig is a collage artist from Philadelphia who has completed an ambitious series of fifty bird collages. Although collectors are eager to buy the work, he's holding back because he dreams of exhibiting the entire collection in a solo exhibition. Af...
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  Episode 22: Talking About Your Art, Saying No & Finding Your Style 14.07.2026 43min

  Editor's note: During Della's dilemma I accidentally referred to her as "Bella" several times. My sincere apologies, Della. It was a genuine slip during recording, and I'm very grateful to you for sending in such a thoughtful question. In this episode of The Creative Couch, I respond to three thoughtful creative dilemmas from Penny, Helen and Della, exploring talking about your artwork, setting creative boundaries and finding your artistic style. Penny is preparing for her very first open stu...
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  Episode 21: Exhibiting, Printing & Opting Out 07.07.2026 47min

  In this episode of The Creative Couch, I respond to four thoughtful creative dilemmas from Jen, Laura, Sheena and Nikky, exploring art appreciation, printmaking, selling artwork, creative identity and the complicated relationship between creativity and success. Jen is preparing for an exhibition in her own studio later this year and has been reflecting on the difference between how artists are taught to critique and discuss artwork and how the wider public often experiences it. Beyond "I like...
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  Episode 20: Creativity After Crisis, New Studio & Interrupted Practice 30.06.2026 42min

  In this episode of The Creative Couch, I respond to three thoughtful creative dilemmas from Grace, Mary Lou and Kelly, exploring creativity after crisis, returning to the studio after major life changes, chronic illness, momentum, artistic identity and the spaces we create around our work. Grace wrote in after her seven-year-old daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes earlier this year. After months of hospital appointments, sleepless nights and constant vigilance, she has found herself r...
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  Episode 19 : Burnout, Selling Art & Finding Your Direction 23.06.2026 43min

  In this episode of The Creative Couch, I respond to three thoughtful creative dilemmas from Claudia, Sophie and Caroline, exploring burnout, artistic identity, selling artwork, creative validation and the challenge of moving beyond your comfort zone. Claudia is recovering from severe burnout after a lifetime of pursuing challenge, achievement and new experiences. Recently diagnosed with autism and ADHD, she finally has the time, space and resources to dedicate herself to art. Yet instead of f...
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  Episode 18: Digital Art, Creative Time & Leaving Teaching 16.06.2026 42min

  In this episode of The Creative Couch, I respond to three thoughtful creative dilemmas from Mimi, Louise and Cally – exploring digital art, creative time, financial security and the realities of building a creative life. Mimi is a retired nurse, educator and psychotherapist from the Pacific Northwest who returned to her first love of making art later in life. She creates digital artwork using Procreate and produces giclée prints, but has repeatedly been told by local exhibitions that they "do...
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  Episode 17: Pricing Artwork, Creative Flip-Flopping & Hobby Businesses 09.06.2026 34min

  In this episode of The Creative Couch, I respond to three thoughtful creative dilemmas from Caroline, Alison and Laurel – exploring the emotional complexity of pricing artwork, the overwhelm of constantly changing creative direction, and the question of whether a calming creative hobby should become a business at all. Caroline is a printmaker who has started selling her linoprints at fairs and markets, but pricing her work leaves her constantly second guessing herself. If a print doesn’t sell...
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  Episode 16 : Creative chat with my Mum 02.06.2026 31min

  In this special episode of The Creative Couch, I’m joined by a very special guest… my mum. Before we headed off together to Italy for my recent drawing and printmaking retreat, I asked listeners to send in their questions for her — and this episode became such a lovely, funny and genuinely heartfelt conversation. We talk about all the things people are always asking me about her: her creativity, her sense of style, how she manages to look so glamorous at 80, and whether she secretly has some ...
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  Episode 15: Artistic Ethics, Mailing Lists & Creative Identity 26.05.2026 33min

  In this episode of The Creative Couch, I respond to three thoughtful creative dilemmas from Sarah, Lyn and Helen – exploring artistic ethics, building a mailing list from scratch, and the vulnerable question of whether to create under your own name or hide behind a brand. Sarah recently spotted a print in an exhibition that looked strikingly similar to another artist’s well-known work. The similarities immediately left her feeling uncomfortable and questioning where the line exists between in...
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  Episode 14: Framing Anxiety, Comparison & Blank Sketchbooks 19.05.2026 40min

  In this episode of The Creative Couch, I respond to three thoughtful creative dilemmas from Barbara, Mimi and Juilette – exploring framing and exhibitions, comparison and creative growth, and the pressure we place on ourselves through sketchbooks. Barbara has started selling her paintings and is now thinking more seriously about exhibitions and presenting her work professionally. But framing has suddenly become a confusing world full of hidden rules and standards she doesn’t fully understand....
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  Episode 13: A Creative Conversation with Laura Smith 12.05.2026 1h 2min

  In this episode of The Creative Couch, I’m joined by painter Laura Smith for the first in a new series of creative conversations with artists, friends and fellow creatives about their practice and creative lives. Although the podcast began with me responding to creative dilemmas sent in by listeners, it was always my intention to intersperse those episodes with longer, more open-ended conversations with other creatives, and I’m so happy to be starting that part of the podcast with Laura. Laur...
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  Episode 12: Instagram Burnout, Pricing and Creative Pressure 05.05.2026 44min

  In this episode of The Creative Couch, I respond to three thoughtful creative dilemmas from Dana, Lou and Alan – exploring the frustration of Instagram, the fear around raising prices, and the pressure of making the most of a creative opportunity. Dana runs a small creative business making lino prints inspired by coastal architecture and tide lines, and once found Instagram a really supportive place to share her work. But as the platform has changed, her reach has dropped, growth has stalled,...
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  Episode 11: Accuracy, Creative Pressure and Overthinking 28.04.2026 35min

  In this episode of The Creative Couch, I respond to three thoughtful creative dilemmas from Marilyn, Rachel and Jill – exploring the pressure to draw accurately, the weight of creative expectations after a big life change, and the paralysis that comes from overthinking and too many ideas. Marilyn has loved art her whole life but still feels held back by a voice that tells her her drawings must look exactly like what she sees. After discovering a more expressive way of working, something click...