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Your Creative Push

Your Creative Push is the podcast that pushes YOU to pursue your creative passion, even though you have a busy, full-time life. Twice a week, Youngman Brown interviews artists, musicians, writers, photographers, graphic designers, and other inspirational creative individuals in an attempt to get them to inspire you to put aside your excuses and START DOING WORK. Each artist opens up to YOU, revealing the things that hold THEM back on a daily basis, and how they FIGHT THROUGH IT. They then give you one final push, in an attempt to motivate you to start doing work as soon as the episode is over. If you have a full-time job or full-time responsibilities and WISH that you had the COURAGE and MOTIVATION to FINALLY do that thing that has been on your mind, this podcast is for you!
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Now displaying: July, 2017
Jul 31, 2017

Kelli Klymenko embraces all aspects of art.  He is an artist, storyteller, photographer, teacher, yogi, husband, father, science aficionado and free thinker - experiencing life in one of the most inspiring and picturesque places on earth: Sedona, Arizona, where he lives with his wife and children.

Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/kelliklymenkoreplay

In this episode, Kelli discusses:

-How when he was younger, he drew on any surface area he could find.

-How he has dabbled in many different forms of art, but he loves photography especially because it is so quick.

-His opinion that people should be sharing most of the work that they do, instead of only their best.

-How he is sometimes surprised by the photos that are extremely successful in terms of "likes" because of how little time he put into it in comparison to others.

-His iPhoneography course and why it is important.

-How easy it is to change the way you look at the world in terms of photography, and how easy it is to share your photos.

-How growing up, many people shared their opinion that doing art is not a way to make a living.

-How his worst moments are when all the hard work he does isn't appreciated or his vision isn't seen the way he thinks it deserves to be seen.

-How trying to please everyone is not the right approach for making art.  Just do what you love.

-How he is currently living in his best creative moment (Yes!!!)

-How his greatest inspirations are scientists, with Neil deGrasse Tyson leading the pack (Yes!!!)

-How most of his inspiration comes from around him, especially nature and Sedona itself.

Kelli's Final Push will inspire you to do something you've never tried before, even if it is simply going out into nature for a short time.

 

Quotes:

"The foundation of Kelli Klymenko as a person is most definitely built upon creative endeavors and the arts."

"I know some photographers who take months to get a photo out because they have to clean it up and work on it.  I take a picture and I share it immediately."

"I think that we should be sharing everything because it makes it more real."

"I don't like those plastic landscapes where everybody cleans it up so much that you can't even recognize the place when you actually arrive.  I like it to be real."

"At some point we won't even need the DSLR's.  We're not at that point yet, but we're getting really close."

"Just think about photos that you take and framing them as a fine art piece, even if it is something you normally wouldn't do."

"It's really very simple to change how you view the world."

"It's all about your mindset.  If you're one of those people that says "I can't" ... you won't."

"It's more about living in the moment.  I live by that."

"Just do what you love and then the people that love that are the ones that connect with you.  And you'll be reaching the right people."

"I get that with Sedona, too.  'Oh, another picture of Bell Rock.'  And I'm like, 'Yea, I saw it again today.  And it's fine by me.'"

"I really do live in one of the most beautiful places in the world."

Links mentioned:

Kelli's iPhoneography course

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xywb_suJzo

Connect with Kelli:

Website / Facebook / Instagram / Google+ / Twitter

On the next episode:

Jane Samuels : Website / Instagram

Join the discussion in the Facebook group!

Jul 27, 2017

Maria Brophy has been an art agent to her husband Drew Brophy since 2001, and a business consultant to creative entrepreneurs since 2009. In her former life, Maria worked in the corporate world for two agonizing decades before she escaped the 9 to 5 grind. Since then, she’s deliberately designed her life as a non-stop adventure, traveling extensively with her husband and two kids while surfing and backpacking some of the most magical places in the world.

Her new book, Art, Money & Success is a workbook of strategies for the full-time artist.

Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/mariabrophy

In this episode, Maria discusses:

-The experience of leaving her full-time job to help her husband, Drew Brophy, with his art career.

-How you can make a slow transition into a new creative career by cutting back your work week to three or four days.

-What led her to create her book, Art, Money & Success.

-Why it took her so long to start writing her book and why it took her so long to finish after she started.

-The procrastination (due to fear) that can come when we get close to finishing a project.

-The value in seeing it as a numbers game.

-Her advice to keep creating things without thinking about the reaction that people will have to it.

-The notion that success loves speed and how ideas have the best chance for success if they are explored right away.

-The power in writing down your goals, not only for your life, but for your day.

-Making monetary goals for yourself and then making the daily decisions that will lead you closer to them, as opposed to farther away.

-Knowing your value and asking to get paid.

-Ways that she and Drew have been unconventional in their approach to licensing and selling art.

Maria's Final Push will inspire you to realize that you are on your own unique path, and you shouldn’t worry about the road that other artists went down.

 

Quotes:

“It wasn’t that easy in the beginning, but it worked.  And I think being stubborn, hardheaded, and determined really helped.”

“You can transition your way into a creative career.  You don’t have to do it all at once.”

“Create every day without thinking about who’s going to buy it or who’s going to want it.  Because when you’re thinking that, it restricts your flow of creativity.”

“You have to take action on things quickly.  You can’t sit around.”

“Often times those inspired ideas come within days or even hours of you making a declaration of something you’re going to make happen.”

“If you don’t ask, you won’t get paid.”

“Your path is your own path.  Don’t look at what other artists are doing.”

Links mentioned:

Art, Money & Success: A complete and easy-to-follow system for the artist who wasn't born with a business mind by Maria Brophy

Drew Brophy

Amanda Giacomini's 10,000 Buddhas

Connect with Maria:

Website / Book / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / YouTube

 

Share what you've created this week in the Facebook group!

Jul 24, 2017

Matthew Miller is an active lifestyle artist who paints because it puts him into a flow state and makes him feel truly alive.  Most of his artwork celebrates the human body in action, and the mental states that go along with it.

In addition to art, he also gets his fix of flow state through challenging physical activities.  As a retired rugby player, ironman triathlete, and fitness coach (his day job), it is his goal to create art that celebrates an active lifestyle.

Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/matthewmiller

In this episode, Matthew discusses:

-How art has always been a part of his life.

-The role that philosophy has played in his life.

-The importance of writing out your “perfect average day.”

-Dealing with insomnia, how it affected his life, and eventually led him to the feeling of hitting rock bottom.

-His discovery of live art.

-How artists shouldn’t wait around for a gallery to find you and the importance of going out and creating your own opportunities.

-His experimentation and plans to do live paintings at marathons and triathlons.

-The struggle of wanting to create new things but still having so many of his previous creations sitting around.

-How he struggles with having a day job that he enjoys but still wants to pursue his art.

-The similarities of flow state as it relates to physical activity and as it relates to art.

-His advice for people to experience flow state.

-His next series and where the inspiration came from.

-His experience of journaling and his analysis of his progress with his original goals.

Matthew's Final Push will inspire you to write down what you want to accomplish every single day and then put in the work to get there!

 

Quotes:

“As an artist, you need to go out and create your own opportunities.”

“Instead of waiting around for some gallery to invite you to show your stuff or competing against other artists trying to get into a particular show, why not make your own and find a venue that is perfect for your niche?”

“Things start happening when you take an action and put yourself out there.”

“I try to make art as much of an emotional, impulsive decision as possible.”

“The world will pull you in the directions that it wants to pull you if you don’t stay focused on what you want and who you are.”

Links mentioned:

Wim Hof

Power Speed ENDURANCE: A Skill-Based Approach to Endurance Training by Brian MacKenzie

The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance by Steven Kotler

Connect with Matthew:

Website / Facebook / Instagram

On the next episode:

Maria Brophy : Website / Instagram

Join the discussion in the Facebook group!

Jul 20, 2017

Zaria Forman's large-scale compositions of melting glaciers, icebergs floating in glassy water and waves cresting with foam explore moments of transition, turbulence and tranquility.  Zaria's drawings convey the urgency of climate change by connecting people to the beauty of remote landscapes.

Her works have appeared in National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, the Wall Street Journal and The Huffington Post.  Her drawings have also been used in the set design for the Netflix TV series House of Cards.

Her most recent achievements include participation in Banksy’s Dismaland (Aug-Sep 2015), a solo exhibition at Winston Wächter Fine Art in New York City (Sep-Oct 2015), and a four week art residency in Antarctica aboard the National Geographic Explorer (Nov-Dec 2015). Her next solo show is at Winston Wächter Fine Art, Seattle, WA, opening Sept 7th, 2017. 

In this episode, Zaria discusses:

-Some of her earliest influences, especially her mother, Rena Bass Forman.

-How a trip to Greenland opened up her eyes and heart to the topic of climate change.

-Why she chooses to draw on such a large scale.

-Why she uses her hands instead of tools.

-The difficulty that she sometimes has in choosing which reference to go forward with, knowing how many hours she will be devoting to the piece.

-How she attempts to give the viewer the experience of being where she was, and why a simple photograph isn’t enough of a reference.

-Her attempt to get people to fall in love with the landscapes, because it is that emotional connection that spurs people into action.

-Working with NASA’s Operation IceBridge and the new perspectives she was able to get as a result.

-The fear that often sets in before starting a new large piece.

-Her new body of work and how she is moving in a more abstract direction.

-Her experience of being a part of Banksy’s “Dismaland.”

-Details about her upcoming show.

Zaria's Final Push will inspire you to have a personal connection with your work, because that it what speaks to your audience the best.

 

Quotes:

“I realized that I have to go as big as I possibly can to give viewers that sense of massiveness.”

“I want to be as true to the landscape that existed at that point in time as I can.”

“Things that scare me are usually a good thing.  It means I’m going to learn something.”

“It’s always a scary thing to start a piece that’s the biggest I’ve ever made.”

“If I’m drawing what inspires me most and what I feel most excited to make, that excitement is going to translate into the finished product and make it the best that it can be.”

Links mentioned:

Zaria's upcoming show at Winston Wachter Fine Art

Rena Bass Forman (Zaria's mother's work)

Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

NASA’s Operation IceBridge

Zaria's TED Talk

Banksy's Dismaland

Connect with Zaria:

Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Vimeo

On the next episode:

Matthew Miller : Website / Instagram

Share your recent work and join the discussion in the Facebook group!

Jul 17, 2017

David is a freelance illustrator and street artist from Ann Arbor, Michigan, specializing in small-scale, improvised and (mostly) light-hearted chalk art.  Most of these drawings (most notably "Sluggo") have appeared on sidewalks in Ann Arbor and elsewhere in Michigan, but some have surfaced as far away as subway platforms in Manhattan and construction debris in the Sonoran Desert.

Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/davidzinn

In this episode, David discusses:

-How he prefers to label himself as a “someone who draws stuff” or a “compulsive doodler.”

-How his drawing stemmed from shyness as a great way to avoid eye contact with other people.

-The way in which his street art stems from his fear of a blank canvas.

-How a blank canvas stops people like him because of the infinite possibilities that it offers, and how he needs to constrain those possibilities in order to get started.

-His disappointment with the way that people assume that being an artist means being something separate that they are not capable of.

-The art brain and the science brain.

-How he has noticed that people are either more frightened by the idea of drawing from life or by the idea of drawing from imagination, and nothing in between.

-How people often think that they are not artists because they are unable to do one particular thing, even though they are very skilled at doing something different.

-The way in which parents make their children take piano lessons, yet don’t expect them to become a concert pianist.

-How his light-hearted subject matter typically comes to the surface because he is having a bad day.

-Why he doesn’t watch people’s reactions to his street art.

-His advice for people who are afraid of the blank canvas.

-The way in which your creative path was laughably obvious to you in hindsight.

David's Final Push will inspire you to JUST MOVE!  As long as you are moving, then you are succeeding in life.

 

Quotes:

“Eventually people start to get to that point where they aren’t happy with their own abilities and that blank page becomes really intimidating.”

“Now I have no time for doing useful illustration because I spend all my time drawing on the sidewalk.”

“I’m on a campaign to hopefully get people to stop using the word ‘artist’ as a career designation.”

“I think that’s where a lot of people fall off the map of having faith in their own art, is not respecting the fact that what works for you, works for you, and that deserves indulgence and respect.”

“We have this strange belief that your art has to be the primary thing in your life in order for you to do it.  It has to consume you or else you have no business messing with it at all.”

“It’s a lot like playing connect the dots, except you have an infinite amount of dots.”

“The power of art in your own life, whether it’s your job, or your hobby, or just the thing you do while your hands are feeling itchy while you’re on the phone, is to leave the world different than the way you found it.”

“From what I’ve observed and what I’ve experienced, you don’t find your thing.  Your thing finds you.”

“The narrower your expectations, the more things you can be disappointed in.”

“As long as you are moving, you are succeeding in life.”

Links mentioned:

Sluggo’s Facebook page

Your Creative Push on Patreon

Connect with David:

Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Tumblr

On the next episode:

Zaria Forman : Website / Instagram

Join the discussion in the Facebook group!

Jul 13, 2017

Zan Romanoff is a writer of essays and fiction, mostly focused on food, feminism, television and books.  She graduated from Yale in 2009 with a B.A. in Literature, and now lives and works in Los Angeles.  She is the author of A Song to Take the World Apart, and her latest YA novel, Grace and the Fever.

Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/zan

In this episode, Zan discusses:

-How writing has played a part in her life since she was very young.

-The unexpected result of one of her pieces ending up in The Paris Review.

-How she tricked herself into writing her first novel.

-The idea of wanting or needing permission from other people to call yourself a writer.

-Talking about your creative passion with other people and wanting to protect it from scrutiny, jokes, or small talk.

-The similarities and differences between writing and therapy.

-How she wants to be honest with her young audience so that they trust her.

-A long period of writer’s block after breaking up with her long-term boyfriend and thus losing her long-term reader/audience.

-The process of writing her third novel.

-How ideas often come to be in strange or long-winded ways that don’t make sense.

-The notion of “coming down with a book.”

-Giving yourself permission to spend time with yourself and be creative without thinking of those end goals.

-How selling her first book didn’t solve any problems for her or make her doubt herself any less.

-Trusting that your creative successes aren’t flukes and knowing that more successes will come again.

Zan's Final Push will inspire you to GET OUT OF YOUR OWN WAY and give yourself permission!

 

Quotes:

“What’s the thing that I wake up every day and do even though I don’t have to and even though nobody wants me to?  And the answer was writing.”

“The only thing scarier than writing a novel is permanent unemployment, I would say.”

“External permission is important but it only gets you so far.  Their permission opened a door and I had to sit with it for a long time.”

“I do feel strongly that one of the major differences between me and people that haven’t written books is that I sat down and wrote it.”

Links mentioned:

Zan's piece in The Paris Review

A Song to Take the World Apart by Zan Romanoff

Grace and the Fever

Connect with Zan:

Website / Tumlbr / Instagram / Twitter

On the next episode:

David Zinn : Website / Instagram

Share what you've created this week in the Facebook group!

Jul 10, 2017

Joel Daniel Phillips lives and works in San Francisco, CA. His work focuses on large-scale charcoal portraiture exploring the social structures in his immediate surroundings.  He is fascinated by the intricacies and commonalities that we share as humans, and he searches for moments when our projected senses of self are transparent, allowing deeper, more truthful emotions to become visible.

Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/jdphillips

In this episode, Joel discusses:

-Moving to San Francisco and starting his series of portraits.

-The way in which the portraits began as a way for him to understand his surroundings and ended up being his way to tell the story of the people that we avoid looking at.

-The delicate way that he approaches his subjects and the vulnerability that both he and his subjects must offer through the process.

-How it became easier to get people on board once he started to build a body of work and his integrity spread via word-of-mouth.

-His process of meeting, speaking with, and photographing his potential subjects, choosing which ones he draws, and then attempting to find a way to show them the piece.

-How he has to remind himself that, through his art, he has spent more time with this person than they have spent with him.

-His definition of a successful portrait.

-How he tries to capture and portray the story and numerous emotions of his subjects.

-The lessons that creative people can learn from his subject’s honesty.

-Why he draws in such a large scale and the experience that he wants to give to the viewer.

-How to get through the “middle junk.”

-The two driving forces behind creative careers.

-Some of the other Resistances that he has to deal with (most notably, distractions).

-His upcoming show and the transition that he is making.

-Allowing himself to make mistakes.

Joel's Final Push will make you look within yourself and ask if you can’t not be an artist.

 

Quotes:

“The series of drawings started out as my way of trying to understand this neighborhood that was a very foreign space and honestly very terrifying.”

“I fell in love with these people as soon as I started making these portraits.”

“It’s a way of seeing through the tip of my pencil.  For me, drawing is primarily an act of observation and it’s almost less about the finished product than it is about the process of seeing while I’m creating it.”

“For me, art is a way of responding to and understanding the world around me.”

Links mentioned:

The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield

Freedom: Internet, App, & Website Blocker

Neil Gaiman – Commencement Speech at the University of the Arts 2012

Connect with Joel:

Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter

On the next episode:

Zan Romanoff : Website

Join the discussion in the Facebook group!

Jul 6, 2017

Al Marconi is a Spanish guitarist and composer who has been a professional musician since 1997. During that time has managed to notch up over 30,000 sales of his independently marketed self-produced recordings, Equilibrium (1997), Monument (1999), Esperanto (2001), Terra Nova (2007), Insomnia (2011), and his latest album, Alchemy (2015).

Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/almarconi

In this episode, Al discusses:

-His early musical inspirations growing up.

-How he initially was interested in heavy rock and heavy metal.

-The contributing factors in his transition from heavy rock.

-Patrick Woodroffe’s advice to pursue what you’re most passionate about, not what you can do best.

-The instantaneous feedback that you get from playing music and how that differs from drawing or painting.

-Being inspired by classical music, but also realizing that he didn’t want to simply replicate what other people had created – he wanted to create himself.

-Being open to taking inspiration from many different sources and fusing it into your own style.

-How Alchemy was the first album that he made that contains music that he wants to listen back to.

-Creating what you want versus creating for money.

-How ideas are often not ready until the time is right.

-How musicians can make a living in a digital world.

-The challenge and the joy of busking in the street and why he still does it to this day.

-The differences between writing and performing.

Al's Final Push will inspire you to pursue the thing that you are passionate about – as long as you have a penny more than you need, then you will be okay.

 

Quotes:

“Music, like many of the arts, is a calling.  It’s something that chooses you.  It’s something inside of you and you just have to do it.  You don’t think it through like a career.”

“I was interested in creating and the guitar was purely the medium that I choose to use to create.”

“The more things you try in life, the more fingers you put into a pie, the more chances you have of pulling out a plum.”

“I remember one morning, two of my biggest hits came about in half an hour.”

“I’m a very slow worker because I like to get an idea and I like to live with that idea for days, weeks, sometimes even months.  I like to let it tell me where to go rather than force it.”

“I try to play every chord as though it is the first time I’ve ever played it, and that it might be my last.”

“It’s wonderful that we can inspire somebody or lift somebody’s mood through visual or audio creativity.”

“I think with any art, it’s not meant to be hidden in a cupboard.  It’s meant to be shared.”

Links mentioned:

Al's Music

Patrick Woodroffe

Gordon Giltrap

Sandra Busby on Your Creative Push

Connect with Al:

Website / Store / iTunes / YouTube / Facebook

On the next episode:

Joel Daniel Phillips : Website / Instagram

Share what you've created this week in the Facebook group!

Jul 3, 2017

Alatar is a genderfluid digital artist who creates character-driven adult illustrations. Their work includes both fanart and original content, and attempts to explore a wide range of body types, ethnicities, gender identities and sexualities. They are also the host of the podcast Blue Magic, where they interview other creatives in the erotic field.

Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/alatar

In this episode, Alatar discusses:

-Their origin story and how they first became interested in the idea of sexuality in art.

-Dealing with religious guilt and how it contributed to artistic block.

-Their “depressive fallout” and the drawing of Cloud, Tifa, and Aeris that had been waiting to be drawn.

-How they didn’t consider their adult illustrations to be “real work” because it was not safe for work.

-Their advice to feed those ideas that have always been in the back of your head/heart and to pay attention to how it makes you feel.

-How giving in to a long-term creative urge can make you go Super Saiyan, where overcoming a low emotional moment can give you a great deal of power.

-The power that you can gain from choosing a new identity.

-Their advice for people who don’t know which direction to go – they only know what’s not working.

-Like in video games, some things in life need multiple attempts before you can succeed, and how those victories are always sweeter.

-Dealing with imposter syndrome and perfectionism.

-Treating your creative calling as the most important thing in your life – your Calling with a capital ‘C.’

-Why they started the Blue Magic Podcast.

-How magic comes from honesty, and how shedding the ego and being vulnerable can lead to a much more powerful connection with your audience (and yourself).

-Some of the opportunities that came as a result of starting Blue Magic.

Alatar's Final Push will inspire you to dig deep within yourself to find the thing that you’ve always known that you are supposed to do and then do it no matter what anyone else thinks!

 

Quotes:

“I went through a phase of religious guilt where it was a bad thing and I fought it in myself.  Interestingly, during that time I also had pretty bad art block and couldn’t get myself to draw much at all.”

“Something clicked.  This is what I wanted to draw all this time and I haven’t let myself.  And it’s about time I do.”

“I said, you know what?  I really love erotica.  I really love things that are arousing and that explore that side of human emotion.  And it’s about time that I took that seriously.

“If you have this thing that your heart is just aching to do, if there’s a way for you to give it it’s time in the sun, then do it and just see what happens.”

“It was this moment where I realized this is what I’m here to do.”

“If all you know is what’s not working, then you know what you shouldn’t be doing.  And that’s a step in the right direction.”

“I see my art as my Calling.  Capital ‘C.’”

“You will have the thrill of finally lining up with that calling of yours and taking action on it.”

“Let your fear have its voice and then tell it to step aside, because you’ve got work to do.”

Links mentioned:

Blue Magic

Blue Magic [iTunes]

Connect with Alatar:

Newgrounds / Instagram / Tumblr / Twitter

On the next episode:

Al Marconi : Website / Instagram

Join the discussion in the Facebook group!

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