How to Fail Fast, Trust Yourself, and Paint Your Own Path with Speedpainter and Speaker Sarah Rowan

What happens when a keynote speaker brings a paintbrush on stage… and paints with her whole heart? Meet Sarah Rowan - speed painter, storyteller, and wild lover of life.In this episode of Fuel Your Confidence, Sarah shares how painting fast in front of live audiences taught her how to fail with grace, stay fully present, and create without apology. From accidentally flinging paint across a graduation stage, to auctioning off an abstract masterpiece that began as Nelson Mandela, Sarah reminds us: creativity isn’t about perfection; it’s about presence, curiosity, and courage.You’ll hear how art became her way of surviving 20 years of conversion therapy, how she shifted from starving artist to sought-after speaker, and why she chooses the microphone over the paintbrush - even if she feels naked without a canvas.Whether you’re a creator, performer, speaker, or just craving more colour in your life, this episode will ignite something deep within you.Highlights include:Why she paints like she’s holding potato chips (yes, really)What speed painting teaches about failing fast and staying flexibleHow to silence your inner critic and start creating nowThe power of humour, humanity, and helping others feel seenPlus: Sarah shares 4 of the 7 steps from her book The Creativity Cycle: Seven Simple Steps to Bring Ideas to Life.[TIME STAMPS]2:32 – Imagine painting live in five minutes.3:10 – How speed painting began — by total accident.4:08 – Hold your ideas like potato chips.5:48 – Feel it. Reflect. Then let it go.6:40 – When Mandela turns into an abstract.8:27 – What’s scarier: blank canvas or silent audience?12:58 – Early gigs: painting for beer and food.15:29 – The less paint, the better the art.17:34 – When ego-filled rooms can’t receive inspiration.19:03 – Her backstage ritual before stepping on stage.21:32 – Creativity = curiosity over fear.23:00 – We need more “beeps” in our day.24:10 – A creative recipe: The seven-step cycle.25:56 – Why stagnation stinks like sh*t28:47 – Some art holds sunshine. Some holds suffering.33:56 – Choose the mic or the brush?35:06 – Three confidence tips you need right now.CONNECT WITH SARAHLinkedIn Instagram Website  Buy her book - The Creativity Cycle