Creativity overload

Yes I know, settle down Col, what are you trying to prove? Well the truth is, I have found something new to be passionate about and I am doing something about it. I am taking action (some call it work) to make my new passion, my new job!

This week I wrote a book for 12 year olds and up. It is a simplified version of last weeks book – ‘How to get a Free Website’. This one is called ‘Be Cool, Get a Free Website’.

I think kids have a lot to gain by learning this skill very early in their digital upbringing. It won’t be long and they will be out there with the rest of us trying to find that magic formula that lets us make lots of money with little effort.

Having a website and knowing how to maintain it yourself is a skill that many people would love to have. It gives the small business person a definite advantage. Some kids will develop their sites over the years to become gateways to wealth. Some will play. Some will turn them into social pages and who knows what might develop from that?

Get your kids off the games and let them develop a skill that will give them an advantage for years to come. Give them a dose of new creativity, something different to stimulate their creative hearts.

Your website is your business card. Learn to use it and to take advantage of it while you are young and when you reach ‘old’, you will have an extra weapon to get more, more ,more of whatever it is that you want!

So this week I wrote another book. Big deal! The point of the story is… if you want something, get up and do something about getting it, now!

Creative ways to lose another week

This week I wrote a book, well it’s really a training manual. It came about because I wanted to show non-technical types how to get a free website. It was an intense effort but  I am pleased with the results.

A few people have already bought it and the instructions must be clear because nobody has contacted me to ask “What do you mean by that?” or “Can I have my money back, you idiot!” This is a good sign.

I am an artist with a technical background. This helps me unravel technical complexities and explain them with everyday simplicity. To me it’s revealing secrets that the technical hierarchy want to keep for themselves. Nothing personal, they just want your money, that’s all.

It’s hard enough to make your way through this soup called life without being left in the dark because you are not at all technically gifted. So I think I have helped simplify life by presenting this world with my new simple book.

In fact if it works like I think it should, most readers will only get half way through it and they will scream out “I get it”. Then they will hurl the pdf out of the window, to be free to create unlimited websites, each oozing with personal opinions and private snippets of wisdom for the internet consumer to gobble up.

So the moral of the story is, right now, right at this moment, you have some unique talent or understanding. Something that you understand or can do better than anyone else. Think about it and maybe it would be fun for you to present it to the world wrapped in your unique style, next week. Don't put it off, commit to it and start it now!

I wrote a book because that is one of the things that I am suited to doing, not because I am cleverer than you. It’s simply something that I can do. What can you do that is a personal and individual extra that only you can give the world next week? This week I wrote a book… next week I think I will concentrate on selling it!

ps. wannna free website?

Creative choices

When you get a creative idea:

• you can think about it
• you can ignore it.

Ideas can be:
• opportunities knocking
• time wasters
• trouble makers

Taking action on an idea is always a risk. There are no guaranteed outcomes. Nobody has a 100% success rate. Ideas fail and ideas succeed.

Good ideas that are not pursued are failures. Risks not taken are failures. Thinking without action is failure.

At least try when you get an idea or you have failed before you even began. Failures are not always disasters, in fact often they create success in another direction. I am the the oldest and the slowest black belt in my class, but I am fit, flexible and part of a pleasant group sharing a common interest. I fail at being the best and succeed by being there.

If you want to be an artist, you don’t have to be the best in the world, you have to be the best that you can be. That comes through practice. However, if after a lot of trying you are still not good enough… well, too bad, you tried. Now have a look around and try something else. It’s that simple.

Your mind makes a big emotional deal about failure. Your pride stops you giving up and trying something new. And really, that’s pretty stupid behavior, typical of humanity.

Some things are simply not in your life’s pattern. Some ideas lead into situations where you feel that you are wearing someone else’s clothes, they are just not right. That’s how life goes. You don’t have to make a big deal of it. Change!

At least try a new idea that seems exciting but you don’t have to cling to it as if it is your only hope for success. You will always have new ideas, chances to express new creativity, it’s all a part of this crazy adventure called life.

So let’s finish on this reassuring note: life leads nowhere and offers no guarantees when you arrive.

I am creatively challenged

Please watch the short movie that I put together showing most of the 100 pastel portraits in roughly the correct order. Distortions are obvious but I want to encourage you by showing that even an old experienced guy like me does not always produce 'pretty' work, especially when it is for practice purposes. Revealing these images is revealing the distorted steps that have to be taken to achieve your goals.

Normally I would not show anybody this type of work but I want you to realize that imperfection is normal. When my subject is sitting in front of me,  it all comes together and everybody is happy with the outcome. The bride is always beautiful on the day. The creative artist falls on his feet.

It is so much easier to draw from real life than from photos. With live subjects, I can feel the essence of the person I am drawing and it is expressed through my hand naturally. I can also see clearly. Believe it or not, it is difficult to draw someone that you cannot see! It sounds obvious, but if unless you have an excellent large photo, it is very hard to actually see and understand the details.

Forget about being perfect and aim at being the best you can. Don't worry about your warts, we've all got them!

I am creatively challenged

Please watch the short movie that I put together showing most of the 100 pastel portraits in roughly the correct order. Distortions are obvious but I want to encourage you by showing that even an old experienced guy like me does not always produce 'pretty' work, especially when it is for practice purposes. Revealing these images is revealing the distorted steps that have to be taken to achieve your goals.

Normally I would not show anybody this type of work but I want you to realize that imperfection is normal. When my subject is sitting in front of me,  it all comes together and everybody is happy with the outcome. The bride is always beautiful on the day. The creative artist falls on his feet.

It is so much easier to draw from real life than from photos. With live subjects, I can feel the essence of the person I am drawing and it is expressed through my hand naturally. I can also see clearly. Believe it or not, it is difficult to draw someone that you cannot see! It sounds obvious, but if unless you have an excellent large photo, it is very hard to actually see and understand the details.

Forget about being perfect and aim at being the best you can. Don't worry about your warts, we've all got them!

Being creative is not always fun!

After 6 days of eating and sleeping through 100 portraits it was quite a task to get through the last 15 or so. I stayed true to my aim of not rushing and I kept a steady pace through the whole exercise. What started out as a fun idea soon became work when it took away the freedom of spare time.

However, steadfast determination is one of my traits and I am now satisfied and pleased at having achieved this self-imposed task. At the moment I am trying to turn all of the images into a short movie. Some of the images at the beginning are downright amateurish, but who cares? The final images show more skill and the process refined at about half way.

Anyway, the point is – set your goal and stay true to the end. It is not always easy and it is tempting to make an excuse to give up. Regardless of how glamorous a goal might appear during the planning stages, the execution requires a lot more effort than expected. Watch stories about lone extremists who sailed across the ocean alone, or trudged through freezing wastelands, at some stage, they all wondered what made them do such a crazy thing.

If you are planning on becoming an artist of any kind whether it be a singer or a skilled business person, there is a lot of hard work and persistent effort required. Practice is not always fun!

I want to be clever right now!

Instant success is not real life. You are not born talented. You build your talents by consistently practicing what you love doing. This week I have set myself the challenge of learning to do pastel portraits. For years I was a quick portrait artist at theme parks. I used felt tip markers and my work was gentle but they were more like cartoon portraits and not serious portraits.

This week, I decided I would like to be able to do serious portraits in pastel. To achieve this I have set the goal of producing 100 portraits in 1 week. I am photographing each one as it is finished and I will put them all together as a movie at the end. Next week I have  already booked myself into a venue to draw the public… quick panic!

I am practicing what I am preaching… practice, practice, practice. There is no substitute. If you want a skill, you have to make a consistent effort to achieve it. As I write this, I am ½ way through the 3rd day and I am already up to portrait 44. There is a rapid improvement in the quality as it progresses. (Just as well, the first few were a bit scary).

I have left the bad works in to show that it is not all pretty. This morning when I started at 2am the first 2 I did were shocking, I think I was still asleep. Nevertheless, I continued on to my goal. The creative artist in me will not give up.

If you want instant success, you are on the wrong planet. On this world everything takes effort (and money!) So get your act together and get your new creativity together so that you can gain a skill and perhaps make some money.