Posts by Angel Ayala

Many artists struggle with resistance when sitting down to create. The pressure to make something perfect, doubts about talent, and fear of wasting time keep us stuck in our heads. The Bloom Practice is a 3-step process (Feel, Open, Play) that bypasses mental resistance by helping you create from your heart and intuition instead. By…

The single most important thing you can do for your art is establish a simple daily practice of just 20 minutes a day. This consistent practice creates momentum, pulls from your intuition, and develops a strong vision for your art. Instead of overwhelming yourself by looking at endless art (museums, Instagram), focus on making your…

The most important question to answer this year is how you want to feel, captured in one single word. This word changes how everything unfolds because it influences how you approach every decision and challenge. Nicholas’s word “adventure” pushed him to complete an unplanned 16-hour run through the Grand Canyon from rim to rim. His…

Use this simple three-question framework to dramatically improve your art and life: What do I keep and amplify? What do I stop? What do I dream? By identifying what’s working (and doing more of it), eliminating what’s not serving you, and staying connected to your vision, you can speed up your artistic growth significantly. This…

Instead of focusing on what you want to accomplish this year, ask yourself how you want to feel in your art making. This approach comes from ultra running, where having a mantra (words that keep you present and grounded) is key to completing long distances. Nicholas’s words for 2026 are “grounded ease” because ease creates…

As the year closes, ask yourself what practices you want to bring forward into 2026 and what you want to leave behind. Looking at old work revealed I spent 3-4 years coloring inside the lines, staying controlled, and plateauing. Now I’m bringing forward three game-changing practices: varying how I start (collage, paint, charcoal), being wildly…