You Must Not Quit Yourself

"When I was in high school I was advised that it's difficult to have an occupation doing something you like, and that it's good to do something you somewhat like. I went against this advice, and now I'm glad that I did. If I only somewhat liked this work, I'm sure I would have quit by now. Doing what you like equals yourself, and you must not quit yourself." - Takehiko Inoue

Seal here.


Today I wanted to share the words of wisdom from one of my favorite manga writer/ artist, Takehiko Inoue. He is best known for the successful manga/comic sagas: the basketball manga Slam Dunk and the wandering swordsman manga, Vagabond. They have both been made into anime, tv drama series, and life action films.

Often times, Seal is racked by her past "failures." Mainly that it took me so long just to acknowledge that my true dream was art, and that I was an artist, and to finally pursue it wholeheartedly. Somewhere a couple of years ago, in the middle of a job that was not art, rising to the top in a career that society approved of, but feeling empty inside, I realized: you can fool everyone else, you can convince everyone else but you can never cheat yourself.

Have you followed a dream to end of the line? Have you given yourself permission to pursue it? What does it look like when you've crossed the line and completed a dream?
So what is your true love? If you can allow it, what is your dream?



Monkey here.

When I was growing up, all I wanted to be was a comic book artist.  I loved to draw, and, with no knowledge of the pay-per-page rates, the tight deadlines, or the crazy amounts of research and practice involved, I declared I wanted to be a comic book artist.  Something about being able to make awesome art that told a cool story filled me with joy.

I quickly forgot all that as I started public school, focusing more on the academics that came easily to me and that brought me praise.  I ended up going to a prestigious university as a Freshman, and quickly came to realize that given total freedom, I was not a Chemical Engineer at all, but an actor!  I ended up running an Asian American theater group for a while, competed in some poetry slams and theatrical readings, and met Seal. 

Seal bought me my first sketchbook (that wasn't a black and white composition book).  I graduated, found a high-paying recruiting job, and promptly quit after a month to go back to art school.  There, I realized how much blood, sweat, and tears becoming a technically proficient visual artist requires.  I started out as a graphic designer, then an illustrator, then finally took my senior classes in fine art.  Somehow I graduated with a hodge-podge of random classes that are part of no single degree program.  There, I realized that I was not into what the school was teaching.  While I was and still am extremely grateful for the skills I developed there, I realized that the path of the fine art students doing senior shows and the illustration students doing concept art and editorial illustrations was not mine.

Fast forward three years.  I slowly but surely create and self-publish my own comics.  Some are drawn poorly.  Others are more like illustrated short stories.  I've come to realize that more than any job title, or what you do to make a living (retail wage slave for 5.5 years, baby!), who you are is something powerful that is absolutely essential to find if you want to be happy.

No amount of money, power, or love is going to make up the void left in you if you are not being true to yourself.

It is, of course, not mutually exclusive to be rich, powerful, and have important loved ones in your life and be true to yourself, but all those other things don't make up for finding your essential self and embracing it.

I am a storyteller.  Whether that takes the form of theater, spoken word, short stories, flash fiction, comics, paintings, t-shirt designs, blogging, or even just telling long-winded jokes to friends over beers, I've realized that the thing that first pushed me towards comics is a love for stories.

As 2012 comes to a close, have you found who you are?  If not, what's holding you back?  I know the truth might be scary, or intimidating, but really, the truth will set you free.

Selling Out is Hard To Do

As an artist, it might seem frustrating at times to keep going.  If you are not getting the accolades or sales you want of your work, it can be discouraging to continue to do what you like.  Often you might question whether or not you should change your subject matter/style to "fit in."

Monkey was privileged to be able to sit on an Academy of Art Alumni panel on the topic of Getting into Galleries.  One question that really struck a chord with him was "Should I paint what sells, or what I want to paint?"

We think that there is a perception (true or not), that either abstract art, highly conceptual art (think soup cans or diamond-encrusted skulls), or classical landscapes and portraits is what's in demand.  Regardless of the truth of the matter, especially if you go through classical training, these types of paintings are what you think sell.

If you try and paint these things, when you really would rather be painting silly monsters or unicorns or whatever, you will not do well.  Trying to sell out is actually really hard to do.  Sure, you might start selling paintings, or you might start getting lots of praise for your new work, but if you don't like it, you won't be happy.

Making art is such a personal thing that you can't force it.  Well, you can force it, but it'll lead to you disliking or even hating your own art, and it'll become another ball and chain job that you have to do even though it kills you.

Monkey used to think that no matter what it was, he'd be happy to be paid to make art.  Then, as he actually started getting paid to make stuff, he realized that he only really likes making stuff that he wants to make.  The thought of being told to make piece of art that he was totally uninterested in was even more difficult that dealing with the daily hurdles of working retail.

Really, selling out is easy to do, but hard to keep up.

Now, we want to stress that we totally understand.  People have bills to pay, food to buy, etc. etc.  If you have to take those dog portrait gigs or doing background paintings for porno or working crazy hours at a game company or whatever, we're not judging.  But for all of you out there who ever feel discouraged, or that your art doesn't have a place in the world, please know that it does.

There is an audience for you out there.  It might not be the largest audience, but it's out there, you just have to look.  The internet is amazing at helping people find micro-subcultures, and if you feel like your work isn't attractive to the mainstream, then experiment showing your work elsewhere. It might take time.  It'll probably take a lot of work.  But know that the long hours and hard work and all the experiments that don't work will all be worth it in the end when you find your niche and can truly be yourself.

So keep in mind that you need to keep on doing what you love.  Have fun.  That's what art is supposed to be about.  If you're happy and having a great time, that feeling comes through the work and it shows.  People can tell when you're enjoying yourself, and it will naturally bring more happiness and joy.  Create what you want and seek out your audience, and trust us, you'll do just fine.

Triumphing Over Fear

Monkey here. Just a FYI, the illustration this week is a bit more graphic than usual and may be disturbing to sensitive readers.  I also talk about assassination attempts and violence (and yes, I tie it all back into creating and art), so if that might bother you, please come back next week.  The post starts (with the illustration) after the jump.

How to Be Selfish + Selfless

We're back!  

Sorry for the long hiatus everyone.  For all you that are our facebook fans, you'll know that Monkey ended up with strep throat two weeks ago (and most of last week as well), thus much of our focus was on healing him up.  Seal was an excellent nurse, and did much to make sure Monkey didn't die.

Anyway, today we wanted to talk about selfishness.  Our society often gives mixed messages about selfishness.  We often see stories of people who are so obsessed with something (music, art, business, technology, etc.) that they devote their lives to it and selfishly put that love over everything else.  We are told this is the epitome of the American Dream of pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps and following your passion.

We also, however, often get the message that we shouldn't be selfish.  That we should think of society as a whole, that it's saintly to give to others and to give back to the community.  We praise non-profits and community giving and we are often socially rewarded for doing "selfless" things.  Also, especially in certain communities, (religious, immigrant, and/or minority) communities, emphasis can be strongly put on the community over the whole.  Pressure to "put the community over your own needs" can be strong, and it seems like the right thing to do is to be selfless.

However, we'd like to offer a different take on selfishness/selflessness.  We propose that if you live your live following your dream, it is not only the right thing to do, but it is the most selfless and selfish thing you can do.

Paradox time?  Not really.  You see, by following your dream, inherently you are being selfish.  But this is a good selfish.  You need to be listening to your Inner Artist and following that dream of yours because that is really what you were meant to do.  Your dream is unique, and by doing what you love, you're being the best person you can be, and you need to be relentlessly selfish about this - you can't put it aside for other people, whether it's your dying mother in Bolivia or your favorite teacher, or your boss, or your pastor.  

No matter who tells you otherwise, you need to live up to your full potential and follow your dream.  

At the same time that you're ploughing ahead looking after yourself, realize that by doing that, you're offering your gift to the world.  Maybe it's your unique way you look at the world (visual artists), or your pursuit of a new taste (culinary artist), or maybe it's an exploration of what the human body can do (dancers and performing artists).  Regardless, your dream is yours alone and if you can find that voice and follow it, you will reach your full, awesome potential.  

By being the best person you can be, you will undoubtably come across ways to give back.  Whether it's performing at a charity ball, or donating your art for a fundraiser, or maybe it's creating a path for an underrepresented group of people to follow in your footsteps, you will be able to give back selflessly while you selfishly pursue your own dream.  

As Chris Guillebeau puts it, you will be able to become a true key dropper.  As your dream manifests itself via your own selfish motivations and actions, make sure that when it's possible to do so, help out others along the way.  Drop keys for people to open doors.  Don't create cells by trying to shut out people asking for advice - drop keys.  

So go out there and do something for yourself.  Put yourself on that path towards following your dream, and opportunities to give back to your communities and the people who help you along will manifest themselves.  Don't hold anything back, and go after what YOU want.  

Take a Small, Creative Action Today

So while we could talk about how our newest Mr. Owl silkscreen print is up in our shop, but today we wanted to focus on taking action.

While we talked a lot about creating a concrete business plan in terms of if you're looking to make a career out of art, sometimes once you create that plan things get a bit..overwhelming.  Maybe you've realized that you're selling yourself short by pricing too low, or that maybe you've been marketing to the wrong demographic all along, or maybe your head is spinning and you just want life to be simple again.

Whatever it is, take a deep breath, and take a step back.  Sure, having a plan is great, and is the easiest blueprint to achieving a goal. However, part of creating is letting that rigidity go and just doing whatever you need to do.

Yes, this sounds contradictory - how are you supposed to have a plan, but not pay attention to it?  Well, we're not saying that you should abandon said plan, but if it's impeding in your creating, then you might need to push that plan to the backburner.

Monkey, being the business-focused one of us, tends to sometimes get too caught up in the business side of art.  He starts making crazy budget spreadsheets and starts going blind looking at google analytics and just get a bit nutso trying to figure out how to hustle some art.  Seal then sees that Monkey is working himself into a frenzy of madness and stress and she reminds him to just calm down and to create.

Really, while you need a plan to act as your framework, if you spend all your time fretting over how many paintings you need to sell, you're losing sight of what you probably really want - to be able to making a living doing what you love.  Monkey tends to think TOO much about the "how" when he really should be painting, or working on a comic, or doing what he really wants to be doing.

So make sure that you start up a habit of doing some small, creative action today.  Even if you're in the midsts of writing your marketing plan, or doing your finances, or tackling some bureaucracy, make sure that you get a thumbnail sketch down, or a doodle, or just work on that masterpiece for 15 minutes.  Strum something out on your guitar, or rehearse that choreography.  Whatever it is, make sure that you don't lose sight of what should be the real important thing - creation.

Nourishing Your Creative Soul, Or How to Avoid Becoming a Crack Fiend

Often times we can get caught up in doing what we have to do, whether that's pay the bills, or cook dinner, or go to work.  We have outside obligations, rent to pay, etc. etc.  However, as artists, sometimes you get a sudden wave of inspiration, or maybe you've just been putting off creating for too long, and every fiber of your being screams "Create!"

In these cases, unless it's not totally dire (and really, how bad will it be to take an hour off before doing the laundry?) you need to take care of your inner artist and make something.  If you don't nourish your artistic soul, you may find that you'll end up like a crack junkie.  How?  Let us explain.

Scientific studies have shown that if people have a finite amount of mental capacity (we'll call it 'brain juice.')  When you're working on memorizing the alphabet backwards, you're using up brain juice.  When you're doing a calculus problem, or trying to draw a 2-foot straight line freehand, or are trying to juggle ten different client accounts and write five urgent emails, you're using up brain juice.  You only really have so much, so when you're super mentally exhausted (ie, running low on brain juice), you don't have any brain juice to make good decisions.

Still with us? Heavy mental strain = bad decisions.  Cool.  We'll get to the crack addiction in a minute.

So when you feel that urge to create, and you don't listen to it, you're really spending brain juice to fight that primal instinct you have to do what you love to do.  Of course you'd rather be creating that making spreadsheets.  Of course you'd rather paint than write all those emails, or practice your trumpet rather than file all those receipts.  So when you fight down the urge to do something creative in deference for some other task, you're using up twice the brain juice.  Not only are you using the brain juice to do the task, but you're also fighting down your inner spirit that's trying to make something awesome.

If you're out of brain juice because you're trying not to create, then you could very well make some terrible decisions.  What if you're finalizing that cost-benefit analysis when you really wanted to work on that novel and then a co-worker asks you to a bar after work, and then you go and get drunk, then someone offers you crack and you try it, and then you get addicted and end up losing everything and living on the street addicted to crack?  What would you do then?  Well, you'd be doing crack, but besides that?  Nothing, that's what, so if you want to avoid becoming a crack fiend, then nourish that creative soul!

"But Monkey + Seal, what do I do?" you might ask, "I really have to file my taxes, I can't just stop and write my novel, the IRS will take away my house and I'll still end up addicted to crack!"  Well friends, we're not advocating you to drop everything forever.

We all understand that you have obligations.  Everyone does.  We do, so do you.  However, when your inner artist is screaming to create and you won't let it, you're doing yourself a serious disservice.  You see, when you desperately want to paint, or sing, or write, or dance, you don't have to do it full force.  If you're looking to write a novel, maybe take a 10-minute coffee break at your desk, writing out some dialogue. Or if you're looking to produce a mammoth of a graphic novel, start slow and maybe sketch out the layout for a page while you're at lunch.

The trick here is to give yourself little bits of the good stuff.  Ideally, you could just stop and sit down and make your magic happen (because remember, what you do IS magic), but the reality of it is that most of us can't do that.  So feed your inner artist little art snacks here and there, and you'll find that you'll feel much more rested, happy, and you'll feel less guilt about not creating as well.

Ideally you can even schedule times to create so that your inner artist will never feel so totally deprived that your brain shuts down and you start doing illicit narcotics.  By taking a few hours out of the week in order to make sure that you're still creating, you can plant the seeds that will grow into a more productive, creative, crack-free life.

Top 3 Reasons To Be A Solo Artist

Some say that it's better to go it alone in life.  After all, you only have yourself to take care of, nothing to hold you down, and plus you get to take all the credit for yourself.  Who would want to find a close-knit, supportive community of artists?  Who wants artist friends or a support group of others who have been there and done that?

We assume you don't, so today, we wanted to bring you the top 3 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Find An Artist Community.

1.  You Don't Want To Get Far

Finding a community of artists, whether it's in person or via online, usually helps you create connections with other artists.  Monkey + Seal have found that through these connections, we've been able to both help careers along, as well as be helped ourselves.  Through our networks, we've found jobs, gigs, cool new opportunities, and friends.  So if you don't want any of that, and you want to slave away by yourself doing everything the hardest way possible, please, by all means, stay away from communities.

By communities, we mean don't find friends who like to go to gallery openings, or don't join online communities like Deviant Art or various Facebook and LinkedIn Groups.  If you went to art school, make sure you cut off all contact with your classmates and former teachers, and don't take part in any alumni groups or meet-ups.

For the love of all that is holy, make sure you stay away from communal art groups, or drawing meet-ups, or any sort of art making that might happen in a public place with other people - these are the most dangerous of all if you want to fly solo.

2.  You Enjoy Artists' Block

Often times, when we get stuck in the process of creating, besides pushing through it, an easy way to get past it is to find new inspiration, or ask for help from other artists who you trust.  We're sure you can see where we're going with this.

If you enjoy the gut-wrenching frustration of Artists' Block, be sure to not make other artist friends who you can get opinions from.  Definitely don't live with another artist, as we've found that living together has shattered our Artists' Block countless times.

Other artists provide new insights into our own work, or perhaps they might share a resource that might inspire you or give you more information that you needed to push through.  Maybe a fresh pair of eyes might help that composition you were struggling with, or maybe they've worked with an epoxy that might help out your sagging sculpture that you've been fighting.

So please, if you just absolutely love getting stuck and not being able to get past the block that stops you, make sure that you don't make other friends who are artists!

3. You Love Feeling Unsafe and Like Poop

Multiple rejections are a part of being a professional artist.  Our field is highly subjective, and having a barrage of blows to your self-confidence can be crippling if you're by yourself.  Obviously, if you love feeling beat down and potentially scared to make art, having a group of like-minded people alongside you to remind you that your art IS VALUABLE and IS IMPORTANT would not be your cup of tea.

Having a network of other people who have been there, or are there fighting alongside you can help restore your confidence.  Hearing stories of successful artist friends who have also been rejected or have had to submit portfolios again and again to finally land that dream job can really help someone who is going through the rough time that being an artist can entail.  So if you don't like to feel great and be reminded about how totally subjective our field is, then please, stay away from artist communities.

You need to be especially wary of having good artist friends who are willing to honestly and safely critique your work when you are trying new things.  Whether it's a new style, subject matter, or new medium, showing it to your core group of trusted artist homies probably isn't a good thing if you want to be ruthlessly beat down and told you suck.  If you want to feel like crap, create for a void, where you will have no one to validate your ideas, and you can let that monstrous whirlwind of self-doubt win out over your logical mind and crush your artistic dreams forever.

So please, dear artists, if you have any disregard for your own artist's soul, your artistic well-being, your ability to create, or your professional career, please, stay away from finding your tribe.  Don't make close friends who you can trust to nurture your art and your vision.  Stay away from artist communities that foster new work and will help you grow both as an artist and a professional.  Please, please, please do not continue to read this blog, as Monkey + Seal are working to create a new community of artists who are supportive and caring over competitive and criticizing.  Don't look for our new updates on how to become members of the upcoming online cabal of artists!

Put Off Your Project To Get Off Your Ass

While some of you out there may be struggling to get inspired to create, there are some artists out there who struggle with an overflow of ideas.  While at first glance, this might seem like an awesome thing, but it can be paralyzing to have hundreds of different ideas in your head that you want to express, yet you don't know where to start.

Maybe you have a story for a graphic novel or three, as well as some character designs you'd like to do, and an idea for a film, and a photography project you'd like, as well as some t-shirt designs and ideas for your wedding invitation design, etc. etc. etc.  The list goes on, and you maybe are just overflowing with stuff you want to do, but there's never enough time to do all of it (especially if you're also doing a day job, juggling obligations to friends and family, and you know, living life.)

If you don't suffer from this dilemma, one might not understand how potentially crippling this is.  You might say "Yeah, but at least you got ideas," but the truth is it is sort of like being given your choice of being able to eat one single dish of anything you'd like in the world.  You start thinking "I really like this..but what about..this?"  You don't want to waste this awesome opportunity, so you start weighing your options.  You really want the seared swordfish with the mango salsa, but then you've never tried the sauteed water spinach with 17 different herbs and marinated tofu.  But you don't even know if you like tofu or if you'll get sick of it, because there's also that weird thing that you've never eaten because it's $200 a pound, but what if you don't like it...you know nothing about it, so you start to google everything, and then it becomes one big massive information overload and the clock is ticking and you're not even eating anything but you're starting to salivate thinking about all this awesome food and it sucks that you only get to choose one thing, but what do you choose since everything looks so good and while you might want something familiar are you really going to blow this chance to try ANYTHING over a simple bowl of mac and cheese?

Yep, that's sort of what idea-overload is like.

If you do suffer from idea-overload, you'll probably be familiar with the overwhelming sense of confusion over what to do right now.  Sure, you know that you want to do all of these things, but where do you start?  It's so daunting to have five bazillion long-term projects that you want to do.  What project do you prioritize?  You don't want to lose steam or forget an idea, what do you do?

The answer is simple, friends, what you need to do is put it off.  Whaa?  Yes, well, sort of.  The first thing you need to do is voice memo, or write, or somehow record all of your ideas and projects, however you work best. Just make sure it's someplace you can find later.  Monkey personally likes sketchbooks and google docs, but that's just him (he also makes it a point to revisit old sketchbooks every 6 months or so to find old inspiration).  So get all the ideas down out of your head.

Now, go take a break.  Walk around the block, or meditate, or watch some crap TV, or read some fiction, or otherwise take your mind off creating something.  Focus on something else.  Now, revisit your list, looking at everything at once, and whatever project tugs at your heartstrings the most, do that one, and put all your other projects away.  If you need to be more analytical about this, prior to the break you can make charts and pros and cons and how-long-will-this-take evaluations and comparisons, and all of that stuff, but I say go with your gut in this case.

Know that you'll have more time later to devote to your other projects, but not only will you be able to start, but you'll also be able to handle the project that you want to do most.  This is important, as if you try to do a little work on everything at once, you'll easily get bogged down with the lack of momentum on any one project, and you'll end up not getting anything done.  Multitasking is a myth, as we've talked about before, and every time you switch gears, you lose momentum.

At Spectrum Live, concept art hero Ian McCaig talked about how he's been working on a story for 25 years(!).  He knows the importance of working when the time is right, and not forcing a project when it's not ready.  This is the other benefit of choosing what to work on from a pure-inside-your-heart way of thinking.  Forcing your creativity when you're working on a commercial project is one thing, but if you're doing something for yourself, then really go with your internal flow and don't rush things.  Feel free to put things down and restart them.

So put off the huge bunch of stuff, and deal with one (or two) things at a time, but realize that you can always stop and start something else up.  The point is to not do that too frequently, and to not rush yourself to work on a project that isn't ready.  So let your projects simmer if they need to, and that'll get you off and going.  

How to Fix the Problem of Style

Whenever you hear artists talking about "breaking into the biz," the topic of style will undoubtably come up.  We guarantee that at least one person will ask the question "Do I need a style?" or "How do I find my style?"

We can answer that very simply right off the bat:  "Yes, if you want a job," and "Lots of art.  Lots and lots of art."

The first part is pretty reasonable: art directors/gallery curators/talent scouts/literary agents/etc. need you to have a style.  You might wince at this truth, but believe us, it's true.  As a hiring manager, the art director is going to look for someone that is safe, reliable, and they believe they can trust.  For an art director hiring you as a freelance artist, they are literally gambling their career on you.  If you mess up a book cover that delays production, besides you getting fired, the art director's job could be on the line as well.  So it's safe to say that yes, you do need a style as the person hiring you is looking for something reliable, and a style is your reliable method of expressing yourself.

The second part can be depressing or comforting all at the same time.  It can be a major bummer, as there is unfortunately no shortcut to finding a style besides making tons and tons of art.  It's comforting in the way that it is something that will come, and you can only speed up by working really really hard.

Simple as that.

So we've all agreed that you do need a style.  Well, what if you have multiple styles?  What if you like to work in metal sculpture, but you also do spoken word?  Or what if you love to paint detailed landscapes in watercolor but also love huge abstract oils?  What if you're a modern dancer and a short story writer?  How can your fellow artists ask that you choose between your true loves?

Or how about the fact that you like changing your style up from month to month.  Maybe you like photorealism, then you like loose brush pen work.  Maybe switching from well-composed photos in black and white to wild experimentations with exposure and light.  How can you ever hope to just stick to one single thing?

Well, if you know us at all, you'll know that we're big on experimentation, and not big on binary thinking.  The secret to fixing the issue of choosing a style and sticking with it is knowing that you don't have to.  

Yes, you heard us right, you don't have to stick to a certain style.  Please keep reading before you run off and send your art director your new experiment in style, however.  

So while you don't have to stick with a single style all your life, or even all month, it is important that you develop a body of work that has a consistent style.  You want to show curators or art directors or whomever might be asking for your work that you can consistently (key word here) produce the same style of work.  

What you can do, however, is create side projects.  If you find multiple, very different styles that you're constantly switching between, we recommend making an entirely different artist persona.  While Monkey (ie Rick Kitagawa) is known for dark, creepy, scary paintings, his other artist persona creates wildly light-hearted, funny paintings.  By separating the two styles into two distinct artists, Monkey has allowed himself the freedom to constantly work in both styles, but also maintains the commercial appeal of having a consistent style that people can count on him for.  

If you don't want to go as far as to create a whole new alias, you can always just create little sub-portfolios.  You show the art director for the game company your game asset portfolio, and you show your giant abstract pieces to your interior decorator collectors, and you show your giant paintings of purple elephants to your group of collectors who are into that sort of thing.  The main thing is that you don't want the video game art director to think that you're only going to give them purple elephants - you want that person to think you're going to give them awesome game assets.  

So, while it is the harsh reality that if you want to make money, you will need a consistent style at some point, think of it like a project identity, less of like a ball and chain that will hamper your creativity.  

How to Save Yourself From Burn Out

When I arrived Saturday morning for my weekend painting workshop, I was tired from the week's work - month's work, to be precise. I had taken on one too many calls, one too many emails, one too many art-donation charity events, one too many project, and not taking good care of myself. I was "burnt-out." This is the dark side of the artist life.

When we are depleted of time and energy, so it our creativity and art. We become a snarling animal prodded one too many times and we refuse to perform any more magic acts. Having experienced burnt out before, I thought I knew how to avoid it. I thought I knew better. But it's difficult. The fine line between a fun creative productive artist and a manic overworked "horse" is very thin. Although sometimes there doesn't seem to be much of choice between work/rent vs sustainability/rest, we have to remember - there is always always a choice.

Contrary to the myth that artists are selfish, I think we are very generous - perhaps even too much. We are often taking on projects that are not ours. We make posters for Uncle Steve's bbqs or little Billy's birthday party for no cost. We often volunteer in some creative or mentoring program for the community. People often use artists as a sounding board for idea pitches, solicit critiques, or even rants on personal lives without refilling our energy wells. We, ourselves, often dip into our own well and drain it faster than we can refill it. We say "yes" to the latest social gathering when we really want to be alone with our art. Or quite the opposite, we stay home, when we really want to go dancing but are afraid. In short, we are NICE PEOPLE, but not necessarily honest to ourselves.

But what if I have kids or are in a relationship or have friends who need me? You ask. Surely, they come first before my art? The truth is: we can become better family members and friends when we take care of ourselves and our needs first. When you give to yourself, your energy and time will surprisingly multiply by ten fold.

It's time to think a little bit more of ourselves. It's time to be more selfish. Take care of your artist self. Invest in yourself. "Stop being nice, and start being honest," as writer Julia Cameron said. So you don't want to do this project, DON'T DO IT. Give it to someone else who has the time and is more passionate about it. So you need to stay in instead of a movie date? Take a raincheck. But what about timed events that you have to attend, but may not have energy for, like gallery openings, friend's poetry reading, or billy's birthday party that might make or break your friendship or relationship? Well, take care of yourself days ahead and the morning beforehand, so you have plenty of rest. Wake up earlier in the week before work, or sleep in, or find the time and prioritize your creativity so that at Billy's birthday party or your friend's poetry reading, you are alert, attentive, and present - NOT thinking about your novel or project back home and seething at Billy in resentment.

Self care and freedom is the best remedy for burn out. A little goes a long way. Like buying your favorite soap for $2.99 or warm hot cocoa. Finally watching that movie or reading that book that you've been putting off. Calling a friend who can help you refill the well by listening to you. Freedom from email or phone after dinner. Freedom to rest. Freedom to see friends or go on a run. Undisturbed guilt-free time. It's going to be different for everyone.

At the weekend painting workshop, my teacher Erik Tiemens always seemed very energetic, creative, and animated.

"Attack the paper," he would say.

"Play with the paint, without having an end-product in mind." I don't know if this is true, but I suspect that he will always be young-at-heart and creative because he gives himself the freedom to play.

Our artist self is like a seven year old kid. If we told it to sit still, be quiet, and do your work for one too many times, it will start to rebel. So we need to communicate to them that we'll listen to them. That we will give them a treat for being so good all this time. That we are on their side and it's safe to create again.

Just ask yourself, what do I want? If there are no emergencies, no restrictions, deadlines, or people depending on me and I have the freedom to do whatever, what do I want?

Honor Your Personal Clock

If you follow Monkey + Seal's personal art pages (ie, not Monkey + Seal but Eve Skylar and Rick Kitagawa), you'll know that a lot of posting happens around, say 1-3am. Why? Is it because of optimum web traffic? Definitely not. It's because that's when we have time to work on our personal stuff.

When people ask us about our working schedules, we get a lot of people surprised that we often sleep at 3-4am, and don't get up until 10 or 11 (or noon, if we can help it). However, we find that it's really important to honor your own personal creativity clock.

Some people are night owls, others are morning people, and there are others who nap a few times a day but work early and late. Whatever your personal creativity clock tells you, if at all possible, try to follow it. If you're a morning person, don't try to stay up late to finish something, get up early to tackle it. If you're a night person, waking up early is going to kill you, so maybe you should try and power through into the wee hours.

"But Monkey + Seal," you may be asking, "what if my job/kids/whatever" gets in the way? Well then friend, you need to do some moving of stuff around. Honestly, it is possible to turn into an early riser. If you are strict with yourself and keep waking up at the same time every morning for a month, regardless of when you get to bed, you can train your body to wake up at the same time each day. However, if you are the most creative at night, you will be doing yourself a disservice. Perhaps your work schedule will fall more in line with a majority of the people you might be doing business with, but you'll be losing out on your optimal time for creating.

No matter how well rested Monkey is, while he is more productive in the mornings, he doesn't really get creative until around 9pm. What this means is that it's pretty pointless for him to wake up early if he doesn't have to. He performs better by doing a lot of his brainstorming and creative work between 9pm and 2 am. Also, naps completely mess up his sleep schedule, and he can only nap when he's extremely sleep deprived. Seal, on the other hand, has two creative spurts: one in the morning and one late at night after dinner. For her to keep focused and creative, she needs a nap in the late afternoon to keep fresh since she's working early and late at night.

Because we freelance, we're able to shift a lot of things around to fit our own personal schedules. But if you're in school or have a set job, a lot of times your schedule might not be as flexible. In this case, the trick is to move around what you can do to make time for your own personal work. If you're a morning person, maybe that means waking up extra early to put in an hour or two before work, or making sure you don't stay out too late on Friday night so you can put in an early Saturday working on your art. Whatever it takes, we encourage you to prioritize your creative work and carve out some time during your optimal creative peak and make some magic.

Your Lazy Friend Bob

We all have that friend who, when it comes to creating, is "lazy." They mope around complaining about this or that, how the stars aren't aligned right to paint or how they just have to finish watching this TV show before they can sit down to write. Your friend also probably complains about not having enough time to create, even though they're on FB or twitter constantly clicking their digital crops or fighting the undead or resharing inspirational quotes/petitions/photos with black frames and white text underneath.

Your friend probably even knows that they're not getting enough work done. Frankly, it's almost certain when pressed, they'll lament their own perceived laziness. They obviously want to create, but they are just locked in a seemingly never-ending struggle to the death with their laziness.

Fret not, intrepid readers, as there is hope for your friend. The thing that you have to realize is that your friend isn't lazy. What we most often regard of as laziness is actually fear. Yes, fear, our constant frenemy that helps to keep us from walking into a bear cave, yet plagues us when we want to do our creative work.

You see, laziness is the cover, fear's camouflage, if you will. What is known as laziness is really symptoms and actions of self-preservation. Whether its the fear that your creation won't be up to par, or the fear that it will be, or the fear that it'll shock and offend, or the fear that no one will notice it, when you are so scared of the pain of confronting your fear, you stall. However your friend does this, they're stalling for tine to get out of having to face that pain. Pain hurts. Whether its this ball of twisting anxiety in your chest (like it is for Monkey), or a clenching in your stomach or that kink in your neck, the anxiety towards creating can be very real and uncomfortable. However, you can only confront our so-called "laziness" by confronting this pain and fear.

A technique that we like is called the "What are you afraid of? Why is that a problem?" game (super thoughtful title, we know). Whenever your friend is experiencing that fear of creating, ask them (or have them ask them self) " What are you afraid of?" Once they respond, the next question becomes "Why is that a problem?" To their response, ask again, "Why is that a problem?" You keep repeating this question again and again until they realize how their fears are usually conjured up to be something terrible when in reality it's not so bad. And if their fears do stem from something traumatic, then you at least know what you're dealing with.

An example. Bob wants to paint, but is "too lazy" to get out his paint set-up. "What are you afraid of, Bob?"

"I might have to do work and get all my crap together to paint."

"Why is that a problem?"

"It's hard work."

"Why is that a problem?"

"I don't like hard work."

"Why is that a problem?"

"It makes me get up and do something."

"Why is that a problem?"

"If I get up and do work, and it ends up sucking, I'd hate it."

"Why is that a problem?"

"It would suck. I'd hate the idea that I wasted some time."

"Why is that a problem?"

"Because if it sucks, then it'll prove that I'm a terrible frickin' artist."

Oh will it now? Bob just realized that in the end, it is not about laziness like he thought. It's not laziness at all, but in fact a deeply-hidden insecurity. To work past this issue, it's not so much dealing with helping Bob get off the couch, but actually dealing with the fact that Bob is afraid of work that doesn't live up to his expectations will "prove" that he is a bad artist. What Bob needs to do is let himself make bad art on purpose to show himself that everything he creates does not have to be a masterpiece. He needs to let go and find what makes art fun again so that he won't be afraid to create those masterpieces that he so obviously longs for.

While your own friend's experience might not be the exact same issue, it's worth it to sit down with yourself and do this exercise in the privacy of your own home. Ask the questions and answer it out loud. Do it in the shower if you need some privacy. It really helps a lot to determine what the real issues are so you can start combating them directly and get back to what you're meant to do: creating.

Quest for Originality

For the next series of paintings, I was on the quest to find originality. What I found was that, originality was elusive. The more I chased after it, the more I was painting the same way, making the same marks that I have always done, painting the same subjects again and again. When I searched for originality and creativity purposefully with intention, I peered over the edge and it seemed that my brain was completely empty.

When I stopped searching, when I decided "not to care," originality came to me. Maybe, originality can only be present if it is unplanned and spontaneous, when parts of your critical attention is turned off. It seemed like such a simple concept so I decided to try it. What I found is that although you cannot force originality, you can do certain things in your everyday life to encourage more moments of spontaneity and clarity. You can create a space and simulate processes that will give you a higher percentage of finding originality.

The formula for originality

Decide not to care. I'm not talking about not caring about your art of your painting, but not caring about how it will turn out, or how it will be received, how you should be painting. If we went to a formal art school, there were certain ways in which we were taught how to paint or approach the canvas. Or even if we were self-taught, there was a pattern which worked for you and you kept doing. I'm telling you to forget the rules.

1. Feed your artist spirit with new experiences - when we are focused on our craft, making a painting, or writing a novel, we are reaching into the countless of brain connections we have made in the past. We reach towards that one color we saw on the cover of national geographic, or the phrasing we've read by our favorite authors, etc. We have these bus routes/train tracks in our brains and if we're limited on how many images we filed away, we'll make the same connections again and again. We'll paint the same kind of tree again and again, because that's the one we know. That's the one that becomes comfortable. But what if you added an 3-inch thick encyclopedia of different types of trees, from the tropics of Indonesia to the Black Forest in Europe? You'll now have built a more interesting array to pull images from. And what if, on top of that, you decided to add an encyclopedia of insects? You now can paint insect-like trees. When feeding your inner artists, make sure to pull from both categories of things that interest you, that you are comfortable with, as well as subjects you know nothing about and what terrifies you.


2. Distract your brain - if our brains are making the same connections again and again. Painting and writing the same things, you need to turn off that part of your brain. Listen to music and paint to the harmony. Write you dialogue script as if it were a baking recipe. Doodle without intention - just let the pen drift in all sorts of direction without reigning them in. Find activities in which you tune out. I get some of my best ideas when I am having tea break, when I'm jogging, or in the shower. Because during those activities, I am not completely focused on art, I am just living.

3. The opposite to the above, pay attention ,very close attention to the minute and mundane - eavesdrop on that boring conversation on the bus, trace the cracks on the sidewalk with your footsteps, notice that speckled texture on your ice cream, or the swirly pattern in your coffee cup. These all can be part of some new alien landscape.

Japanese architecture can become a mechanical jellyfish.

4. Changing your muscle memory - our brains are connected to our hands, even when we doodle, we tend to create the same shapes and patterns without knowing. We've ingrained them to our muscle memory. To change it, or train your muscles to do things differently, you've got to give it a handicap. Doodle with the opposite hand. If you're a right hander, draw with your left. Tie your fingers together so you can only use two. Use a brush the size of your broom. You'll definitely make marks you've never done before.

I was able to "find" this robot by making random marks with my left hand on paper first.

Now, when you look down at what you've drawn, you'll probably find marks that makes little sense or shapes that look "childish or foreign" because you've never drawn this way before. To make sense of it all. To finally rope in originality, we've got to turn your usual brain back on. We'll need that pattern-finding, sensible, methodical you to make sense of all this randomness. You've got to find the pattern within the chaos.

Originality can't always be summoned by our will. It is often "process-depedent," so in order to find it you'll have to keep reinventing your creative process.

Are You Looking For The Wrong Thing In Life? How to Get Back on Track to What You Love

The Great Timble Chase: Find What You Love Most

If you do not know what to do, what your purpose in life is, or where to go from here . . . play the thimble game. Is it hot? or cold? Am I getting warmer?

What parts of the day do you have the most energy? when are you most creative? what are you doing? and who are you with?

If you have no idea of what makes you happy, start to pay attention to your body's reactions. It is the best compass you have. Try to remember when you were most happy. How did you feel? What is your body doing? Re-live that moment and take note of what your body is doing. On the surface it is probably registering simple things like smiling, or shoulders relaxing. And on the inside, you feel competent, grateful, or a sense of energy.

If you still have no idea of what you like to do or what your purpose is, I'm sure you can tell what you don't like to do. Can you recall a job, or task, or being around people you don't feel comfortable with? Your body will do it's best to sabotage you to get you out of the situation. You suddenly can't recall your co-worker's name or you forget to attach that file or you start bumbling like a social idiot. (For me, my stomach tightens up, my throat gets dry, and I would have huge blocks around people's names. This is my cue to exit and do more of the things that make me happy - like painting with Monkey and friends). Take notice of these things. In circumstances that impacts you negatively, you body will try to do everything it can except for that job or be with that company of people.

With that said, there will be moments when you will be faced by positive challenges, but your body will react with similar cues and social ills. Be aware of the subtle difference. The slight difference? On one hand, the task or people that are major negative blows to your life: you absolutely don't want to be there, you feel like dirt, and you would rather disappear through the floor. On the other hand when you encounter the scary, but positive new challenge: you will be scared, but the thought of doing that task still thrills you and if you had the courage (which you do), you honestly want to take that next step. For example, proposing marriage is damn scary or moving to a new city to pursue your dream job is too, but the very thought of ultimately accomplishing that task fills you with excitement and passion. Not everything "uncomfortable" is bad for you, but you'll want to avoid the things that impact your creativity in an uncompromisingly negative way. (Meaning, that there is no payoff in being there at all and in fact, it just hurts you).

"But how can I completely avoid everything I hate doing and only do what I love?" you ask. As we're building and flexing our body's compass power and moving more towards what we love to do. . . yes, there will still be times when you "must" do things or be around people you don't necessary like. In these circumstances, try to think if being there will get you closer to your ultimate creative goal. Is there still a payoff for being there?

There might be days as artists when we have to take on projects, day jobs, and be around people that are not our ideals. But does this day job get us closer to our goals? Does it provide us with the capital to buy art supplies and free weekends and nights to pursue our art (without worrying about rent) while we move closer to embracing creativity full-time? Does the job (you hate?) provide structure and feeling of competence through repeated actions during the day as opposed to the frenzied chaos of creating something completely new for each canvas? (Can you think: "I am thankful for this job because . . . " it provides me with a roof over my head. Or I don't like the people, but I'm learning a lot. Or I hate everything else, but my co-workers are great. If you don't come up with anything at all to be thankful about, quit and find a new one.)

For most artists, we are often torn in our either-or thinking (more about this in a later post). We think all or nothing. Day job or dream job. That's it. So "any compromise is short of perfection," and therefore we have "failed as artists." This limited thinking is harmful to your life's options and creative endeavors.

If you were given all the freedom in the world to just create - you'll get bored - and your art becomes your day job. Human beings need structure and balance. So yes, there will be times you must deal. But as you deal with present circumstances, keep reminding yourself, that this is only just a stepping stone, a transition, a resting stop, you have bigger vegan fish to fry and creative goals in mind and for that you must continually move towards the thimble. Keep playing the thimble game: find activities and people that are (hot!) in line with who you are and your creative life. Eventually, you'll move completely only towards things you love: you'll be surrounded by people you love, who love you back, and you'll be doing the things that make you absolutely happy. All the time. Isn't that worth searching for? Isn't it worth fighting for?

Why Logic Does Matter

If you missed the post on Monday about logic, please check it out here. After you've caught up, or if you simply are someone who like logic, please read on:

As an artist, we are often bombarded by the urges to do what is logical and obvious to people who are not artists. The world, as a whole, doesn't encourage artists, it doesn't (really) encourage following your dreams, and it sure as heck doesn't encourage artists following their dreams. By all "normal" standards, following your artist dreams isn't logical - it's pretty stupid, or at least that's how it used to be.

You see, it made "logical" sense to stay at some job you were probably lukewarm about (at best), for 30-40 years, because once you retire, your company will take care of you. It's easy street in retirement, with your pension taking care of you and your 401k making life fun. No longer. Large companies don't care about their employees and smaller companies might not last. Besides making yourself indispensable for your company's success, there is no such thing as job security.

Our economy is not what it was, and with a growing number of graduates with Bachelor's degrees, jobs are more and more competitive. There are no guarantees anymore, and it makes people crazy. Especially people who are from the time where life was a little bit simpler, and hardwork, determination, and drive were the only things that you needed to get by. Now, not only do you have to work hard, be determined, and feel that inner drive, you also need to be passionate, creative, and remarkable. Yet, people still think that the traditional way of doing things is what is logical. Ridiculous, we say.

If your parents want you to become a lawyer or a doctor because these professions were in high regard (ie they paid well), that's no longer the case, unfortunately. There are tons of lawyers and doctors who are finding it's suddenly hard to find employment. So then if there is no real security, if there is no real sure-fire way to make it, why not follow your dreams and pursue what you really love? In our mind, that's the only logical choice to make.

Now we're not saying that you should quit your day job tomorrow and go off and be an artist full-time. What we are saying is that you need to cherish your art. Cherish that inner drive and the burn to create. Make a plan to slowly create income from your art before you quit that job that drives you crazy. Do things logically - do research, create a plan, create a back-up plan, and then go follow your dream.

We tend to think that you have to either follow your head or your heart. We think that when you can strike that perfect balance between the two that the real magic begins. What wonders are you going to create today?

Be Creative . . . While you Sleep!

Did you know, that when you are asleep, your brain is firing off cells as if it is still awake? Recently, Monkey + Seal were listening to a podcast by Radio Lab about "sleep and dreams". When a rat runs through a maze during the day, when he goes to sleep, his brain is firing off the same information as if he is going through the same maze! Each turn, each jump, everything - his physical and mental experience, the brain recorded it and played it back to-the-dot in his dreams. When the rat ran two different mazes during the day, when he slept, he dreamt of "a mix-and-match" parts of both mazes.

Meaning: when we dream at night, we free-associate and create new meanings from all of the experiences we had ever lived through.

Well, what's this got to do with being an artist you might be thinking? 1.) If we are creating in our sleep, then . . .You can also use your dreams to solve your artistic problems/questions. Write your question at night before you go to bed, "what shall I create tomorrow" or "should I paint that dog blue or red?" "how shall I end this novel?" etc. You'll be surprised. Trust us, it works. Most likely you'll find that an answer is presented to you when you wake up. (Don't forget to write it down!)

So, we use our dreams for creativity, what else? If we repeat the similar experiences of our waking moments even when we are asleep . . .We can solve an even bigger life problem. What if your life experience has been filled with past disappointments, broken dreams, and unfulfilled creativity? Wouldn't you, then, keep playing the same negative record over and over again in your biological cells when you sleep?

Science would say: Yes.

The same would be true if you filled your everyday life with creativity, love, and meaning-making efforts. You would then dream of the same encouraging dose of positive energy.

Seal recently tried this experiment out on herself. And it works. Prior to listening to this podcast, Seal mainly dreamed of harsh critics, being stunted in her art, and of scarcity. Because, unfortunately up until a few years ago, that's all she had ever known. So for the past couple of nights, she decided to give it a try. During the day she painted, whether she was feeling like it or not. She went on adventures, drank pumpkin spiced latte, attended a storytelling performance, filled her life with more creative endeavors. Before she went to bed at night, she would meditate on the positive experiences of the day while breathing deeply. In the morning, when she woke up, she felt immediately the surge to face her easel right away. This is new, since it usually takes several hours for Seal to get out of bed and into creative mode. The new change also allows Seal to have more clarity during the day. She can hear the positive voice getting stronger with each day - that voice that says, "you're enough" and "why don't we try that" or "that could be fun."

Have you ever noted how you feel, the very moment you wake up? Are you filled with energy? Are you ready to create? To face your paper and the easel? Or do you feel sluggish, un-rested, and un-creative? Isn't it then worth it to spend our efforts in making new, creative experiences in order to re-live them in our dreams, in order to feel refreshed and ready for more creativity?

The very second you are "awake" is the moment of a very important decision: will you create today? Will you make meaning today?

MonkeyandSeal hopes you are creative during the day and dreaming of creativity at night. Isn't your dreams worth trying?

Create in the Midst of Chaos

Sometimes life "gets to us." We are always in the midst of chaos, in the middle of "to-do lists," deadlines, and laundry. Yet at the same time, we still MUST create. It is a difficult balance. Most people do not do it. Most people come to four types of conclusion:

1.) They do not create at all. (A terrible tragedy.)
2.) They create sporadically, only when the timing, the mood, the inspiration hits, when all circumstances fall into place. (This is not only very rare, it is also very impractical and you become at the mercy and whim of fate.)
3.) They create, but not very deeply. Just skidding the surface, the potential of the artist you are meant to be. They half-heartedly create. They remain on the outskirts of their skills, and subject matter.
4.) Or They withdraw from life, they break up with their spouses, withdraw from friends, hobbies, any and all pursuit except for art. (This is also very extreme and in the long-run very damaging to your creativity. As all creativity stems for being engaged with life).

Although the above four solutions are possible, very easily doable, they all prevent you from both fully living and fully creating. So how do artists create in the middle of life, in the midst of chaos?

For starters, name what you are "in the middle of."

For example, Seal is in the middle of:
multiple deadlines
physical tiredness
not enough sleep
fear of failure
fear of not finding the right style in her art, etc.
continual freelance
growing pains in her experimental skill sets

Now that you have listed your chaos. How do you plan to continue creating despite of it? You have to find your own answers for that because each answer will be different and personal.

For Seal, art needs to be a priority for her. Her laundry, dishes, and friends wait, until she creates first thing in the morning. Then afterward, she will address her emails and call her friends. She doesn't withdraw from life, but she lets the people closest to her understand that she loves them and at the same time, there will be hours or days before phone calls are returned.

Seal also likes the AA saying, "suit up and show up" regardless of what's going on in your life. Meaning: show up on the page. Paint, draw, doodle - something - regardless of what you're feeling and having to do that day. (acknowledge your feeling "I feel blah, I don't want to paint" but convert it into action, "but I will anyways" "I will create today.")

State you intention and do it! "I will write for 15minutes before I go to work." A novel is made with one word at a time.

Other creative solutions people have come up with is: paying friends to do the laundry for you while you paint.

Quiet the chaos. Center your mind and body and focus on the intention of creating. Most seeming "emergencies" can wait until you create.

Remember to be gentle with yourself, this is a daily practice that gets better each time!

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.

Who are you Creating For?

Are you creating for someone else? Some outside entity whose stamp of approval will suddenly make your life meaningful and perfect? While as a commercial illustrator or concept artist, we definitely have to create for other people. Clients set the standard of what content they want, what the characters are wearing, the time, place, date, etc.

That said, in the end you have to create for yourself. Yes, you have guidelines to follow, rules you can't really break, but in the end, we should all strive to create for ourselves. Because it is when you put your full heart and soul into something, that's when you'll find something that works.

Every time Monkey has painted for himself, throwing planning and thumbnailing and color studies and just painted 100% for himself, good things have come about it. The first painting he sold in a gallery was a painting he did more out of being frustrated with his day job than because he really wanted to paint something that could sell. The only piece he ever got into the Illustration Spring Show was a piece that he threw together in a night, painting furiously and driven for six hours.

When you aren't being yourself, people can usually tell. Granted, there are people who do very well at disguising who they are, but in the end, why would you ever want to be someone you're not? Now we're not telling you not to experiment - we LOVE to experiment with styles, themes, moods, subjects, etc. But when it comes down to it, whether we like it or not, there are certain things, certain moods, certain topics that for whatever reason deeply resonate with us.

Monkey acknowledges that octopi and squid are super trendy and everyone paints them and everyone does stuff with them - but for whatever reason he's super into tentacles and squishy cephalopods. As much as she tries to paint other things, Seal always comes back to trees. If she's painting a character, lo and behold she'll figure out a way to paint some trees into the background somehow. This is just who we are. Our most effective pieces are often the ones that we do instinctively, where we let our years of studies and training run in autopilot while we fervently try to get something out onto the canvas or onto our computer screen.

Beyond selling paintings or getting awards is the personal satisfaction of knowing you put a piece of yourself into that work. Regardless of the external outcome (recognition, fame, money, etc.), know that being true to your inner artist is really what's important.

Critiques of your work are important. Other artists' advice can be invaluable, but if you always listen to whatever anyone else has to say (without judging it's actual merit), you'll be stuck playing a game of catch up where you'll be changing your art to fit people who, most likely, are never really going to be that into your art. Why let the downers and naysayers get you down? A critique is one thing (take it into account and see if you think it's actually valid), but comments like "I just don't like it" or "Hmm, that just looks funny" aren't helpful. There are people out there who are so into what they don't like, they probably have forgotten what they do like. Stay away from these people like the plague, and make art for the person who is (or who should be) the most important person: you.

In the end, you may not always have a choice into everything that you create, but if you find yourself struggling with a project for a client, try throwing in something for yourself, and you'll be surprised in what turns out. Don't listen to the naysayers and critics - as long as you are creating for yourself, who cares what they think? So it's time to ask yourself: who do you create for?

Creating in Your Spare Time

First off, a quick thank you to everyone who came out to the SF Etsy Sampler Trunk show! It was awesome, and we had a great time hanging out with other team members and meeting a lot of great people! More on that Wednesday!

Many inquiries have been made about some tips to help one draw more. Without a doubt, I'd recommend going over to Michael Nobbs' website to check out his free guide called "75 Ways to Draw More." While this is a great starting point, we figured that we'd do more than just link Michael's great little starter kit, but we'd discuss a bit of how we stick to our priority of drawing every day.

So Seal's work is a bit more straightforward. She is working as an freelance concept artist, so her day job is to create. For Monkey, who works in a retail shop (granted, it's a huge paper and crafting store) it's a bit different.

So Monkey used to just bring a sketchbook to work, but soon he wanted a change of pace. Thus, he brought some ink, pro-white, cheap watercolor paper, some brushes, and an old tofu box (as a palette) to his work to set up a mini-studio for his lunch breaks.


While if he brings his lunch and is feeling it, Monkey will work on some pen and ink studies (like this) using the magazines other people bring to work as reference photos. However, Monkey realizes that many people might not have the space/tolerant co-workers and/or boss to bring a bunch of art supplies to work.

In that case, it's a matter of getting creative. Monkey used to get caught up in having to be in the "perfect" conditions to make art. To make a long story short (this whole mental hurdle deserves it's own post), Monkey thought he needed the best paper, the best pens, the best whatever, in order to really make good art. After a lot of art school and reading lots of books and having long therapy-like sessions with Seal, Monkey is now the complete opposite. He tries to make art with whatever he can whenever he can. Got a sharpie and a plastic cup to wash your brush in? Draw on it.
Did you just unpack shipment? Have an empty box lying around and a minute to kill on your break? Draw on it (see first photo). Got an extra flyer for an event that's already passed and a pen? Draw on it (the character is not based on an actual customer, just the general vibe we sometimes get -_- )


Basically, you don't NEED fancy stuff to make art. I know a lot of beginning art students that all draw and paint on Rives BFK because James Jean uses it. Now don't get me wrong, it's awesome paper, but if I don't have any more, or can't afford the $5 sheet, I always have large cardboard boxes from work. No sketchbook with you? You can do a lot with a pen and the back of an envelope.

No, not all of these methods are archival, and you probably shouldn't be framing envelopes for gallery shows (or maybe you should, if that's your thing), but the point is that don't get caught up with what your teachers, or the pros are using. That stuff is great to use, but if you don't have it, can't find it, or can't afford it, there are a lot of options. The main message here is: don't let yourself make excuses why you can't create. Anyone else have some great tips to share about creating every day?