Short Supply

Short Supply We help emerging artists to develop through events, talks & workshops đź’Ą

IDEA 005 RECAP: Finding paintings that already exist. This one ended up meaning a bit more to us than we expected.On pap...
23/06/2026

IDEA 005 RECAP: Finding paintings that already exist.

This one ended up meaning a bit more to us than we expected.

On paper, it was very simple — go for a walk and look at ordinary surfaces like they might already be paintings. But it changed the way the day felt almost immediately. It reminded us that not every idea starts with making something new. Sometimes it starts with paying closer attention to what is already there.

A useful reminder for us, honestly:
not every idea begins with invention. Some begin with attention.

If you’ve ever found an accidental painting in real life, send it to us!

ART WORLD FIELD NOTES #4 7 years into navigating the art world, we’re sharing the most important things we’ve learned f...
19/06/2026

ART WORLD FIELD NOTES #4

7 years into navigating the art world, we’re sharing the most important things we’ve learned from being in it — hands on, on the ground

A lot of artists inherit the idea that wanting to be seen is somehow impure, vain or egotistical. That serious artists let the work “speak for itself.”

But many artists need visibility in order to survive.

No audience can mean no buyers, no commissions, no opportunities, no momentum.

Some people are promoted by systems. Others have to promote themselves. Those two things are judged very differently.

There is a difference between ego and communication. This post is all about that.

15/06/2026

You should be seeing more artists work on the streets.

So we opened UP NEXT.

Apply now, First link. đź”—

Short Supply and JACK ARTS present UP NEXT: an opportunity for emerging artists to have their work shown publicly across the UK, taking work from sketchbooks, camera rolls and studio walls into real public space.

We want more artists to experience that shift.
And if you know someone whose work should be out in the world, DM them or tag them in the comments ⚡️

|ForArtists

There’s a particular kind of pressure that follows artists in their 20s around. 🌧️ In previous generations this was supp...
08/06/2026

There’s a particular kind of pressure that follows artists in their 20s around. 🌧️

In previous generations this was supposed to be the time you had the most fun and took the most risks. Allowed yourself space to figure out what you wanted to do, and how you wanted to do it.

Now, the name of the game seems to be having it figured out as quickly as possible. To look like it’s working before you’ve even had enough time to work out what you actually want.

We’ve read enough “is it over for you if you’ve not made it by 25?” posts to last a lifetime.

Ambition is not the problem. Wanting momentum is not the problem. Working hard is not the problem.

The problem is how easy it is to build a version of success around other people’s expectations, then realise you’ve ended up in a practice, pace or identity that doesn’t actually feel like yours.

You are allowed to try.
You are allowed to get it wrong.
You are allowed to change your mind.
You are allowed to be talented and still unsure.

Not knowing yet is not failure. It’s information.

So we got a load of DMs overnight saying “where’s this announcement??” and in classic Instagram fashion, it sent it to a...
05/06/2026

So we got a load of DMs overnight saying “where’s this announcement??” and in classic Instagram fashion, it sent it to about 0.1% of you. 🤦‍♀️

So here it is:
WE’RE TAKING OUR FIRST LIVE PROJECT TO EDINBURGH FRINGE

What’s an idea you’ve always wanted to try, but haven’t yet?

This August, STEP ONE debuts at the Scottish Storytelling Centre: a free drop-in live project inviting people to sit down, say the thing out loud, and begin somewhere.

STEP ONE
Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh
7–22 August
2–4pm daily
Free drop-in

What’s yours?

Thanks so much to for hosting this new weird thing we’re doing, and we hope to see you in August!!! 🙌

02/06/2026

Idea #22: We made bracelets with tiny encouraging phrases on them, and left them out in public for strangers to take.

This is one that we were convinced someone was going to jog out of a corner office to yell at us for.

At its heart this one is a small public version of the kind of words people usually need at exactly the right moment (Stuff like start now, keep going, try again, not yet)

👀 Watch til the end – weirdly, our theory was proved!!!

For the ideas that keep hanging around.The ones you haven’t started.The ones you haven’t said out loud.The ones that sti...
31/05/2026

For the ideas that keep hanging around.

The ones you haven’t started.
The ones you haven’t said out loud.
The ones that still feel like they might be something.

You know the one.

More soon.

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