Joshua LaRock is internationally recognized as a preeminent figurative artist. His exquisite paintings are an ode to the past filtered through a contemporary life. LaRock’s portraits and figurative pieces alike are memorable for both their emotive quality and for evoking an eerily present feeling. Inspired by Bouguereau and other masters of the past, Joshua imbues a shade of the timeless, drawing the viewer deeper into his personal interpretation of how the world ought to be.
Among Joshua’s most striking works are those of his wife, Laura. In 2012, “Portrait of the Artist’s Wife” was hailed as ‘deserving special attention’ during the historic America China Oil Painting Artists League exhibit at the Beijing World Art Museum. While “Laura in Black” was part of the prestigious BP Portrait Award 2016 exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, London and is the subject of his premier instructional video “The Layers of Portrait Painting”.
Joshua currently lives in North Carolina with his wife and two children.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/joshualarock
-His initial interest and study of music and music business.
-How he became aware of classical realism and his discovery of John Singer Sargent, Jacob Collins, and ARC.
-The common experience that he shared of being an artist that didn’t start from a young age.
-Controlling his anxiety during “quick sketches.”
-How long it takes him to do each of his paintings and how he sometimes wishes he spent more time in the planning stage.
-His first portrait of his wife, Laura and what made it special.
-How you only need to do one good painting for people to take interest in you.
-His advice for making decisions, or putting yourself in the position to have to make decisions.
-What it feels like for artists to take on the additional title of “entrepreneur” (and a great example from Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel).
-His stance on classical realism and the fact that not as many people are doing what he does.
-How soon artists should consider teaching others.
-How to push past imposter syndrome, especially when it comes to teaching.
“There’s always a point in each painting at which I think ‘this is not going to work.’”
“There are points where you need to take it off the easel and put it against a wall and not look at it for several months.”
“There’s always a little bit of a dance between things that you’re really passionate about and things that you have to do day to day.”
“I don’t think there is a ‘too soon’ to teach art.”
Tim Ferriss Podcast Ep #325 Featuring Derek Sivers
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Frannerd : Website / Instagram
Limbo is a musician from the Bay/Los Angeles area of California who is interested in creating sounds for your ears, minds and hearts. While she wears a cat mask to take her identity out of the equation, she opens her heart with her diary-like lyrics and beats.
Her new album is called Lonely But Never Alone and is available here.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/limbo
-How she taught herself to play guitar and use Ableton via YouTube tutorials.
-Why she chose to use a pseudonym and wear a cat mask to hide her identity and the superpowers that it gives her.
-How she developed her unique style.
-Her creation process and the starting point for each song.
-Being self-taught vs. a formal education.
-How she finds the motivation when she doesn’t feel like learning or working.
-What went into making her new album, Lonely But Never Alone.
-Resistances that she deals with such as self-doubt and comparison to others.
-What went behind her decision to make the plunge of becoming a full-time musician, and what that journey has been like thus far.
-How she built her initial audience with consistency.
-The inspiration she gets from Jim Carrey.
“I feel way more comfortable with a mask on. It does give me superpowers. It makes me feel more confident.”
“We’re all taught to grow up and think that you can’t be a rockstar so it’s hard to have that dream and believe in yourself sometimes.”
“That’s what any artist or creative person dreams of, is not working somewhere they don’t want to and being able to create whenever they want to.”
Website / Soundcloud / Spotify / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
Joshua LaRock : Website / Instagram
Fieldey is a professional artist with over 16 years experience in art and design. She specialises in street art murals, portraits, painted surfboards and skateboards, and commercial illustration, all created with a style that combines realistic painting with a cheeky retro old-school tattoo flavour.
She is well known internationally for her instantly recognizable iconic style and her popular YouTube channel, Fieldey TV, which features some of the best art tutorials on the web.
Fieldey works with brands to create custom illustrations and artworks for their needs. Clients include Coca Cola, Citroën, Iron Fist Clothing and Seven Skates.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/fieldey
-Her initial interest in art and the thing that made her put it off.
-The way in which surfing brought her back to art.
-How her studies in graphic design helped her to create a brand for herself.
-The way in which the limitations and restrictions of surfboards as a canvas helped her to develop her style.
-Her advice for honing in on your own style and then busting out.
-Knowing when it is time to shake things up and move on with your art.
-The way in which people on the internet curate their work and their lives to make them seem perfect.
-Wanting to show that she makes mistakes and how she fixes them.
-Preparing for and getting through the “ugly stage” of your art.
-The importance of breaks from your work.
-The tiny amount of negative comments that she has received compared to the amount of negative comments that she feared she would receive.
-The importance of having someone who will support you but also give you honest feedback about your work and progress.
-How she reacted when her murals were vandalized.
-How having another career is not necessarily a bad thing for artists.
“I was so scared of failing that I never really gave it everything.”
“I thought, you know what? I’m just going to film this and chuck it up on YouTube.”
“The things that make surfboards difficult which is the shape and the fact that you can’t just use any old materials on it, were the things in the end that crafted my style and created it.”
“At the start, I was terrified of making mistakes, of failing, and of people being mean to me.”
“Having a process and having a system is what makes you feel more secure.”
“Sometimes the fear that you have as a creative is actually a good thing, because it is keeping you honest and making you do your best work.”
“When you’re creating and you’re close to your work, you don’t see it for how it really is, so that second pair of eyes is really helpful. Especially if they are a sympathetic set of eyes.”
“Big Magic” by Elizabeth Gilbert
Website / YouTube / Facebook / Instagram
Limbo : Website / Soundcloud
Sophie Gamand is a French award-winning photographer and animal advocate living and working in New York. Since 2010, she has been focusing on dogs and our relationship with them. Sophie travels around the U.S. photographing shelter dogs for free, to help bring awareness to their fate, and help them get adopted.
Her most known series are Wet Dog and Flower Power, Pit Bulls of the Revolution. She has won several prestigious photography awards for her work (including a Sony World Photography Award in 2014), as well as advocacy awards for her dedication to animal rescue and adoption. Sophie's work has been published in the press worldwide, online and in print (Buzzfeed, Huffington Post, Oprah Magazine, ....). Her first book, Wet Dog, came out in October 2015.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/sophiegamand
-How her overly critical father killed a lot of her creative drives.
-Her time spent in Art Law, opera singing, and creating a photography magazine.
-Moving to New York and starting with a clean slate.
-Deciding to tackle the thing that scared her the most – taking photographs of strangers.
-Her visit to a vet clinic and the photography of a bulldog that was the catalyst for her new body of work.
-The way in which we come full-circle back to the things we were interested in as children.
-The question of where she would be had she been encouraged to do exactly what she loved.
-Learning to ignore the destructive voices in your head, yet still trust the kind voices.
-How she was mauled by a dog when she was younger and how she confronted that fear.
-The bad reputation that Pit bulls have and how she is attempting to change that with Pit Bull Flower Power.
-Being rejected by publishers for her book despite the enormous amount of traction that it received on social media.
-Using Kickstarter to fund Pit Bull Flower Power.
-The power of social media, especially for female artists.
-How working with shelter dogs has affected her creative process.
-The other creative outlets that her photography lets her tap into such as writing and making flower crowns.
-Being frustrated with feeling like she doesn’t belong in a specific type of creative box.
-The importance of that easy/difficult first step.
-Taking a step back and getting perspective of the impact of your creative contribution.
-The positives and negatives of the goalposts constantly moving for creative individuals.
“I had a clean slate and all the room to spread my wings and figure out what am I going to do now? Who am I going to be? That was scary as hell but also very exciting.”
“The Universe just handed this to me on a silver platter with a little bow on it and I chickened out and walked away.”
“We should trust our inner child more when it comes to our creative process. As children, we know where our truth is.”
“It was shattering to spend all those months being rejected when I thought this was going to be a walk in the park.”
“As a creative, especially when I am in a darker mode, I cry and I think why can’t I know what I want to be?”
“That first step is the easiest, most difficult and most important step.”
“Art is about harnessing our fears.”
Pit Bull Flower Power by Sophie Gamand
Sophie Gamand on the Pawprint podcast (talking about Frida)
Youngman Brown on the Pawprint podcast
Sophie's exhibit at The Invisible Dog Art Center
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Cat Rabbit is a Melbourne-based textile artist and designer. She makes plush sculptural works of my imagined characters and the worlds they might live in. She also makes books for children and other fantastical artworks with her collaborator Isobel Knowles under the name Soft Stories.
She have worked and collaborated with clients such as NGV, Soludos, Lunch Lady Magazine, Frankie Magazine, Odd Pears and Bakedown Cakery, and has work in permanent collections at Loreto Mandeville Junior Library and Melbourne Girls Grammar School.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/306
-The roundabout way in which the thing that she was doing on the side became her career.
-How she had to carve her own path and take the “scenic route.”
-The advantages and disadvantages of being the first to market.
-How she figured out how to price her work.
-Re-purposing her pieces so that they can more effectively work for her.
-How and why she first started making her creations.
-How her process has evolved over time (and continues to evolve).
-The value in not having expectations for the end result.
-Embracing mistakes and imperfections.
-Getting inspiration from the real world.
-How she prioritizes her time for learning new skills or working on big projects (while still getting to her daily work).
-Dealing with self-doubt and the balance of having too much or too little confidence in your work.
-Her early negative and positive experiences on Instagram.
-How she deals with trolls and negative comments.
-Collaborating with Isobel Knowles for Soft Stories.
-Setting “play dates” with other creative people.
“I was just making small crafty projects on the side and then they ended up taking over my life, I suppose.”
“It seemed like the Universe just wanted me to make stuff.”
“I had to chisel this little path myself, and I didn’t really know I was doing it at first.”
“Giving lots of different access points to your work is a good thing to work out.”
“I purposely don’t have expectations because then it’s easier to embrace what comes out.”
Website / Big Cartel / Instagram / Twitter / Tumblr
Sophie Gamand : Website / Instagram