If you know what you want, then be specific

We all (hopefully) have goals and dreams. Whether it's living off your art (like Monkey + Seal's dream), or becoming the highest grossing actor ever, or being able to get 40 regular marshmallows in your mouth and still being able to say "chubby bunny," we often have some sort of benchmark or achievement that we are striving for.

Sometimes, your goal is specific. For example, to be the highest grossing actor ever, you need to start making tons of money through acting. Sometimes, if your goal is being an internationally-recognized artist, it might be a bit more nebulous. How many countries do you have to be known in? Who has to recognize you as an artist in said countries?

Monkey made this one of his goals a year back, hoping to be invited to show his paintings around the world by some of the largest lowbrow/pop surrealist galleries in places like Sao Paolo, Brazil, and Tokyo, Japan. However, he never really consciously stated that. He chose his goal to simply be "an internationally recognized artist."

When your goal is more of an internalized concept like Monkey's was, you'd be surprised as to how quickly you can achieve it. Monkey has been selling zines overseas for two years now via our Etsy site, and recently, he sold some ties and prints to some fans in Australia (thanks everyone!). Technically, he has now been recognized by someone as an artist outside the United States, thus qualifying him as an internationally-recognized artist.

Sure, that's not what Monkey really meant. It's not what you probably think of when you hear "internationally recognized artist," but the term is sort of a vague one. While Monkey is happy he hit this goal, he's made his goal more specific, and is still waiting to hear back from curators abroad.

The point of all this is that if you have a broad goal and are constantly working towards it, you may have already achieved it in a sense, without even knowing it. If this this is the case, congratulate yourself for a job well done. If you find that this is a bit of a let-down, that you didn't really get what you wanted, then it's fate's way of telling you to be a bit more specific with what you want.

The realization of knowing that you're already gotten what you wished for is a bit sobering at times, and the feeling of "this isn't what I wanted" isn't the greatest. Many times Monkey + Seal will realize that we were asking for the wrong thing, or perhaps we didn't even know what we wanted in the first place. Use these "mini" milestones and learn from them, and use them to figure out what you really want, and set your sights on it. We think that once you figure out what you want in your heart of hearts, the steps to getting it will be clearer than you could ever imagine. Now it'll just be up to you to taking those steps.

Risking Something - Sanely

Monkey + Seal are big fans of Seth Godin, a visionary marketer who knows how to be remarkable in a world of mediocrity. A few days ago, he posted this:

The problem with putting it all on the line...

is that it might not work out.

The problem with not putting it all on the line is that it will never (ever) change things for the better.

Not much of a choice, I think. No risk, no art. No art, no reward.

Inspiring and true? We couldn't agree more. Risking something is scary. You could fail, people might make fun of you (although, really?), you might be in debt, there are a lot of things that could go wrong. What we find, however, is that for many artists, this idea needs to be tweaked a bit.

Most of the time, when it comes to take a chance, we think of the worst scenario. What if I use all of my savings to pursue art and no one buys from me? Scary, right? Well, a lot of times, that is what separates the truly legendary from the known, the amazing from the good. If you're at the top of your game and you want to go for it, do it! Risk it all, and change the world.

However, many of us artists who aren't art giants like James Jean or Ryan McGinness, we're just trying to create something that we love and that we might possibly make a living off of. Many of us don't have huge savings to get us by if we don't sell art, or are time strapped since you're working 40-50 hour weeks just to get by. You might be like Monkey and have $200,000 in student loan debt. You might have been told that you would never succeed in art, or in life.

As children, artists are usually not fostered with the love and care that a child who wants to grow up to be a doctor or lawyer or (now) software engineer will be nurtured. Us artists are generally the troublemakers, the ones who think outside the box, who constantly asked "why?" in class, who might not have fit in with society's norms. Thus, many of us grew up with a society that doesn't like us telling us how we should be. We're ingrained with the scarcity mindset of only a few select artists being able to make it. We compare ourselves to giants when we're just setting out to learn how to paint.

It's hard being an artist.

So while I believe that you need to put it all on the line to be a professional artist (emphasis on the professional), it doesn't need to be this sink-or-swim mentality. You don't have to risk your entire savings, or your financial well-being, or your ability to sleep in a warm bed and eat a decent meal, or to be able to afford internet. What you do have to risk, however, is much scarier for most.

You have to risk your pride, your ego, the safety of being unknown, and your life.

You have to constantly put your work out there for judging by the masses (because if they never see it, how can they buy it?), and some people might not be into your stuff, especially if you're showing it to the wrong people.

You have to risk the safety of being unknown. It's a lot easier to lurk in forums and not leave comments on blogs, to scan from the safety of behind a computer screen. It's scary to go out and email art directors and gallery owners, even more scary to go up to them in person and show them a portfolio. But that's the hustle of a professional artist, and even if it's scary, you gotta do it.

And your life? You have to risk your life in this profession. Not in the "if you don't become a professional artist you'll die" sense, but in that whether or not you know it, you are putting your life on the line by NOT following your dream already.

Think of how many hours you've spend at work, doing something you don't even like, or at best, something you like, but don't love. Risk your lifetime pursuing what you love. Give up countless hours drawing, or painting, or playing music, or dancing. Be willing to spend all those years and years and years of your time pursuing the dream.

I'll let you in on a little secret. Most artists aren't born with some innate ability. Whether they went to art school or not, every huge artist we've ever met has the exact same work ethic: 6-12 hour days painting or drawing. 6-7 days a week, for years and years and years. That's how they got to be where they are. They weren't tapped on the shoulder by the talent fairy and magically elevated to success. They have devoted their life to their craft, and that is how they are where they are. There might be exceptions out there, but to be honest, if you were an exception, you wouldn't be reading this right now.

So take a risk. Make a blog today for your artwork if you haven't already. Post something, if you haven't already. And put it out there, post your link, show us your stuff. No guts, no glory, right?

877 Valencia Group Show

On Saturday, Seal had her group show opening at 877 Valencia in the Mission. It was relatively a small space, but the traffic was great. Seal got to live paint with James Garcia of Kulayan Arts and Wednesday Kirwan of Gama-Go. She realized what a fun privilege it is to be able to paint in the streets of San Francisco and to have art displayed in public spaces and local businesses. She met strangers and friends who stopped by to observe and ask questions. She loves San Francisco for its love of local artists.

The start of my live-painting, I had in mind a tree in the snow. After 30-40 minutes, James and I decided to switch to see what we could come up with. I like the creativity and unpredictability that comes with collaborative art. The pieces below are currently unfinished. We'll be working on them sometime in the coming weeks and will re-post the final. As friends of Monkey+Seal, you get to see our process and a short glimpse of what's to come.

The start of the collaborative mash-up with James Garcia.


James's piece, in which, I was able to partake in. He did the gorgeous colorful tree on the left (photo doesn't do the details justice). Since I had a brain fart, I added my signature jellyfish and raven on the right. I love working with other artists, since they have different ways of approaching the painting. I especially loved the palette that James was working in. It is also currently an unfinished piece, the final will be re-posted.


Wednesday Kirwan doing a painting of a beautiful girl.

Inside the show. The owner of the space was 17 when he got married to his wife. He and his wife worked hard while going to school and opened up his business in 1979. They have been doing well ever since, and are big supporters of showcasing local artists. It's touching to hear the success-stories of people who have struggled through their adventure cycle and came out on the other side.

When Seal is live-painting, she remembers how fun painting and art is. Sometimes it takes putting your art out in front of people to remember why you paint. To see people's reactions, questions, . . . that your art has somehow impacted them, even if by a little bit, this is what it means to make art. Sure you can make art and keep them in the closet from prying eyes, but ultimately, art is communication with people's thoughts and emotions. In the end, it needs to be seen and appreciated outside of yourself. So take out that half-written novel and unfinished painting, finish them and let them see the light of day.

How to Deal With an Artists' Block

Artists' Block:

This is a difficult subject that Seal will try to address in multiple posts, starting with this one. Almost every artist has experienced or will come up against this wall called an "artists' block" or "slump" where art doesn't feel as creative or at worst, even painful to complete. Not only do we avoid doing art, we beat ourselves up for not doing it: "I should have started sooner" "Why am I not doing more?" we demand from ourselves. We try to fix it, by doing EXTRA the next day, "Okay, I will get up earlier and do more tomorrow, since I slacked off so much," but when the next day comes, we are listless, full of other commitments that take its place (we are secretly relieved in not having to do art), at the end of the day, we feel guilty, disappointed, angry - another day has gone by without having done art.

Let's break this down. An artist's block needs to be seen as an illness. There is a cause behind it and a treatment. Each case is unique, so the diagnosis will often have to be made on an individual basis, but the good news is, once you know what is is, what's causing it, you can begin to find the cure.

With an artist's block, you need to treat it with all seriousness and respect. Your body, mind, and soul is telling you something very important that you haven't been listening to all this time, and it has resorted to hijacking your system, creating all kinds of ailments, shutdown, and alert signals for you to pay attention.

Like any physical illness, when you visit a doctor, they begin with questions and tests, to find out what's causing it. When did you begin to feel an artist block? have you had it before? how frequent is it? do the rest of your family members have a history of artist block, it may appear in the form of minor depression, listlessness, etc., Has something triggered it? What was the event? What happened? And how did it make you feel?

Recently, Seal had been kindly asked to do a group gallery show. She was filled with excitement and gratitude, after a day had passed, she began to feel dread -- to the point of not showing up for the gallery show. Painting became very difficult and scary. She procrastinated. But every day was filled with growing disappointment of herself - she felt as if the kind opportunity to show in the gallery was squandered with each day that she wasn't painting, and was instead used to fight her artists' block. This is not the first time for Seal to experience this kind of block. Throughout her battle to go back to art school and pursue art despite vocal oppositions, Seal has dealt with many artist's block many times before. Sometimes it would come and go within an hour, other times it lasted months, or years before Seal would pick up the paintbrush again. So, she was able to recognize this recent experience as another artist block.

She quickly launched into her series of questions. What triggered it? Has a similar incident like this happened before? What am I feeling? She wrote a lot. During an artists' block, it's good to document your thought process. Suddenly, the words in her journal jumped off the page . . . "I am afraid . . . " then slowly the answer scrawled itself on the page" . . . it dawned on me that the last time I was asked to be in a group show, I had left the gallery scene early during opening night, only to find that my painting was stolen when I came to pick it up after the show. The gallery denied knowledge of the painting's existence. My friend, who was simultaneously my friendly rival in school, agreed that he never saw that painting at the gallery in the first place. Our friendship dissolved soon after. To this day, it is unclear whether a guest had stole it, my friend who invited me to be in the show, or the gallery curator did."

I was a young, naive, college student at the time. I didn't even get to take a picture of it when it was hung on the wall. I was just happy to have been asked to be in a gallery. It was, at that time, the best painting I had ever did - the one my mentor had acknowledged as having potential. It was the first time anyone had acknowledged that I could be something. It was the first time I began to dream. I had dreams of going to Cooper Union and doing residency painting there. That one painting was a symbol, the accumulation of all I had learned thus far, my best expression, and I was afraid, that it was a fluke - that I couldn't paint like that anymore. And no one that matters to me now had ever seen it. It exists only as a faint memory in my mind. I can still see the rich colors, the smooth transition, the curvature . . . I am haunted by it, and seemingly, only I know of its existence.

This one incident continually presents itself as an artist block for Seal. But once she recognized the cause for her current state of procrastination, resentment, and fears, the treatment was simple, but it does take time. Acknowledge the experience and feelings that come with it. Grieve for what is lost, replace what is lost. Realize that most artist blocks are old mechanism, tactics you used as a child to protect you. As a child it often doesn't know any better means of dealing with a scary or painful situations, so it shuts down, throw tantrums, hides. But as an adult you can comfort your inner artist child, make amends for what is ailing, and have the power to protect it now.

For example, the adult-you can take extra measures to make sure you have good relationship with the curator, make extra copies of the contract, take pictures of your work, etc.

Begin by acknowledging the block. Don't blame yourself. Remember your artist block is simply trying to protect you from whatever danger it perceived. Find out what it is that is causing the block. Write in your journal, draw it, knit it, in whatever communication that is most helpful and conducive for your artist self. Some people do yoga, and talk to their bodies and they answer back! Your physical body carries a lot of information that are right under the surface of your consciousness. One lady who was suffering from a sniff neck asked herself, "neck, why are you hurting me" and she answered back, "because you're always sticking your neck out for other people, and you never stand up for yourself." Wow. Just the other week, Seal asked herself why she had a toothache and got the answer "cause I took on more than I can chew." Obviously if you have major physical problems, you should also check them at a legitimate doctor's office. But often our ailing psyches manifest themselves unto our physical form.

Once you've got the answer to why you are in an artist's block. Thank your artist's block for trying to protect you. Assure it that it is being listened to and that you will take care of what needs to be done, to make your artist feel secure. Then take those actions to ensure the safety of your artist self to come out and play again. This is the most important step. Because a broken promise from yourself will lead you further into the block. Sometimes all you need to ask is, "what will make you feel better? What would make you feel safe to do art again? Sometimes the answers come quickly, other times, it might take awhile. Throughout the while, just listen. Do low key activities, (remember, an artist's block is an illness that needs to be treated. You can't expect to dance and paint, if you've got a gunshot wound to the heart. It has to be looked after first.) And lastly, start gradually. No shock. Even 1 word a day or a paint stroke a day. That's it, no more. One day soon, you'll revive the desire not to put the brush down.

For more reading: The North Star, The Artist's Way, Fearless Creating

Stand for Something

"Racebending" - An illustration for Hyphen Magazine about Avatar:The Last Airbender's controversy over white-washing the casting. For more information check out www.racebending.com

In retail, you're taught that you need to be completely neutral. You are not supposed to take stances on politics, religion, sexuality, or anything that might potentially offend a customer. We think this is not the right way to go about things.

While Monkey + Seal equally is against marketing campaigns that serve to make companies look like they care when they don't (greenwashing, etc) , we also applaud companies that actually stand for their values.

We're big fans of Urban Bazaar, (full disclosure - they're carrying our ties, but we're talking about them here because the owners are awesome) a new boutique in San Francisco that only stocks handmade and Fair Trade items. The owners are very specific about the politics of their owners in their "about" page:

"Stemming from their shared passions for social justice, environmental responsibility, and promoting the handcrafted arts, they aim to create an alternative to big box chains and mass produced goods while supporting artisans locally and abroad."

Now that's what we're talking about. A statement of their beliefs and values. Besides selling some really cool stuff (belts made from reclaimed bike tires...Monkey wants!!), they have a clear intent and purpose that as people who also care about these things, we'd like to support.

Many businesses are probably afraid of driving away customers with politics and whatnot. We say, drive them away. If you stand for something positive and awesome, then by all means, stand by it. Although you might drive away some potential customers, do you really want to have people who support things you don't, come to you for help?

Monkey + Seal are all for healthy discussion (not one-sided yelling or name-calling) and debate. However, if a customer is not willing to buy from us simply for the fact that we support gay marriage, or are feminist, or are vegan, or are anti-racist, or anything other attribute that makes us who we are, we're willing to turn down their money. We realize that this is a privileged position to take, but we do our best to stick to our paint brushes and determination (although situations like this don't come up very often, to be honest).

While we don't have anything deliberately stated on our About page besides our mission to help empower other artists, as we are shifting to donating part of all our items (not just our You're Not Alone Anymore shirt) to charities, we'll gradually become a bit more vocal about our causes. We're not saying that you have to be overt about your politics (although if that's what you want to do, go for it!), but I think if you stand by your cause, you'll be better off for it.

If anything, we think that taking a stance and declaring what you believe in is important to your business and to your soul. You can feel good and honest about being yourself, and if you support a cause people will want to support you as well. Like we said before, you should NOT go around making false claims and trying to pitch your product to a niche that you don't really believe in. In fact, if you're not super passionate about anything, then don't pretend to be. But if there is a cause that speaks to you (there usually is), then stand up for it and be proud.

Is Your Art Fun?

Mozart's "Sonata for Two Pianos in D major" is the only formal composition made exclusively for two pianos. The sonata was composed for a performance he would give with his student and gifted fellow pianist, Josephine von Aurnhammer. This composition was often perceived as being intended as a learning piece for the student. But in actuality, it's more likely that Mozart, the teacher, composed it for himself, so he could recall how fun music was through the eyes of his student.

Often when we pursue art, we begin to absorb, "what is expected of us," the "traditional way" of doing things (like how to paint, make comics, sew a bag, etc), we become locked into a certain structure, learning how to copy from master paintings, we look to the next successful artist and try to be like them, we become rigid, we become so busy on striving to be a "great artist" that we forget how fun art is. In the same way, Mozart wanted to let go of his ego and musical mastery, and compositional structure, and trade it for the freedom and playfulness of a student again.

The "Sonata for Two Pianos" is composed in the gallant style with interlocking melodies and simultaneous cadences*. The music starts with the two pianos entering in synchronicity with a strong bold introduction. Then the higher sounding piano usually played by the student starts taking off in a gallop, while the teacher's piano plays the supporting bass, as it follows and repeats the playful rhythm of the first. This sonata is fun; it bounces, it frolics, it runs, and it gushes. It is one of his few pieces, with relatively simple and repeating movements. It is meant to be played as a "cantabile" - "songlike" in free-form as opposed to a fixed tempo or measure.

The piece has also been proven in scientific studies to have "the mozart effect." Listening to this piano sonata improves spatial reasoning skills and reduces the number of seizures in people with epilepsy and alleviates depression. It is not a coincidence that something fun to the creator really speaks to the heart of the mass.

It wasn't about complexity or showcasing his mastery over composition. It was about expression. It was pure fun.

Art should be like this every day. What you are doing now, should recall pure enjoyment.

What should our next shirt be?

Hello everyone! Monkey + Seal needs your help! We're trying to figure out what to put on our next t-shirt design, and we'd like your input! We could go with a jellyfish (very similar to Monkey's tie) in a dark blue-green on a light aqua shirt, as seen here...


...or we could go with zombie Abraham Lincoln in black and light blue on an olive green shirt.


What would you like to see on the next Monkey + Seal shirt? Let us know in the comments! Your feedback will help shape the future for Monkey + Seal! Thanks!