Are you struggling to manage the competing demands of your commissions? Are you swamped and feeling overwhelmed, or finding it difficult to manage your finances?

Join artist and illustrator Merlin Evans in this 2-hr online workshop supporting you to develop your professional skillset and grow your confidence.

Through a combination of creative activity and facilitated discussion, Merlin will guide you through the process of:

Developing a plan for your time
Putting boundaries in place to support your health and wellbeing
Managing tricky conversations with clients and stakeholders
Planning and managing your finances

You'll come away from this practical session with:

1. Boundary 'phrases' to support self-regard with client work - you can use these in email/calls etc

2. Sample Fee Structure sheet - you can adapt and use in a way that suits your costs/needs

3. Sample art invoice - so you know what to include and a way to make it visually appealing....

4. Reminder tip-sheet for working in this field PDF.

5. An exercise to work out your 'Golden Thread' - what is your statement of intent/your scope of inquiry - in short - what is it that is YOUR USP, that you can market and pitch with that will get you the clients you WANT to be working with.

About the facilitator:

Merlin Evans is an award-winning Medical Artist, Writer, Educator, Director of ‘Drawn to Medicine’ and founder of the online illustration school 'Inktuition'. She strives to visualise information in a way that makes it inclusive, engaging for clinicians, patients and the general public. Merlin’s practice maps and draws the Anatomy of the Self – the stuff that makes us us. Not just the blood, the bones and the guts of classical anatomical textbooks, but rather the ineffable elements of being that sit within our bodies. She sees drawing as an act of radical listening, and is committed to using the arts to empower and advocate for patient testimony, placing it at the heart of healthcare service delivery.

Over the last decade Merlin has worked with some of the largest clients in the healthcare sector in the field of patient & public engagement, including Harley Street Childrens' Hospital, The Wellcome Trust, The Francis Crick Institute, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Royal Free Hospital, St Charles Centre for Health and Wellbeing, UCL, Hunterian Museum of Surgery, The Royal College of Midwives, the Division of Cancer Studies at Kings College and the Global Health Research Group on Neurotrauma.

She has taught Illustration at The House of Illustration (founded by Quentin Blake) since 2011, and is a tutor on Falmouth University’s MA in Illustration, in addition to creating visual solutions for a wide range of international clients. Her work is featured as an example of best practice in 'Illustration: Meeting the Brief' by Bloomsbury Publishing (2014), in addition to appearing in ‘The Best of Contemporary British Illustration Annual’ (2012).

Merlin believes pictures have the power to make thinking, working and communicating easier for everyone. She is passionate about using her skills to support and empower others, via collaborations with clients across the world.

Developing your Professional Artist Skillset