Christina Moyer is an elementary art teacher from Pennsylvania. Her personal work includes oil painting, watercolor and paper art.
She is also Youngman Brown's sister and the illustrator of their collaborative children's book, The Adventures of Tidy, Messy & VeryMessy, a project that has been in the works for a decade.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/christinamoyer
-How she became interested in art.
-Starting out as an Art Therapy major in college and the decision to become a Fine Art major.
-What led her to decide to become an art teacher.
-Not getting to her personal work for a long period of time because she was so focused on developing her skills as an art teacher.
-The “false starts” that occurred while creating the illustrations for The Adventures of Tidy, Messy & VeryMessy.
-How to determine whether you are dissatisfied with your progress because it isn’t right or because you are a perfectionist.
-Her breakthrough in illustrating The Adventures of Tidy, Messy & VeryMessy in which she completely changed things up and worked with a new medium.
-What was different about one particular summer in which she and her husband created more than any summer before.
-The creative inspiration that she gets from her husband.
-Dealing with a lack of confidence, especially after a long period of not creating.
“I had at least seven or eight false starts.”
“You’ve got to find something that makes you feel good while you do it.”
“I give teaching 100% of me so I don’t allow as much time for myself in my own creating.”
“During that period of not creating, you lose confidence, big time.”
The Adventures of Tidy, Messy and VeryMessy by Michael R. Young (Youngman Brown) and Christina Moyer
Cassie Stephens on Your Creative Push
Etsy / Instagram / Classroom Instagram
Sara Fabel : Website / Instagram
Alexander Soukas is a contemporary realist painter from Denver, Colorado. His serious training in the fine arts began upon attending the Walnut Hill School for the arts, one of five high schools in the country dedicated to rigorous training in music, ballet, theatre, writing, and visual arts.
Unsatisfied with his studies, and desiring to pursue a career as an artist, he began homeschooling as a way of earning his diploma while undertaking an apprenticeship with realist figure painter Jason Polins. Soukas studied traditional painting and drawing in Boston with Polins for 4 years, where he now visits as a guest instructor at Polins' atelier, The Boston School of Painting.
After high school, Soukas studied with scholarship, at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in a coordinated program with the University of Pennsylvania for a year before leaving to seek a more rigorous classical training at Studio Incamminati. While there, he worked for and studied under Nelson Shanks as one of his last apprentices.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/alexandersoukas
-What spurred his initial interest in painting.
-The decision he had to make between painting and playing the cello.
-His experience at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts and with Jason Polins.
-His experience at The Philadelphia Academy of the Fine Arts and Studio Incamminati.
-His advice to anyone that is unsatisfied with their education.
-Working for and studying under Nelson Shanks.
-How to approach working itself and understanding how to most effectively learn.
-The importance of play (and how to find it).
-Color studies and which types of people succeed at them.
-Attacking your weaknesses.
-Realizing the importance of enjoying the act of painting as opposed to worrying about creating a work of art.
-How he balances his time.
-Giving yourself a full line of questioning before quitting your job to become a full-time artist.
“You just have to follow your gut.”
“All education is self-education.”
“Trust that internal compass and seek out what you need no matter what the risk.”
“You will not find the perfect school. It does not exist for anyone. Part of the education is learning what you don’t want.”
“I decided to attack that weakness and now it is one of my strengths.”
“The struggles never end. In fact, they only get more complicated. But you get better at handling them.”
“Your painting does not lie to you. It simply can’t. It’s a very intense mirroring of your inner life.”
After the Ecstasy, the Laundry: How the Heart Grows Wise on the Spiritual Path by Jack Kornfield
Koosje Koene is an artist, teacher and co-founder of Sketchbook Skool. She has studied graphic design and worked as an award-winning photographer but it was her passion for drawing and painting that became her lifelong mission. Her enthusiasm as an illustrator inspired her to share her learnings online and became the basis for Sketchbook Skool today.
Koosje lives in Amsterdam.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/koosje
-How she was encouraged from a young age to pursue her creative passions.
-Her entry and exit from the world of photography.
-How she became interested in drawing.
-How a dull job can actually make you more creative.
-The experience of creating her own first courses and then meeting Danny Gregory.
-The importance of community for creative individuals (and how Sketchbook Skool’s community differs from others).
-How Draw Tip Tuesday started and how she has been able to stay so consistent for six years.
-How creating Sketchbook Skool and creating instructional videos has changed the way she makes and thinks about art.
-Some of her own creative resistances and how she gets past them.
-How to trick your inner critic.
-How to be able to determine whether you need to move onto a different creative realm or whether you are simply in a funk.
-How she manages her time.
“I realized that I was making things because people were telling me to make them instead of making things that I wanted to make.”
“Every time a course comes out I learn so many things, and that really has made my art evolve very quickly.”
“I loosened up as a person so my art also loosened up.”
“If you want to be creative, make it a habit.”
Sketchbook Skool (Use offer code SBSPUSH to get 10% off!)
Danny Gregory on Your Creative Push Ep. 293
Website / Facebook / YouTube / Instagram / Twitter
Cassie Stephens teaches art at an elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee. She spends a lot of her free time sewing wacky outfits to accompany art lessons, thrift shopping and just making stuff.
She is also the creator and host of the podcast Everyday Art Room, a podcast that offers a glimpse into the world of elementary art and offers advice, stories and ideas to improve your teaching.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/cassiestephens
-Going from a comfortable identity as the “weird artsy kid” in high school to an uncomfortable self-conscious lack of identity in college.
-The difference in mentality between her fine art classes and her art education classes and classmates.
-The biggest lie she was ever told and how it stayed with her for years.
-How she put so much effort into teaching art that she let go of creating for herself for seven years.
-The ways in which she got back to her personal creative side.
-The ways she tries to align her DIY creative side with her teaching side.
-How she balances her time.
-The logic and emotion behind her decision to stop pursuing painting.
-Why we should never create from a place of obligation or guilt, because the work will always reflect those emotions.
-Why we lose our childlike excitement for creativity.
“I had to decide – did I want to be an artist? Or did I want to be an art teacher? Because I was led to believe that I couldn’t be both.”
“Because I spent so much of my time figuring out how to teach art and trying to do the best job that I could, I completely let go of the idea of creating.”
“It’s like a vitamin deficiency. When you’re a creative person and you’re not creating, then something feels off and wrong. You’re not taking your vitamins.”
“I am still an epic poor manager of time but somehow I force myself to find time and to make time.”
“I spent so much time letting my professors in my head and losing track of who I was and why I loved painting.”
YCP Morning Motivation: Facebook / Discord
Blog / Facebook / Instagram / YouTube / Twitter
Koosje Koene: Website / Instagram
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 (with perhaps slightly more attention paid to abs). They are also the host of the podcast Blue Magic, where they interview other creatives in the erotic field.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/296
-Hopping universes.
-Feeling like a NPC (Non Player Character) in your own life and taking control of
-How the Miracle Morning was a game-changer.
-“Voltroning” resources or inspirations together.
-Visualization, manifestation and prioritization.
-Watching movies through the lens of your favorite character and asking, What can I learn from him/her?
-Seeing yourself doing the daily hard work as part of your montage (and even adding a soundtrack to it).
-How the “silly” and woo-woo are preferable to the serious.
-Gnosticism and how it relates to creativity.
-What to expect (and warnings) for people who are starting to try something like The Miracle Morning.
-Having “hills to die on” and deciding what is most important to you beforehand so that it is no longer a decision.
-Tips and hacks for actually waking up earlier every day.
“I close my eyes, exhaled and decided that I had hopped universes.”
“The moment you start working on yourself and changing how you operate in the world, the rest of it flows from there.”
“A big way that I interrogate reality is through stories and mythology.”
“Imagine The Matrix, except all of us are Neo.”
“Build the small victories every day.”
Your Creative Push Discord Server
Alatar on Your Creative Push Ep. 232
John Cleese on Creativity in Management
Newgrounds / Instagram / Tumblr / Patreon / Twitter
Troy Plota has been an award-winning Professional Photographer for over 30 years. His work has appeared in top magazines including Vanity Fair, GQ, Rolling Stone and many more. His advertising work has also appeared on dozens of billboards in New York's Times Square, as well as on the Vegas strip. He has photographed dozens of celebrities like Heidi Klum, Usher, Mariah Carey, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and many more.
Troy has always been on the forefront of technology and gave the Ted Talk titled "The Future of Photography." Troy's latest creation is the digital sharing platform Plotaverse, which also features his award winning app, Plotagraph. It was the only App featured on the Apple Store for the release of the iPhone X.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/troyplota
-How he tries to constantly push the limits of technology.
-The importance of having the perspective of an artist while creating software.
-How challenges and contests have grown and matured the Plotaverse community.
-How he helps photographers and visual artists with monetization.
-The significance of motion art.
-How he was able to get 4 million downloads.
-Reaching out to his competition and realizing that they all have very similar stories.
-Why traditional artists might want to consider adding motion to their art.
-Some of the difficulties that he is seeing other photographers having as technology continues to change.
“I don’t think there’s anything more important than helping artists monetize their work.”
“To monetize your passion is freedom.”
Alatar on Your Creative Push Episode 232
Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
Alatar : Newgrounds / Tumblr
Aliza Einhorn is a writer, an astrologer and a tarot reader.
Her first book, The Little Book of Saturn, is a smart, friendly introduction to the astrological Saturn. It is a book for curious readers who know there is more to astrology than their sun signs.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/alizaeinhorn
-How her first book ended up not being a poetry book even though she thought it would.
-Why she stopped writing poems while in her thirties.
-Identity and whether or not we can define ourselves by something we no longer do (or haven’t done for a while).
-A crash course of Tarot and how it can help people with their creative blocks.
-Having a dual-identity, where one-half of you is focused on a day job and making money while the other half is focused on your creative passion and doing what you truly love.
-How astrology is a tool for self-awareness and self-discovery.
-The validation that creative people can get when they are (finally) told that they might be meant to do the thing that they’ve always known that they are supposed to do.
-Why Saturn is so important.
-Working with Tom Hart and the Sequential Artists Workshop.
-How creating art and finding your audience is like internet dating.
-The experience of writing and publishing her first book.
“I remember thinking ‘I’m not going to write anything anymore unless it is directly related to my income, which I want now to be astrology.’”
“It’s not one-size-fits-all. You can create your work and create your life. You just have to do it. You can’t wait for someone else to do it for you.”
“People are afraid. They’re afraid of others seeing their insides.”
“If you don’t expose yourself, people aren’t going to care.”
Youngman Brown's astrology reading
The Little Book of Saturn: Astrological Gifts, Challenges, and Returns by Aliza Einhorn
Tom Hart on Your Creative Push
Astrology and Tarot Readings by Aliza
Website / Facebook / Patreon / Twitter
Danny Gregory is an artist, author, teacher and co-founder of Sketchbook Skool. He taught himself to draw in his mid-thirties after a tragic accident changed his life, bringing with it a new peace and perspective. One that informs his creative habit everyday.
Danny has written nearly a dozen internationally best-selling books on art and creativity including Art Before Breakfast, Everyday Matters, The Creative License, Shut Your Monkey, An Illustrated Life and many more.
Before starting Sketchbook Skool, he spent three decades as one of New York’s leading advertising creative directors and has created award-winning, global campaigns for such clients as Chase, JPMorgan, American Express, IBM, Burger King, Ford and Chevron amongst others.
Danny resides in New York City.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/293
-The importance of your partner understanding your creative needs.
-Creative postpartum depression that often occurs when we are finished with a project.
-Why he left the advertising industry.
-Meeting Koosje Koene and how Sketchbook Skool started.
-The value in seeing how many different artists make art as well as seeing where they make it.
-The role that community plays in developing as an artist.
-The difference in motivation when you are paying for something as opposed to getting it for free.
-Going to clown school.
-Giving yourself constraints or challenges.
-What it means to clear space in order to start new things (or finish old things).
-How he got past imposter syndrome (and his advice for Youngman in getting past his).
“I think that having a partner that understands you and your creative needs is essential to be able to focus on your work.”
“If you want to start something new, you need to clear some space for it to happen.”
“Thinking you know yourself too well can be limiting. Sometimes you’ve got to just jump off the cliff and see what happens.”
“I think it’s really important to have skin in the game. If it’s too easy to walk away from, you will.”
“I always find that if I have that glimmer of an idea, if I have that grain of sand to put in the oyster, I’m on the way. I’m going to get to the end just by having a beginning.”
“There are people out there waiting for your art. Give it to them.”
“Every time you have the impulse to distract yourself, instead try to focus that energy into making something new.”
Sketchbook Skool (Use offer code SBSPUSH to get 10% off!)
Danny Gregory on Your Creative Push Ep. 50
Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Blog
David Talley is an internationally recognized photographer, director, and producer operating out of Portland, OR. His works exhibit the darkest moment before an explosion of light, a story broken, but changed for the better, and the ability to transform the present problem in to a prospering future. David is the founder and creative director of the world's largest photographic collaboration event, Concept Collaboration.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/davidtalleyreplay
-How his personality doesn't lend well with a normal job where he is told what to do.
-How many people are afraid of making money with their creative talents because they love it so much and don't want that love to disappear.
-His "single sentence" and how it applies to his creativity as well as his life in general.
-How if you want bad things to turn around, you have to seek out your "explosion of light."
-How his creativity was nurtured from a very young age.
-An important first experience photographing a sunrise in Hawaii.
-How many potentially creative people are idealistic so they never go out and create that first thing to get the ball rolling.
-How lack of structure as well as lack of deadlines holds many people (including David) back from actually creating work.
-How beginning a 365-day challenge gave him the structure and framework to actually take photographs and strive to get better, which actually began his career.
-How it is impossible not to grow when you do something every single day.
-The moment when he realized that he didn't have an answer for why he takes photographs and the way he found an answer, which ultimately led to his single sentence.
-One of his worst moments, when all of his camera gear was stolen, and how he was able to look at the situation from above to realize that in six months, everything would be much better.
-The power that comes from being able to step outside of situations and attempting to determine exactly what is going on and how your single sentence fits into it.
-How sharing your single sentence with people that you care about allows them to hold you accountable for the things that you believe in.
-How more than art, he wants to be able to help people.
-How he balances his time, working hard and then playing hard, along with the concept of sabbath.
-The importance of having some "zest" to your life.
-The Pareto principle and how it applies to him and other artists.
-His greatest inspirations: God, J.J. Abrams and Gregory Crewdson.
-The origins of Concept Collaboration and how it helped many artists and photographers to work together and share resources.
-His ebook "The Single Sentence" and how it breaks down the process of developing your own single sentence and helped many people find vision and focus in their own creativity.
"I don't know if it's like this for other creative artists, but I have a problem with authority and I don't want to be told what to do."
"I was afraid of making money with my creative talents for a really long time."
"At the end of the day, if you're not failing in your art and learning, you're not growing."
"The sentence itself is the guidepost for everything I do and everything I create in terms of art and in terms of life."
"I'm just snapping photos and framing these images and I'm just dying inside. Like this is the best thing ever. I love this so much."
"I think the biggest thing that holds creative people back is a lack of structure and lack of a deadline."
"The first part was take a photo every single day for a year and the second part was try to get better every single day. With that, I found my calling as a photographer."
"As creatives, we love the idea of things, and we hate the idea of hard work. We need to combine the two into one so that we can get stuff done."
"If you want to be something and if you want to say that you're something, then go do something."
"The art that I create is a direct extension of the strongest parts of who I am."
"Who I am at my core is what feeds into my creativity, what feeds into my art, and what ultimately becomes what I produce and what people see of me."
"Go start today. Don't wait until tomorrow because you won't do it. Start today."
"If you want to take the next step in being who you want to be as an artist or a creative person, go take the first step today. Right now."
"Do your art every day for the next 30 days and it will destroy you in the best way. It will completely awaken who you are going to be."
"'Someday' is a very dangerous word."
"The Single Sentence" by David Talley (David's ebook!)
Gregory Crewdson (Wikipedia)
"The Gap" by Ira Glass
Website / Facebook / Instagram
Danny Gregory : Website / Sketchbook Skool
Carson Ellis is the author and illustrator of the bestselling picture books Home and Du Iz Tak? (a Caldecott Honor book and the recipient of an E.B. White Read Aloud Award). She has illustrated a number of books for kids including bestsellers The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, The Composer Is Dead by Lemony Snicket, and The Wildwood Chronicles by Colin Meloy (who happens to be her husband).
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/carsonellis
-Going to school for painting, even though she had a desire to become an illustrator.
-Doing album art for The Decemberists.
-Working in bars while doing her art on the side and why she finally needed to leave.
-Her stance on working for free or working for “exposure.”
-Working with her husband, Colin Meloy.
-What it is like to live on a farm and being surrounded by animals.
-The importance of having your own creative space.
-Battling procrastination.
-How to know when to take a break from a creative project that is giving you problems (and how to know when to come back).
-Creating a new language for her book Du Iz Tak? and some of the other challenges that that book presented to her.
-How she enjoys the laborious process of drawing by hand.
-Getting to her childhood dream in a roundabout way.
-How artists should always be pushing themselves and taking on projects that make them feel uncomfortable.
“It was important for me to do all that art for free because it made me work. It gave me stuff to do and made me feel like I was part of the art scene.”
“I got into this sort of spiral of not knowing how to solve certain problems in the book so I just didn’t think about it for a month and then came back and had a better sense of how to do it.”
“I think that part of the practice is getting through the parts that aren’t inspiring you.”
“In every project I feel like there’s a really inspired part where I’m in a mystical art-making place, and then there’s a boring part where I have to paint blades of grass all day.”
“If you love to do something creatively, make it your practice.”
Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Tumblr
Shayne Taylor is an illustrator, designer and maker originally from Detroit, but now making her home in Chicago, Illinois.
She attended The College for Creative Studies in Detroit and worked a variety of jobs in illustration, design and restoration before becoming a full-time freelance illustrator and designer.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/shaynetaylor
-The game-changing realization that she could actually make a living from her creativity.
-How things changed when she took Illustration at The College for Creative Studies in Detroit.
-Her decision to move to Chicago and her early experiences there.
-Doing craft shows and DIY trunk shows and how they can help you to make not just sales but connections.
-Why we struggle to call ourselves artists and instead define ourselves by what we do to make money.
-How to handle our parents not understanding what we do creatively.
-Restoring vintage circus posters.
-Unpredictability and how it plays a role in her art as well as the projects that she takes on.
-How she handles self-doubt and expectations of others.
-Finding ways to make yourself uncomfortable, because that is where the growth comes from (and you always feel better after).
-How she started using wood as a canvas.
-A quote from Ed Catmull that inspired her to quit and go full-time freelance: “Always take a chance on better, even if it seems frightening.”
“The idea of drawing and telling my story without having to talk was the best thing in the world.”
“When you put yourself into a new atmosphere, you become different.”
“If someone doesn’t like it, it’s not the end of the world. It’s just one person and you’re never going to please everybody.”
“It’s interesting to try to explain what you to do people who have absolutely no clue what you do. It feels like you’re making something up.”
“The unpredictability is a huge part of being creative.”
“You learn so much when you make yourself do things that you don’t necessarily like doing.”
Youngman on The Kick in the Creatives Podcast
Website / Etsy / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
Carson Ellis : Website / Instagram / Facebook
Jan Urschel is a freelance concept designer and illustrator working in the entertainment industry, designing for feature films and video games. Clients include: Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros, Lucasfilm, Marvel, EA, Sony, Ubisoft, LucasArts, Cloud Imperium Games, Psyop etc.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/janurschel
-His decision to go to school for Japanese studies and what that did for his art.
-Living and working in Singapore as a graphic designer.
-His inspiration to become a concept designer and the thought process behind making the switch.
-How he started and stopped his art many times over many years.
-How he got his first job at LucasArts and what it was like to work there.
-The struggle of either not being allowed to show the work that he did on a project, or not wanting to show it because it has been so long.
-The importance of doing personal work as a freelancer and how he attempts to find the balance of personal work and client work.
-How he is in his most productive and effective state when he is employing painful self-discipline.
-His “Project T” and the importance of pursuing your own personal projects for the simple purpose of self-pleasure.
“As a freelancer, you need some material to show off what you can do.”
“In order to put yourself out there in a way that is true to yourself, you really need to put out personal work. And a lot of it.”
“You have to follow your own path and listen to your creative ideas.”
“Live your life and have a bit of fun. People are too focused on making money or becoming a superstar.”
“Experience as much as you can and live a full life. That will help you to become a better creative in the end.”
Website / Instagram / Twitter / Behance
Shayne Taylor : Website / Instagram
Amber Rae is an author, artist, and speaker whose work invites you to live your truth, befriend your emotions, and express your gifts.
Her writing blends raw, personal storytelling with actionable aha! moments and has reached more than 5 million people in 195 countries. Her public art has spread to more than 20 countries, and she's spoken to and collaborated with brands like Kate Spade, Apple, Amazon, and Unilever.
Her book, Choose Wonder Over Worry: Move Beyond Fear and Doubt to Unlock Your Full Potential is your official invitation to face your fears, wake up to your truth, and get to the source of what’s holding you back.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/amberrae
-Her journey of self-discovery.
-Always pushing herself to be honest and vulnerable in her book instead of being “safe.”
-Choosing to focus on the people who love your work rather than the people who might not understand it.
-Being told from a mentor that her story “didn’t matter” and how it affected her mindset and her output.
-The difference between “toxic” worry and “useful” worry.
-Using journaling to talk to your worries and other resistances.
-How and when perfectionism can actually be a good thing.
-How we stop ourselves from progressing or self-sabotage with upper limiting.
-How we are often afraid to lose our suffering because we are afraid to lose our excuses.
-Her suitcase analogy for people who say that they don’t have enough time.
-How she felt while writing the book and how she feels now that the book is finished.
“Am I going to write the safe book or am I going to write the true book?”
“In order to be raw and vulnerable, that requires deep and profound honesty with yourself.”
“You can think of worry as both an inner child throwing a tantrum as well as a parent trying to protect us at the same time.”
“What are the excuses that you’re telling yourself and how do you face them?”
“There is something inside of you dying to be born and you know it. You feel it.”
“What is that thing that is dying to come through you and how will you spend five minutes with it today?”
Gay Hendricks: The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level
Overcome Your Upper Limits (Article by Gay Hendricks)
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
Website / Book / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
Jan Urschel : Website / Instagram
Iris Compiet is an artist and Illustrator living and working in the Netherlands. She worked as a graphic designer for 16 years before making the decision to become a full-time freelance artist and illustrator.
She draws inspiration from European folklore, mythology, fairytales, ghost stories and anything from tombstones, Victorian photography to popular movies and music. She explores the depths of darkness to find the light.
Iris used Kickstarter to successfully fund her book, Fairies of the Faultlines, a collection of drawings that she started in May and June of 2016 when she participated in the #mermay and #junefae challenges on Instagram.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/iris
-Her experience of going to school in the Netherlands and working as a graphic designer for 16 years.
-How the Kickstarter for her book, Faeries of the Faultlines torpedoed her to become a full-time artist and illustrator.
-How and why she decided to go full-time as an illustrator.
-Dealing with imposter syndrome and the fact that we all have it and should talk about it more.
-Defining “fame.”
-How she wanted her faerie art to have more grit.
-How she handled her battle with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
-Doing the #mermay and #junefae challenges.
-How she grew her Instagram followers from 1,000 to 50,000.
-Treating her sketchbook like a playground and always saving her old ones so that she can look back and get new ideas.
-Sharing your rough drafts, sketches and mistakes.
-Finding time throughout your day that you are normally wasting in order to create your art.
-Continuing to sculpt and how it has helped her see things in a new way.
-The triumph of her Kickstarter for Faeries of the Faultlines and some of the pitfalls that she encountered along the way.
“People always think that you need to be successful before a certain age, and I think that is a load of BS.”
“It’s very important to talk about imposter syndrome and acknowledge that it is there. It’s not a problem that it’s there. Just know how to deal with it. We all have it.”
“It sucks that you second guess everything you do. But that’s just your mind telling you things that aren’t true.”
“All of these influences and inspirations I had as a child are finally finding their way into this world. I’m painting faeries now!”
“My Instagram exploded, just by daily posting.”
“I don’t believe there are failures. I believe that there are tries. Your ‘failure’ might be a trial for a new piece or the first version of something else.”
“I took away the expectations that I thought people were having, and I just had fun.”
“I call my sketchbook my playground. I can do anything I want. There’s no restrictions, there’s no laws. It’s just me, the paper, my pencil and an eraser. I just have fun.”
“Art is life. It’s like breathing and eating. I need it.”
Faeries of the Faultlines Kickstarter
Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Tumlbr
Amber Rae : Website / Instagram
In this episode, Youngman explains why he decided not to do the #Cramuary challenge. Yes, the very challenge that he created.
Was it fear? Self-sabotage? Laziness? Burnout? Bitcoin, even?
He's not sure, and he's been too ashamed to talk about it, but by the end of the episode he gets a much better understanding of why, even after two years of constantly thinking and talking about it, Resistance can still hit you with fists of fury.
And that's nothing to be ashamed of.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/287
"I was thinking about doing all of that work and putting in all that time, and I was just dreading it."
"It's not a big deal if you push off your big project. You shouldn't feel shame about realizing that it's not the right time or you're not in the right mindset or place in your life to be able to do something that you care very deeply about. You can always do it later, you can always do it better. As long as you do it."
"I don't know why I felt for so long that I should be invulnerable to creative blocks and burnout."
"I promise to you that I will open up my heart and soul to you and share all of the creative blocks that I am going through myself."
"It's okay to do other projects. It's okay to take breaks. And it's okay to say 'no' to something that you said 'yes' to earlier."
Tom Hart is a cartoonist and the Executive Director of The Sequential Artists Workshop, a school and arts organization in Gainesville, Florida.
He is also the author of the New York Times #1 Bestseller, Rosalie Lightning, a book about the loss of his daughter. Rosalie Lightning has been translated into French, Italian, Portuguese and Chinese, and was featured on many best of 2016 lists, and nominated for two Eisner Awards.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/tomhart
-His early love of Peanuts and the exuberance, confusion and anger that Charles Shultz was able to convey through his characters.
-His artistic educational journey.
-How Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics changed the way he thought about approaching comics.
-How he was able to continue working on comics through his initial artistic shortcomings.
-Following your instincts.
-His own push towards creating comic strips.
-Dealing with adversity, setbacks and failures in an extremely difficult and frustrating business.
-His book How to Say Everything and how it remained 90% finished for nearly a decade.
-How he got past the roadblock of wanting to say everything by realizing that you have to start by saying something.
-Getting used to putting things behind you and moving forward.
-How SAW started and what its students accomplish.
-Tricking your inner critic into thinking that what you’re doing really isn’t that important.
“In my first year of art school I think I made two pages of comics. I just didn’t get it.”
“You’re never going to say everything. So just say something. Say the next thing.”
“We’ve exalted art in some ways, but it can be simply something that you do.”
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud
Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
Amy Dresner is a former professional stand-up comic, having appeared at The Comedy Store, The Laugh Factory, and The Improv. Since 2012, she has been a contributing editor of the online addiction and recovery magazine TheFix.com. She’s also written for the Good Men Project, The Frisky, Refinery 29, and has been a regular contributor to Addiction.com and PsychologyToday.com, where she has her own addiction blog entitled “Coming Clean.” My Fair Junkie is her debut book.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/amydresner
-How she got into the position to write her first book.
-The misconception of creative people that you need drama, tragedy or addiction to have a significant life or art.
-Finding inspiration by simply being outside of your comfort zone.
-The connection between addiction and creativity and seeking a connection to something outside of yourself or something greater.
-How she was able to be so open, honest and vulnerable in writing My Fair Junkie.
-If you had the nerve to live what you lived, you should have the nerve to write about it.
-Dealing with the resistance of not wanting to put herself in the headspace of active addiction.
-How it is never too late to start something or to change (and how you’ll never feel ready).
-How you do anything is how you do everything.
-Allowing yourself to have “shitty first drafts.”
-How she writes for herself and why she never reads the comments on her articles.
-Putting yourself out there and owning all of your mistakes, flaws and humanness.
“I’d finally had a real narrative arc where I had a transformation and a story to tell. I landed in a different place and I had something to say.”
“What was comfortable for me was the chaos. What’s uncomfortable is any kind of normalcy and things going well.”
“As a writer, I know that the stuff that you don’t want to put down on the page is exactly the stuff that you need to put down on the page.”
“Ironically, the more specific it is, the more universal it is.”
“You get ready by doing it. If you’re waiting to feel ready, you will wait forever.”
“I feel weirdly bullet-proof. A big way that I deal with my own shame is to own it. I put it out there. Because then what is anyone going to say?”
“There is a freedom in owning it. Because nobody has anything on you. There’s no secret.”
“It’s always scary when it’s new. The more you do it, the less scary and hard it becomes.”
“I faked that I didn’t care for a long time. Until I didn’t care.”
“Fuck your feelings and take your action. Take consistent action every day.”
Too Sober to Be Creative (The Fix)
My Fair Junkie: A Memoir of Getting Dirty and Staying Clean by Amy Dresner
Website / The Fix / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
Tom Hart : Website
Kan Muftic is a London-based Animation Director and Concept Artist, who has worked on projects like Annihilation, Godzilla and Guardians of the Galaxy. He is also the animation director for the Netflix and Channel 4 show, Kiss Me First.
Kan's first book, Figure Drawing for Concept Artists is a comprehensive guide for learning figure drawing techniques to aid every concept artist's skill set.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/kanmuftic
-His early desire to be a zoologist and his decision to become an artist instead.
-Discovering concept art and how he knew he had to pursue it as a new career and passion.
-The terrifying decision to leave the stability of his current work in order to learn a new way of approaching art.
-How your interest is the thing that will lead you to success because it will ensure your motivation to keep learning and working hard.
-Having to push past the fact that actors and writers are given directorial roles without question, while traditional artists are doubted.
-How he approached the idea of being the leader of a creative team for Kiss Me First.
-Dealing with moments of extreme self-doubt.
-His practice of mindfulness and how it helped to get him through his rigorous 2-year project.
-Neuroplasticity.
-How he was also able to complete a book during the busiest two years of his life.
-Realizing the value of being able to communicate through drawing.
-Speaking with Ridley Scott.
-His approach to the uncanny valley.
-The experience of working with Netflix and what surprised him the most about the company.
“It was just a thing that I had to do and it felt completely right. I’ve only had that with concept art and when I met my wife.”
“I realized eventually that the only thing that matters is to do what you really really really want to do and that life takes care of the rest somehow.”
“Listen to that quiet, deep guttural voice inside of you.”
“I had levels of self-doubt that I didn’t even know I had.”
“The ability to communicate through drawing is absolutely invaluable.”
Figure Drawing for Concept Artists by Kan Muftic
Website / Facebook / Instagram
Amy Dresner : Website / Facebook
Cindy Hohman is the creator of The Art Marketing Project, which helps independent artists by teaching marketing and promotion skills so you can do what you love and make a living with your art. Her goal is to make art and creativity a viable, sustainable, and profitable career path.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/cindyhohman
-Her background working at the Art Students League of Denver and the Denver Art Museum.
-How and why she started the Art Marketing Project.
-Why it is so important to develop a marketing plan and not just do what everybody else is doing.
-The importance of keeping track of your numbers and analytics.
-How to know when to quit your attempt at a particular social media tactic.
-Building a brand for yourself that you choose, and then finding your ideal buyers.
-Whether or not you should create a new identity if you plan on doing a different type of creative work.
-How to push past the icky feeling that comes with marketing and self-promotion.
-Being a hedgehog.
-Having a strong website and also making sure you make it clear that your work is for sale.
-Not being afraid to make real-world connections.
-Disney’s rule for selling art and how it is never too early to start selling your art.
-More information about her new course.
“Without a marketing plan, you can easily get caught in the shiny object syndrome.”
“Marketing is hard, but you should enjoy a good part of what you’re doing with it.”
“Your ideal buyer is for you to choose, not for your past buyers to tell you.”
“Don’t try to be acceptable and pleasant to everybody. What you do should hit right to the core of who it’s meant for.”
“You don’t even have to have your website up and completely functional and perfectly done to sell your work.”
“Sharing your work is great. Being clear that it is for sale is even better.”
Art Marketing Project goodies for YCP listeners
Website / Facebook / Instagram / LinkedIn / Pinterest
Kan Muftic : Website / Facebook
Heidi Gustad is a knit & crochet designer, Midwesterner, & one-time Librarian who is obsessed with colorful knitting, crochet & yarn crafts.
She is also the creator of Hands Occupied, which features dozens of free knitting & crochet patterns, over 250 step-by-step How-to posts, and 100+ inspiration posts to help you dream up your own DIYs.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/heidigustad
-How she got into knitting as a child as a way to battle anxiety and insomnia.
-How she pushed her knitting to the side because of her talent (and responsibility) with the oboe.
-Getting involved with blogging.
-Her realization that she could have been monetizing her side hustle for years.
-How much easier it is for younger people to learn things.
-Why she finally made the decision to quit her job as a librarian and pursue her creativity full-time.
-Dealing with the question of Am I defined by what I do for a living?
-The importance of finding your own happiness so that you can help others.
-Balancing a knitting and crocheting world in which some people have a lot of money to spend while others do not.
-How she achieves flow state.
-Being able to get to know yourself.
“I was Knit-Flixing back before that had a name.”
“Creativity has always been a way that I’ve handled my anxious behavior and anxiety within myself.”
“It’s so funny to me now that this is my full-time job that I just sat there missing all these opportunities to monetize my side hustle.”
“I just had this gut knowledge that I needed to come back to creativity as the foundation for my life.”
“You can sit there forever and not pull the trigger on doing your creative work, whether its as a side hustle, or part-time, or full-time or sometimes.”
Youngman Brown on The Blue Magic Podcast
Website / Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest / YouTube / Twitter
Alex Strohl is a Madrid-born, French adventure photographer whose work is characterized by his extraordinary existence. Instead of creating contrived scenes, Strohl creates authentic moments and captures them as they unfold before him— continually blurring the lines between work and life.
Strohl’s photography has been featured in prestigious publications such as Forbes, Vanity Fair, and Gentleman’s Journal and his client list includes dozens of household names. He is based in Whitefish, Montana—but spends the vast majority of his time on the road with his partner Andrea Dabene; they often journey to the most remote reaches of the world.
His new course, The Adventure Photography Workshop offers an in-depth look into his mindset, methodology, and strategy, not just as a photographer, but as a creative thinker.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/281
-His recent traveling, including his recent trips to the Pyrenees and Iceland.
-How he plans his trips and his shoots.
-The reason he created the Adventure Photography Workshop.
-Training yourself to enjoy doing the difficult work, and some of the tips he has for getting yourself in that mindset, like taking cold showers.
-Finding motivation in previous successes.
-Some of the things that he didn’t expect about creating a course.
-Deconstructing his methods and what that did for his mindset and strategy as a photographer.
-How investing in knowledge up front can save you time later.
-Splitting up large projects into more manageable pieces.
-Dealing with uncertainty as a creative person and developing certainty by creating a system for yourself.
“When you’re a freelancer, you’re the asset. You’re the business.”
“It’s all about drawing energy from our high moments.”
“You can’t be someone else. People are going to see right through that.”
“The value is in the implementation, not the idea.”
The Adventure Photography Workshop (Use Coupon Code CREATIVEPUSH at checkout to get $100 off (Limited to 25 orders))
Alex Strohl on Your Creative Push Episode 180
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth
Get Out of a Creative Rut - Woody Allen's Shower Hack to Master Creativity
Website / Facebook / Instagram / Tumblr / Twitter
Heidi Gustad : Website / Instagram
Dougie Hoppes is a Dark Fantasy Artist living in Hillsborough, NC. During the daytime, he writes software for a neuroscience company, and at night and on weekends, he works on his art business and spends time with my family.
He is also the creator of the ShadowMyths Cards, designed to inspire idea generation, and the upcoming Shadow Myth's book, Selik's Road.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/dougie
-How he got a later start in his art than most.
-His wife’s wise advice to paint what he truly loved instead of what he thought he was supposed to paint.
-Going to his first Comic-Con at the age of 47 and the creative shift that it gave him.
-How he destroys 90% of his work, but documents it all.
-A glimpse into the way in which he has evolved as an artist (and continues to evolve).
-Getting past the tiredness.
-Taking calculated risks.
-His style of finding the images and the story after he makes marks.
-His upcoming Kickstarter for Selik's Road.
-How he came up with the idea for his Shadow Myths book.
“In the beginning, I did stuff that I thought people were going to buy.”
“If you’re going to improve, you’ve got to take risks. Nobody ever improved by just sitting there.”
Terry Crews on The Tim Ferriss Podcast
Website / Facebook / Instagram
Jennie Nash is a book coach, a writer, and the founder of Author Accelerator, a strategic book coaching service that offers the sustained editorial support writers need to complete their projects and make a powerful impact on their target audience.
For eight years, writers serious about reaching readers have trusted Jennie to coach their projects from inspiration to publication, landing top New York agents and book deals with houses such as Scribner, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette.
Jennie is the author of four novels, three memoirs, and one self-help book for writers. She has taught for 12 years in the UCLA Extension Writer’s Program, delivered three courses for CreativeLive, and spoken at writing conferences all over the country. Her guest posts have appeared on popular writing sites including The Write Life, Writers Helping Writers, and The Book Designer.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/jennienash
-The inspiration that her father gave her as a hard-working writer.
-Her lifelong pursuit of trying to prove the power of story.
-How she developed as a writer after her 4th grade debut.
-The importance of grabbing onto whatever creative thing is calling out to you.
-How she became a book coach and what she does to help her clients.
-Wrestling with her identity.
-How the creative parts of our lives are mostly spent in solitude, spending time with our own minds.
-How anxiety, doubt and stress are emotional resistances that all writers and creative people will deal with their entire lives.
-The importance of knowing why you want to do something creative like writing a book so that you can get through all of the resistances that you encounter along your journey.
-How to know when it is time to walk away from a project, temporarily or permanently.
-More information about Author Accelerator.
“If you’re writing aimlessly, it’s easy to not end up anywhere.”
“A book is an incredibly linear thing. But a book is not written in a linear fashion and a lot of writers get into trouble when they think that it is.”
“Even the most successful writers are having the same struggles as you. It doesn’t end.”
“Project: easy. Editorial solution: easy. It’s the emotion that’s hard.”
“Why do you care about this particular story. Why? What about it is calling you and moving you?”
“Writing is hard for so many reasons. But it shouldn’t be painful.”
Blueprint for a Book (Author Accelerator)
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
Website / Facebook / Google+ / Twitter
Dougie Hoppes : Website
Jeff Leisawitz is an award-winning musician/producer, a critically acclaimed author and internationally distributed filmmaker who has devoted his life to creativity. He burns with a mission -- to inspire writers, artists, musicians, filmmakers, entrepreneurs (and everyone else) to amp up their creativity, heal their hearts and shine in the world.
Not F*ing Around: The No Bullsh*t Guide for Getting Your Creative Dreams Off the Ground is Jeff's first book.
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/jeffl
-His early interest in music, photography, and writing.
-The importance of focus when you have many creative impulses.
-NLP and how it can aid creative people.
-How creativity is a way for us to be seen, expressed and healed.
-How to get past your inner critic.
-Seeing your art as ephemeral and being willing to destroy it.
-How the movie, Patterson inspired him to take up the daily practice of writing a poem.
-The notion of building up resiliency to rejection.
-The lessons that he learned from improve comedy such as “Yes, and….”
-His advice for people to shift from the fucking around mindset to the not fucking around mindset.
“If you don’t focus on something, you’re never going to get very far in anything.”
“Creativity is a way for us to be seen, expressed and healed in our lives.”
“The inner critic is the super villain of the creative self.”
“If you’re going to step out into the world as any kind of artist, you will be rejected most of the time. And that’s okay. The trick is to remember that you are not your creation.”
What I learned from 100 days of rejection | Jia Jiang's TED Talk
Website / Book / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter
Jennie Nash : Website / Author Accelerator
Matt Madden is a cartoonist and teacher best known for his book 99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style (Penguin), a comics adaptation of Raymond Queneau’s Exercises in Style. In addition to his personal work he has written two textbooks with his wife, Jessica Abel, Drawing Words & Writing Pictures and Mastering Comics, (First Second).
Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/matmadden
-How he got a later start with art and cartoons.
-How he discovered Exercises in Style by Raymond Queneau and he instantly knew he wanted to do something similar with cartoons.
-Oubapo.
-How giving yourself rules or constraints can help you to get past the fear of the blank page.
-How he has come to terms with certain limitations of his own creative process and pace.
-Some actionable advice for anyone wanting to implement some limitations or constraints in their own work.
-His advice for people who might feel as if they got into their creative passion too late and are “behind pace.”
“I rarely have that terror of the blank page.”
“It’s a very slow moving thing and a long time before I get that gratification of finishing a project.”
“You have to be careful what you draw in those panels because you are condemning your characters to relive that scenario eternally.”
99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style by Matt Madden
J.S. Bach - Crab Canon on a Mobius Strip
Jessica Abel on Your Creative Push Episode 179
Website / Facebook / Tumblr / Twitter / Blog
Jeff Leisawitz : Website