What to do when you catch yourself in “courtroom mode”

You named it. You know you're doing it. You can hear yourself cross-examining every brushstroke, cataloging evidence that you're not good enough, delivering a guilty verdict before the paint dries.

But what do you do when you catch yourself mid-spiral?

This one's the follow-up to Your Studio Isn't a Courtroom — the practical side. Because recognition without tools leaves you stuck watching yourself repeat the same pattern. And if you've ever thought okay, I see it now, but how do I stop? — this is for you.

In this episode:

• The simplest redirection tool (it sounds too easy, but it creates the split-second of space you need to choose differently)
• How to shift from prosecuting questions to investigating ones — and why "what's wrong with this?" keeps you trapped
• Why experiments can't fail, but verdicts always do
• The friend test: would you ever talk to another artist the way you talk to yourself in your head?
• What to do when you freeze — one concrete action that interrupts the spiral and starts the conversation with your painting again
• What your studio's actual job is (and why forgetting this turns every session into a trial)

This episode's for you if:

• You can see the pattern now, but you don't know how to interrupt it once it starts
• You stand there analyzing instead of painting, trying to figure out the move that won't get you criticized
• You're tired of the harsh voice winning every time — but kindness feels like giving up
• You want tools that work in the moment, not theory you have to remember later

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LINKS: https://savvypainter.com/356-your-studio-isnt-a-courtroom-make-yours-the-safest-place-to-create/

Do you spend more time thinking about making art than actually making it? Start things you never finish? Make work and then stack it against the wall, facing inward, so you don't have to look at it?

If any of that sounds familiar, I'd love to chat.

Click here: savvypainter.com/survey to tell me what's going on. If it seems like I need more info, I'll reach out to schedule a call.

Thanks so much!

Support the show

And hey - if this episode hit home, do me a favor, leave a review on Apple Podcast or come say hi on Instagram: @savvypainterpodcast
I’d love to hear this episode resonated you. ❤️

You look around your studio and see them everywhere — canvases turned to the wall, paintings shoved under the bed, works-in-progress stacked in corners. Each one started with complete conviction that this time would be different. But somewhere around the messy middle, you bailed. Again.

And now you're wondering: What's wrong with me?

Nothing. You're not lazy, you're not lacking discipline, and you're not broken. You're doing something that makes complete sense when you understand what's actually happening underneath the behavior.

In this episode:

• The moment when every painting goes sideways — and why your brain mistakes that moment for failure
• What you're actually avoiding when you start a new canvas (hint: it's not the painting)
• Why "finished" doesn't mean what you think it means — and how that misunderstanding keeps you stuck
• The real cost of a studio full of unfinished work (it's more than just clutter)
• Six concrete strategies to break the pattern and actually complete something

What to expect:
A clear-eyed look at why you abandon paintings, what finishing actually requires, and how to build the muscle to stay with your work when it gets uncomfortable. No pep talks. Just the truth about what's happening — and what to do about it.

This episode's for you if:

• Your studio is filled with more unfinished work than completed pieces
• You keep telling yourself "this one will be different" — and it never is
• You're tired of starting over every time a painting hits the hard part
• You want to finish something for once, even if it's not perfect

Do you spend more time thinking about making art than actually making it? Start things you never finish? Make work and then stack it against the wall, facing inward, so you don't have to look at it?

If any of that sounds familiar, I'd love to chat.

Click here: savvypainter.com/survey to tell me what's going on. If it seems like I need more info, I'll reach out to schedule a call.

Thanks so much!

Support the show

And hey - if this episode hit home, do me a favor, leave a review on Apple Podcast or come say hi on Instagram: @savvypainterpodcast
I’d love to hear this episode resonated you. ❤️

What really happens when you return to your art — and how to make work again without getting stuck in what could have been.

You took time off from your art. Maybe it was a few months. Maybe it was twenty years.

You built a life, raised kids, held it together, paid the bills — and now you’re trying to come back. But instead of feeling proud of everything you carried, you feel... behind. Disconnected. Like you lost something. Like you’re supposed to apologize for the years you weren’t painting.

This episode is about that feeling — and why it’s lying to you.

This one’s for artists who made a real-life choice — and now can’t shake the feeling they’re starting all over again.

If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking I should’ve found a way or stared at a canvas wondering how much time you wasted... yeah. You’re in the right place.

In this episode:

• The invisible comparison that’s keeping you stuck (hint: you’re measuring yourself against someone who doesn’t exist)
• Why “I’m behind” feels so convincing — and what your brain’s actually doing when it feeds you that line
• What this costs you beyond just lost time (it’s happening right now, while you’re listening)
• The part nobody talks about: why that gap wasn’t wasted, even when it feels like it was
• One shift that’ll change how you walk into the studio tomorrow

What to expect:

No pep talk, no punishment. Just a clear-eyed look at what comes next — and how to make work again without dragging shame in with you.

This episode’s for you if:

• Coming back feels harder than stepping away ever did
• You can run a household or a business — but still feel like a beginner when you pick up a brush
• You’re proud of your choices and gutted by what you didn’t get to do — both can be true
• You’re in it right now, wondering if it’s even worth trying to paint again

Do you spend more time thinking about making art than actually making it? Start things you never finish? Make work and then stack it against the wall, facing inward, so you don't have to look at it?

If any of that sounds familiar, I'd love to chat.

Click here: savvypainter.com/survey to tell me what's going on. If it seems like I need more info, I'll reach out to schedule a call.

Thanks so much!

Support the show

And hey - if this episode hit home, do me a favor, leave a review on Apple Podcast or come say hi on Instagram: @savvypainterpodcast
I’d love to hear this episode resonated you. ❤️