Returning to art and quitting Instagram

Howdy,

It’s been a while! I’ll be honest, it feels a little strange writing here again - over the past several months I’ve been focusing more on art than photography (ok, photography is art, but you know what I mean… different tools! Such as a paintbrush, which I hadn’t held in my hand for ages, and an Apple pencil, which I can’t get enough of…). So, I’ve been experiencing a pivot, if you will. I guess you could say I’ve been in one of those “Where does my work fit? How do I come back to Substack? And who am I as an artist now?!” places.

Along with that, I’ve also quit Instagram.

Technically, I’ve ‘deactivated’ my Instagram accounts, but that feels as good as quitting, and right now I’ve got no intention to return. The day I quit was also the day I put way too much time and energy into making a Reel about my art - something I never normally do - only to quit soon after I hit post.

I also realised after I quit that it was Earth Day - so now I have to keep that as my quitting anniversary, cos is there really a better sign than that?!

This was the song I used in my Instagram reel, which I naturally listened to over and over again as I re-edited and bowed down at the Instagram altar. It embedded in my brain and has inadvertently become a freedom soundtrack.

I recommend listening if you need something different in your brain!

Messe du Saint Esprit by Sister Irene O’Connor

I could go on about my thoughts on social media and Instagram for artists, and I’m sure I’ll do a post dedicated to those things soon. But in brief, some of the things that pushed me to leave are…

• I deactivated Instagram for two weeks back in February 2025, and it was like a mini retreat. Those weeks are vivid in my memory: the refreshing focus, the creativity, the natural early mornings and cups of tea (coming from a non-tea-drinker). Oh yeah, and I was reading fiction again! The social media fog had lifted, and I kept longing to have those weeks back.

• Since starting a daily piano practice in 2024, I’ve been playing the piano more than ever. ¹ Yet, despite that achievement, I know I still played more bloody Instagram reels on my phone than pieces on the piano. You don’t need to show me the stats - my body knows.

• I’ve got too much art to create to be scrolling. It’s the simple truth.

• My art could be better without the distraction. I think lots of people’s art, photography, writing, etc, could be much better without social media, even for a bit of a break.

• It’s all too short-lived. Too one-sided. Too damn fickle. Too AI. Too…blah.

But Instagram has also helped me earn money in my photography business for years. So, it’s been confusing for me, to say the least!

I’ll go into more of that another time.

For now, let’s wrap up with some art!

What I’ve been enjoying with art:

• Colour! My photography has leaned heavily toward the black & white and moody side for some time. I think I caused myself a colour starvation. The simplicity of pen and ink is one of my absolute favourite tools, but I also bought a bright primary magenta² paint colour the other day, so… I’m just following wherever this is going!

• Merging digital with analogue. I’ve got Procreate on the iPad to thank for bringing me back to art, which then helped return me to analogue, and now I love using them both together as much as possible. I vow not to be an art purist in that sense.

• Turning against AI. Honestly, I think all the AI art slop has been a major reason I came back to drawing after years of not touching a paintbrush. Give me the imperfections, please! And on that note, you can be sure none of my Substack posts will ever include AI. Let’s call it The Imperfectionist’s Promise.

It’s good to be back!

Stay creative.

To be continued,

1. You can read more about my daily piano practice here and here.

2. This is the primary magenta gouache I’ve been loving - it’s my first time trying Holbein’s gouache, rather than Winsor & Newton, and I’ve fallen in love.