Goals and Projects + Deadlines = Work

I know photographers who work without deadlines. Writers and artists, too. None of them make work consistently because nothing is due. It's just a wish: "I'd really like to create a great _____. I want to be the best ever at _____." Do you really? You know how the successful ones, those who are recognized...

Birds of a Feather Need a Visionary

Many creatives go with the trends, following the others. True visionaries strike out on their own, making a stand for a quality that only they can deliver. THEY FLY ALONE! Be true to yourself. We have everyone else. We need you. Your vision. How you see the world! If you want to see my view...

To Be An Artist; To Be Subversive

A writer once said, "If what you're writing isn't pissing someone off, what's the point?" I've always remembered that. What are we doing that's moving the needle? Making people think? What is it about the work we do that's worth other people spending their time looking at it? I remember going with a friend to...

We’re Only Living Today, So Today Is The Time To Make It

I was thinking about art and artists and I've come to the conclusion that we are only our output. Whether we "make it" in some definition of success is out of our control, we have no ability to take our work anywhere, we only have the ability to make the work. And make more work....

Artists: Beware of Corporate-Level Beggars

Q: To be a beggar, what's the stigma? To be a panhandler? To ask for a freebie? A handout? "Please, sir?" Is there any shame?A: If you're a businessperson asking creatives for freebies, the answer is, "No, none." You know me, I'm a professional photographer in Colorado. Photography is my life's work. If you look...

“Enjoy The Journey Folks, This Train Has No Stops, There Will Be No Arrival, There Is No Destination!”

That's probably the most difficult thing for the artist wannabe to hear, that there is no destination. No arrival to some "made it" place. Some magical place of fame and fortune and the easy life. No all-night celebrity parties on yachts and paparazzi on the chase. That's not the real artist life. The artist life...

How Has Instant Results Affected Creativity?

We all wear two hats, one as a creative and one as a marketer. In days of old, we would create a body of work, photographers would be able to work on a project and keep the creative hat on until completion. They wouldn't be stepping back and forth between worlds because they couldn't get...

Artist vs. Photographer, A Search For Truth

(This is a follow-up to my last post, Film, Huh, Good God, What is it Good For?) The bricklayer takes bricks and cement and builds a wall.  It's an expression of function, and the result is useful as structure. The artist who uses bricks as his medium (if perhaps there is one that does) takes...