The Secret to Artistic Motivation with Tara Kate
There is a lot to learn when you’re learning to paint. Some days that can feel exciting. Other days, it can feel overwhelming, or downright discouraging.
How do artists, especially highly technical artists like painter and illustrator Ep.57 Tara Kate, keep motivated?
Not overnight success. Not waking up one day imbued with magical artistic talent.
Instead, they find ways to feel PROGRESS.
And not necessarily big progress.
Artists like Tara Kate have learned that small progress can feel just as encouraging as large progress. Seeing even subtle improvement—clearer lines, better proportions, more confidence with a brush—can be enough to keep momentum going.
That’s why progress matters so much. When you can feel yourself getting better, motivation stops being something you have to force. It becomes a natural byproduct of showing up.
Daily practices and focused projects make this possible. By returning to the same skill or subject again and again, improvement becomes visible—sometimes surprisingly fast.
This is also why daily painting challenges are so popular. When you show up consistently, you don’t need to become a master overnight. You just need enough evidence that your effort is working.
Tara Kate builds her practice around this idea. She has participated in multiple #100dayprojects and regularly designs focused challenges for herself (like drawing 10 birds a day for 10 days)to see how much her skills can improve in a short, intentional burst.
And they always do.
That visible progress gives her the confidence and excitement she needs to keep going—and to keep building toward larger goals.
Put it to Practice:
Here’s how to start building in momentum into your own art practice.
First, look at what you’re doing right now. Where are you measuring progress?
Choose one small, repeatable action you could do daily for the next 7–10 days (same subject, same tool, same format). (Or join us for 20 days!)
Alternatively, design a focused mini-project: one subject, one constraint, one short time frame.
Pay attention to what changes… not just in the work, but in how motivated you feel.
You may find that you don’t need big leaps to feel good about your efforts. Sometimes, noticing yourself take a few small steps in the right direction is more than enough to stay excited about where you’re heading.