Avoid the Water Cooler

 Even though I've devoted my life to being a successful visual artist, I've never actually been a part of the artist tribe and I've also adopted the philosophy of Mike Rowe's mantra "be wary of all earnestness".  

Most of my public drawing career has been performed solo because the vast majority of events for which I've been hired required only one artist but recently with my new affiliation with other entertainment agencies, I've been accompanied by additional cartoonists as well.

This week I had the pleasure of performing at Memorial Herman Hospital and along with me there were three other artists which brought to the forefront the priority I have of  non-conformity. The other artists were talented, friendly and related well to me and the customers but we then we began to diverge. There seems to be similar traits, habits and practices among caricaturists from which I want to be unassociated which results in predictability, mediocrity and forgettable work. The successful visual artists I follow and the careers I wish to emulate do nothing the same way as everyone else.

It's a rather simple formula, really: to be average, I should do what 95% of what everyone else is doing. To be extraordinary, I need to do extraordinary things and depart from the familiar. 

I'm happy to be someone who isn't part of the crowd even among my peers. I've always been that way and in my naivete of years past, when I tried to blend in and be "one of the boys", it usually ended up to my own detriment. 

Smiling Through it

 Recently I had a gig where I performed at Spring Creek Retirement Community and part of my agenda was to draw for the residence in the memory care facility. Needless to say, the old timers in that wing were suffering from dementia and some of the cases were pretty severe. However they were all receptive and friendly even if some were a tad confused as to what I was actually doing but once  I showed them the finished product they were delighted.

Not a Painter but a Draw-er

 I'm not a painter and I prefer to not to paint. Although I have some experience in painting, I don't take to it very well.  I'm a draw-er which matches my creative philosophy and is more suited to my talents but on rare occasions someone will ask me to do something in the painting realm and I reluctantly agree.

Recently, I was asked to paint the logo for a newly opened store in La Centera, Cinco Ranch, called Cultivar on the wall behind the register and above is a quick time lapse of the process.

Showing Up

Scale things down to make them easier to do. In his book The Now Habit by Dr. Neil Fiore, he suggests to look at a task which appears large and arduous in increments by thinking from the concept of "just start it". 

For example: reading thirty books a year starts as reading one page a day. Going for a run means putting on your running shoes walking out the door, locking it, then turning around and going back inside. Doing so is the inception of becoming the person that reads thirty books a year or runs two miles a day. 

There is a story of a man who lost over 100 pounds in a year and it started by him getting into his workout clothes, driving to the gym, doing one exercise then going back home. It seems silly but what he was doing was becoming the person who showed up at the gym five days a week and worked out for 45 minutes.

A habit has to be established before it can be optimized. If you can't go to the gym for 5 minutes then you don't have a chance of being a person who stays for 45 minutes.  

 

Discovery

 

Ten Reasons Why We Fail: #4 Fail to Network

In the profession of illustrating and visual arts there is much alone time which is customarily the way I prefer it. This is not uncommon among most people in a creative field and in fact, I find it difficult to allow others to influence my work as I'm somewhat possessive about it. However, as time passes I realize more and more how counter-productive that habit is. I have single-handily undermined my own success because of my hesitancy to reach out and connect with those who can help. Creating beneficial relationships hinges on the ability to meet others and connect with them in meaningful ways. 

 

Ten Reasons Why We Fail: Reason 2

In continuing my remarks about a recent Mark Manson article I read on ten reasons why we fail, the second reason listed is that we fail because we're not persistent enough. Most of us give up on something way too soon. Not only that, it involves consistent habits and showing up everyday and the failure to do so can involve the dreaded "P" word: procrastination.

In the book The Now Habit by Neil Fiore, he tells the story of one woman's lesson on battling procrastination. Laura was a science teacher working on her masters degree and she was great about starting things but seemed to falter in finishing a project. She was also an avid runner and trained for a marathon but on the day of race she was well prepared except for the last six miles which is known as the wall when the runner's body is screaming for nutrition and demanding rest. It was during this period in the run when she found herself saying something that later helped her get beyond her procrastination and on to finishing her research project. 

"I'm in pain" she said "it hurts to run, it hurts to walk, it hurts to stand here and it would hurt to lie down. Regardless of what I do, it hurts so I might as well finish the race and get it over with as soon as possible."

She realized it takes work to procrastinate and it takes work to face our fear of finishing. There is really no escape from some form of work. Why not choose the work that's going to reap the most benefits?