Summary5 min read

Daring Creativity Podcast – Bonus Episode

Title: "When someone puts your work in their home, it becomes part of their DNA."
Host: Radim Malinic
Guest: Kelly Anna (London-based illustrator/artist)
Date: February 17, 2026

Episode Overview

This bonus episode dives deeper into Radim Malinic’s conversation with Kelly Anna, highlighting four standout moments from their earlier discussion. Radim teases out profound insights about the creative journey, focusing on the emotional realities behind artistry, the influence of upbringing, and the deep connections formed through art. Kelly Anna shares her honest experiences with confidence, validation, and the meaning behind having her work become part of someone else’s life.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Rollercoaster of Creative Confidence

[00:41–02:32]

Kelly Anna’s Experience:
Kelly opens up about the ongoing struggle with confidence, emphasizing that even after significant professional milestones, the emotional ups and downs persist.

"When you become freelance and you go into the world, then you start losing jobs and you lose your confidence and then you get a job and then your confidence comes back. I think a massive part of it is probably just being freelance. It's just this roller coaster of emotion... I'm good at it. I'm definitely not good at it."
— Kelly Anna [00:41]
Radim’s Reflection:
Radim underscores that even seasoned creatives with impressive accomplishments (Nike, Adidas, Rafa) still ride this emotional wave. The “rollercoaster” never flattens, but the relationship with its lows evolves with experience.

"Confidence doesn't stabilize just because the career does. What changes slowly is the relationship with the dip... It will wobble. That's the deal. And knowing that in advance is genuine and helpful."
— Radim Malinic [01:32]

2. Early Influences: The Language of Color

[02:32–03:10]

Roots of Inspiration:
Kelly credits both her early fascination with drawing movement and her father's deep love of color for shaping her artistic path.

"My dad... was really big on color. He always spoke about how important color is, and he always said that color is a language that everyone understands. Wherever you are in the world, everyone understands color."
— Kelly Anna [02:32]
Radim’s Take:
Radim highlights the importance of parental influence and how foundational values like seeing color as universal can shape one’s creative philosophy at the core. He notes Kelly’s approach is heartfelt, not intellectualized.

"Color transcends borders, cultures, and backgrounds... there's no translation needed. You feel it before you think it."
— Radim Malinic [03:10]

3. Creating Connection: Art as Shared Emotion

[04:16–05:09]

Human Validation:
Kelly describes the profound satisfaction of having her internal creative urge recognized and valued by another person. The act of someone buying her art and displaying it in their home is the ultimate form of connection.

"When I do a piece of artwork and someone wants to buy that, that alone again, that's that feeling of, like, validation that someone else sees what I see and they connect with it the way I have felt it in my body... when someone buys a piece of your work and puts it in their home... it almost becomes part of their DNA."
— Kelly Anna [04:16]
Radim’s Perspective:
He praises this as perhaps “the most beautiful artist statement,” noting the exchange has nothing to do with commercial success but with the deep, quiet transmission of creativity from one person to another.

"Your inner world resonates in someone else's. Making art is an intensely private act. You feel something, you make something, and then you release it. When another person connects with it, it really connects."
— Radim Malinic [05:09]

4. The Need for External Validation & Being Your Own Fan Club

[06:04–06:55]

Chasing External Acknowledgement:
Kelly discusses how the experience of others valuing her work—whether individuals or brands—was “another level” of feeling for her, particularly after long struggles with confidence.

"You can pick yourself up as much as you like and you have to. As an artist, you have to be your own fan club. But to have someone outside want your work next to their brand name, that's another level... And it's something that we chase, we go on chasing, and it's just an amazing feeling."
— Kelly Anna [06:04]
Radim Sums Up:
The episode closes with Radim emphasizing the importance of maintaining self-belief while also gratefully accepting and seeking external support and recognition.

"How do you work when you get unstuck? What do you do next? How do you become at one with the work and how it then feels very validating to have somebody else buy it, appreciate it, validate it, and become your own fan as well."
— Radim Malinic [06:55]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Resilience:
"It will wobble. That's the deal. And knowing that in advance is genuine and helpful."
— Radim Malinic [01:32]
On Color & Universality:
"Color is a language that everyone understands."
— Kelly Anna (via her father) [02:32]
On Art & Identity:
"When someone buys a piece of your work and puts it in their home, it almost becomes part of their DNA."
— Kelly Anna [04:16]
On Validation:
"As an artist, you have to be your own fan club. But to have someone outside want your work next to their brand name, that's another level... and it's just an amazing feeling."
— Kelly Anna [06:04]

Timestamps for Important Segments

[00:41] – Kelly Anna on the never-ending confidence rollercoaster
[02:32] – The origin story: movement sketching and parental influence
[04:16] – The emotional power of sharing art and human connection
[06:04] – The difference between self-validation and external acclaim

Summary Tone:
Warm, honest, and quietly profound—filled with personal anecdotes, emotional transparency, and a genuine appreciation for the enduring vulnerability at the heart of creative work.

For listeners new to Kelly Anna, this bonus episode offers a heartfelt look at the joys and struggles of a creative life, with lasting lessons on self-acceptance, resilience, and the deep impact of sharing your art with the world.

Loading summary

Transcript9 lines

[00:00]
A
Hey, welcome to another bonus episode of the Daring Creativity Podcast. I'm back to unpack some of the gems from this week's conversation, pulling out those moments that deserve a second look and dig deeper into what makes them special. This week I spoke to Kellyanna, a London based illustrator artist whose vibrant, movement driven work has taken her from independent galleries to global campaigns. The episode published a few days ago was titled Dare to Embrace the Confidence Rollercoaster. And it was a great conversation to go behind the scenes of Kelly's world to discover her process thinking and her plans for the future. If you haven't checked out the full episode yet, let me start with these four moments that stood out from our conversation.
[00:42]
B
I always used to talk about confidence because I used to struggle with it a lot. And when I was kind of building my work, I didn't have the confidence because I hadn't had any jobs then. Hadn't had any work. And. And then I think, you know, the more jobs come in, then you start to get a bit of confidence and you're like, oh, okay, maybe there's something in my work. And then it goes on and then you become freelance and you go into the world and. And then you start losing jobs and you lose your confidence and then you get a job and then your confidence comes back. I think a massive part of it is probably just being freelance. It's just this roller coaster of emotion. It's just like you're up, then you're down, then you're up. I think over the years, I'm slowly learning to just accept that and just find ways to deal with those highs and lows. I've said, like, I'm good at it. I'm definitely not good at it.
[01:33]
A
As the main episode title reveals, the topic of confidence and the rollercoaster of confidence was very much at the forefront of our conversation. Because the reason why I picked the standout moment is what matters is that who's saying this moment. Kelly isn't a new freelancer trying to find her footing. She's a decade in in with Nike, Adidas, Rafa on her CV and many more. And she's still riding the same emotional wave. And that's the part that we need to talk about and talk about more honestly. Confidence doesn't stabilize just because the career does. What changes slowly is the relationship with the dip. And Kelly's insight isn't that she's cracked it. She's the first to say that she hasn't, but that she's learned to accept the loves rather than Fight them. And that's a much more useful and truthful message than buck yourself up or it will work out. It will wobble. That's the deal. And knowing that in advance is genuine and helpful.
[02:33]
B
I think it was that very early on of sketching that movement that kind of influenced me going forward. And even though there was a huge gap in that and what I did throughout my career, I think that really set something off in me. And also, I was saying to you, before my dad, it was really big on color. He always spoke about how important color is, and he always said that color is a language that everyone understands. Wherever you are in the world, everyone understands color. So, yeah, I think those two things maybe have gotten me to where I am.
[03:11]
A
As you know from my conversations, I like the origin story. I try to find out how people got to do what they do now and how they got to do it. And as you may know from my conversations now, I always ask questions about parents, what the influence was. And I absolutely adore stories like Kelly's, for example, where, you know, she said it started with her dad, who was an artist who never pursued it professionally, sitting with Kelly when she was young and talking to her about color like it was something that it was alive. And the idea that color transcends borders, cartridges, and backgrounds is genuinely, beautifully profound. It explains why her work learns so universally. When you think about it, there's no translation needed. You feel it before you think it. What was beautiful also in this moment, that Kelly didn't intellectualize this philosophy later in life, she simply absorbed it as a child and carried it forward into everything. And it's a reminder that some of our most powerful creative beliefs come not from education, but from the people who raised us.
[04:17]
B
When I do a piece of artwork and someone wants to buy that, that alone again, that's that feeling of, like, validation that someone else sees what I see and they connect with it the way I have felt it in my body. Like, I've felt that feeling to create and make this piece, but then to have another human connect with it is just. Yeah, it's amazing. And that's why we keep doing it. It's a human connection thing for me as well. It's like someone else feels what I feel, and they felt what I'm trying to get across. That's what I find really beautiful. And. And, you know when I always say, like, when someone buys a piece of your work and puts it in their home, when people have artwork in their home, it almost becomes part of their DNA.
[05:10]
A
I Told Kelly after she mentioned this that this was potentially the most beautiful artist statement, if there was one, with what she just said, because it was one of the most quietly profound moments set in the whole conversation. There was no chat about sales or commissions or even going viral. She was talking about something much older and much more human. It was the moment when your inner world resonates in someone else's. Making art is intensely private act. You feel something, you make something, and then you release it. When another person connects with it, it really connects. They hang it on their walls, make it part of their home. And that's the whole point. Kelly describes it as a feeling like someone else sees what she sees, feels what she felt. And that kind of validation runs deeper than any brand campaign and is the real reason most creative people keep going when the work gets hard.
[06:04]
B
There was a time I did, I think because I struggled so long with confidence. There was a time I remember thinking to myself, gosh, this feels really good. It felt so good to have something that you'd worked on not. I don't think it was even that night. I think my whole life I had wanted to be a creative, an artist, and yeah, to get validation from someone that isn't yourself because you can. You can pick yourself up as much as you like and you have to. As an artist, you have to be your own fan club. But to have someone outside want your work next to their brand name, that's another level of. That's another feeling. And it's something that we chase, we go on chasing, and it's just an amazing feeling.
[06:55]
A
We have the final standout moment for my conversation with Kellyanna. I just stressed the fact that she talks about how much it's important to be your own fan club. We go back to conversation about confidence, and the confidence was the through line for the whole hour. How do you work when you get unstuck? What do you do next? How do you become at one with the work and how it then feels very validating to have somebody else to buy at work, appreciate it, validate it, and become your own fan as well. Thank you for joining me on this bonus episode. I hope you check out a full conversation with Kellyanna. Thank you for being here and I'll catch you on the next one. Thank you. If you enjoyed this episode and would like more accessible resources to help you discover your daring creativity, you can pick up one of my books on themes of mindful creativity, creative business, branding, and graphic design. Every physical book purchase comes with a free digital bundle, including an ebook and audiobook to make the content accessible wherever you are and whatever you do. To get 10% off your order, visit novemberuniverse.co.uk and use the Code podcast. Have a look around and start living daringly.