Why I’m Using AI to Do Everything But the Painting

Weekly Art Practice, issue 73 | The Outsider Artist known as SLART.

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Every Saturday, I share my art practice. I'm captivated by the process, not just the finished pieces but everything from influences to materials. It's like getting a behind-the-scenes peek at an artist's world.

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As of today, Saturday, May 31, 2025, there are 91 days until September 6, 2025, Memento Vivere opening night.

(Here is my out-of-breath recording, note, it doesn’t match the writing in this post, so you can enjoy two perspectives!)

I’m doing something a bit different this week. Right now, I’m out on my lunch break, walking and talking into my phone. The idea is to record my thoughts, and then have AI turn them into a written post. I’ve trained it with my tone and style, and I’m curious to see what it makes of this. It’s a bit of an experiment — but hey, if I’m always banging on about exploring what AI can do for artists, I might as well walk the walk.

I know there’s plenty of artists and creatives who are deeply suspicious of AI, and I do get why. Some fear it will replace artists. Others just find it soulless. But I’m approaching it differently. For me, it’s about delegation, not replacement. I want to spend 90% of my time painting. That’s it. Just painting. The pure act of making. And if there’s a way to use AI to do the other 10% — the admin, the promotion, the fiddly logistics — then I think that’s worth investigating.

I had a little flash of inspiration while I was working on a painting this week. It hit me — what if an artist could just paint, take a photo of the finished piece, and the rest of the process was automatic? What if that image could be uploaded instantly to your online store, made available on t-shirts or prints, shared to social media, and added to your mailing list — all without you lifting another finger?

You just carry on painting. That’s the dream, right?

The reality is that I know dozens of artists — brilliant ones — who feel stuck trying to keep up with Instagram’s algorithm, let alone dive into TikTok. They didn’t sign up to be content creators. They just want to paint. But if we want our work seen, we’ve got to promote it — and that’s where AI might genuinely be useful. Not in replacing creativity, but in amplifying it. In freeing us up to do more of what we love.

So this new way of sharing — me recording my thoughts, AI writing the post — is just one small step. But I want to keep experimenting, keep seeing what tools are out there, and how they might support not just me, but other artists too.

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Art Brut: 10, no, 9 days to go

Most of my energy lately has gone into promoting Art Brut, my outsider art exhibition at the Museum and Art Swindon. We’re now just ten days away from launch, and it’s definitely feeling real.

I’ve been testing out a Facebook ad for the event. I didn’t want to spend loads — just $1 per day — but it’s been surprisingly effective. I targeted people in the Swindon area who are interested in art, and so far we’ve had around 70–80 people mark themselves as “interested” and about 15 who’ve actually RSVP’d. That’s after only a few days.

Now, I’m not a huge fan of paid ads, and I definitely don’t want to rely on them long-term. But for something local and specific like this, it’s been useful. It’s low risk, and it gets the word out beyond my immediate network. I’ll report back on how it goes once we’re closer to the event.

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Paperwork mountain

Behind the scenes, I’ve been knee-deep in logistics. The museum requires quite a bit of documentation for each artist. That means: images of the artwork, titles, prices, artist bios, audio statements, and this really detailed form for sales and commission. Honestly, the form was a bit of a nightmare — not because it’s unreasonable, but because it wasn’t clearly explained. There were missing pieces, things that didn’t line up, and I ended up going back and forth with 20+ artists to get everything sorted.

It’s been overwhelming at times. I’m used to working independently, so managing this volume of admin for a group show is something new for me. But we got there. Everything’s now submitted to the museum. Hopefully no more edits or red tape. I’m crossing my fingers.

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Thinking ahead about the day

Setup for the exhibition is on the afternoon of the 16th. I’m trying to be proactive about the curation now — thinking through the layout, flow, and vibe — so I don’t rock up on the day and panic. I know myself, and if I leave it all to the last minute, I’ll end up rushing it. Better to visualise it now and feel confident on the day.

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Low-budget, high-impact promo

Another experiment this week: community promo. I’ve started contacting local businesses — shops, cafes, barbers, small venues — and asking if they’ll print and display a flyer for Art Brut. It’s super low-cost and grassroots, but I think there’s something powerful in word-of-mouth, especially when it comes from a trusted local business.

My thinking was: I don’t have a budget to print and distribute 500 flyers myself. But if 20 places print one each and stick it in a window, that’s reach. That’s visibility. And it creates a sense of shared investment in the arts. I’m not just saying, “Come to my show.” I’m saying, “Let’s bring outsider art to your community.”

It’s a win-win — and honestly, a lot more rewarding than just throwing money at ads.

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Getting deep with GPT

This week I also spent time deep-diving into GPT and exploring how it can support artists — not just with writing posts like this, but with actual creative ideation.

If you’ve used ChatGPT before, you probably know you can ask it for things like “10 quotes from Picasso” or “ideas for an artist’s bio.” But you can also go deeper. Much deeper. That’s where meta-prompts come in.

A meta-prompt is basically asking the AI to write a better prompt — to improve how you ask the question so you get more relevant, nuanced results. I’ve been building a bunch of these, and I think they could be useful for artists who need a nudge or a spark.

Here’s a rough example: you ask GPT to act as an art curator. You enter three key life events, and it gives you ten painting ideas inspired by those events. It might suggest themes, colours, moods, or compositions. Now imagine refining that even further — you tell it the medium you work in, your favourite artists, or the mood you want to evoke — and it generates prompts tailored to you.

It’s early days for this, but I’ll start sharing some of these prompts publicly soon. My goal is to build a little toolkit — a kind of prompt library — that helps other artists use AI in useful, empowering ways. Not to replace their voice, but to support it.

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Talking to the AI (literally)

Another thing I’ve been playing with is voice interaction. I’ve been chatting with Gemini — Google’s AI — using its voice interface while driving to work. It’s a totally different experience from typing.

Speaking aloud makes your ideas come out differently. It’s more spontaneous, more emotional. Sometimes the best thoughts hit when you’re in motion, not sitting at a desk. I found that having a human-sounding voice responding makes it feel more like a conversation than a query. It’s a bit eerie, but also kind of amazing. It’s like having a studio assistant you can bounce ideas off.

I’m not saying I’ve cracked some revolutionary workflow. But it’s got me thinking about how artists can engage with technology on their own terms — in ways that are playful, intuitive, and grounded in actual practice.

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Memento Vivere: still ticking along

Finally, I’ve been slowly continuing promo for Memento Vivere, my upcoming show at The Crypt Gallery in London this September. I’m not going too hard on it yet — I want to give Art Brut my full attention first. But I have had some early interest, including about 15 people RSVPing to the opening night whom I don’t know personally. That’s a great sign.

Once Art Brut is up and running, I’ll shift gears fully toward Memento Vivere. And with Art Brut under my belt, I’ll also have more material — and more confidence — to promote the London show effectively. In fact, I’m hoping the Swindon exhibition helps feed the next one.

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That’s about it from me for now. I’ll let this AI polish it up, and we’ll see how it reads on the page. Let me know what you’ve been working on this week — and if you’ve been experimenting with AI, prompts, or anything else that’s nudged your practice in a new direction.

Have a good week.

Take care,

Memento Vivere: Remember to Live.

Best wishes,

SLART.

P.S. One more thing, could you please leave a 4 or 5-star (Hopefully not 1,2 or 3) review on my SLART Google page? Just trying to level up my online game and get my art in front of more eyes, and this small, straightforward, and swift action would be immensely beneficial. Cheers!