I imagine that a lot of people reading this are artists that either have a job in a creative field, or have a business that relies mostly on creative services. On the surface, it sounds like the best possible way to live as an artist, right? Here you are, doing the stuff other people would kill for. But there are days when you realize it's not as shiny as it seems on the outside. Read more...
Popular marketing advice for small business owners is to be authentic and transparent online. But some of us who may be careful about what we put out in public are asking ourselves the question: is too much authenticity unprofessional? That's a valid question. After all, we grew up in a society that generally shuns authenticity like the plague, and showing our true self to the world feels extremely risky. Read more...
Some people say ideas are worthless without execution. Others say ideas are the currency of the future. You, however, seem to have a problem cashing in on this currency because you have more ideas than you know what to do with — it's both a blessing and a curse.
While I don't have a magic pill that will stop this craziness (and honestly, we wouldn't want to stop it), having a system to manage our wealth of ideas helps a lot.
Here are my suggestions how to handle this 'problem'. Read more...
If you were to examine how you spend your time, you'd realize that a lot of it is wasted on activities that don't really bring you joy and fulfillment, but you're doing them over and over again because they became a habit. I'll show you how I make sure that when I sit down to do something for my work or personal projects, I stay focused. Learn the 5 ways you can create the ideal conditions for focus and creative flow. Read more...
I realized I haven't shared any of my creative processes in a while, so I decided to share some work-in-progress photos of my latest watercolor painting, Sing Me Of Better Times. This is not intended as a how-to by any means and I'm not describing every step in detail, but I hope it will still provide some value to you. Read more...
I want to talk about an issue that I feel is greatly affecting our ability to be successful in our art and business. It's about our willingness to stand firmly in our uniqueness, and put our individuality in the spotlight in everything we do. Read more...
Often when I'm talking with new clients about their goals for the branding or website design project, they half-apologetically say something along the lines of 'I'm not sure what I want in terms of design'. What they really wonder is, how do I convey my ideas to a designer if I'm not a visual type? I'm telling you that you don't need to worry about that. Read more...
Let's welcome the new outdoor sketching season with a little art supplies geekout! I'm always voyeuristically scavenging blogs and Pinterest to see what sketching tools other artists are using. I've only mentioned my sketching kit once before on this blog, so I decided to create a post about this topic alone. Read more...
I'm getting a fed up with the right/left brain myth that became so ingrained in our culture. Rarely anyone outside of the scientific world is even questioning it, and it's even more pronounced in our creative circles where people wear the right-brained label like a badge of honor. I'm sure many people won't agree with what I have to say on this topic, and even my best friends and most loyal readers might find this idea in opposition to their views. But I cannot in good conscience support the story I feel is inaccurate and harmful. Read more...
Writing about topics like these always invokes a lot of fear and self-worth issues in me, so I've refrained from publishing this post for a good long while. What if giving up on old dreams translates as being flaky, lazy and not able to finish anything? But usually when I get cold feet about publishing something, it turns out there is a bunch of people who feel exactly the same and are so glad to see someone else writing about it, because they too are a bit embarrassed to admit it. Read more...