Art Licensing, Originality and reaching for Excellence
I’m reading a book called TALENT IS OVERRATED. It’s by Geoff Colvin who is a Senior Editor at Large for FORTUNE, published by The Penguin Group.
Here is a quote which I love;
The greatest innovators in a wide reange of fields- business, science, painting, music–all have at least on characteristic in common: They spent many years in intensive preparation before making any kind of creative breakthrough. Creative achievement never came suddenly, even in those cases in which the creator later claimed that it did. Whether it was the transistor or the Beatle’s Sgt. Pepper album or the cell phone or Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, it always follwed a long, earlier peiod of extemely hard work, and in most cases, the creative products themselves were developed over a a significant period. Great innovations are roses that bloom after long and careful cultivation.
There is a very popular video going around which illustrates this exact thought. Take a look:
Drifting by Andy McKee. Andy, you are amazing.
I hope this inspires you to reach for originality and excellence each day. It does me. As an art licensor, I find that sometimes, we have to walk the line between putting out work which will sell some short lived, mediocre product - and that which will evoke “wow”s as clients look at our portfolios and know that they have found their next big program. Personally, I want my work to be memorable and sellable! I believe this is achievable and it comes about by continually learning and growing as an artist. And that, my friend, means putting in hours and hours of work. I’ve been exploring a new direction lately and know that it’s not ready. Not quite. I’m almost there but not quite. I’ve wasted quite a bit of paint, several (o.k., more than several) boards and hours of time. But, I want it to be “WOW”. So I’ll keep at it - even after years and years of painting and drawing, I’m willing to publicly admit that I don’t get it right each and every time. No one does. I could probably take this less than wonderful work and put it out there and it would be well received by many. But I know it’s not at the level of excellence I want for it and know that I can achieve. And when I do put it out there, I want it as a collection so it will have the very best chance of becoming a program with longevity and substance. In other words, I’m going for the gold.
A few years back, when I was selling my large, fanciful paintings at a local outdoor art festival, I was asked time and again how long it took me to paint a certain painting. (average, actual selling price range for my large pieces was and is in the range of $1200. to $2500.) The first time I was asked, it caught me off guard.
I responded with the actual hours, start to finish which in this case, was 3 days, approximately). One astounded young woman quickly did the math and proclaimed she was in the wrong business! I’m guessing she thought she could just as easily come up with the same painting? ) Anyway, after that shocking statement, my answer changed. “It took me 35 years.” That’s how long I’d been painting, drawing, studying, practicing, learning.
It’s so easy to get caught up in the feeling that everyone is passing you by. If you’re on Facebook or other social networking (and who isn’t???) the perception is that everybody is doing and achieving way more than you are. Don’t be fooled. There are certainly people who truly are doing that, but just as many if not more who are doing a lot more talking than action. The overwhelm of it all can be hazardous to our sense of self worth and to our ability to concentrate on our true, authentic talents. People tend to get caught up in the hurried “race” to be all things to all people and list their credentials and experience based on what they have bookmarked as reference. Personally, I long for the days when if a person said they were an expert or experienced or proven, they really were.
Here’s a painting from 2000, one of a series of 4 which I’m going to repaint in order to update the colors. 
I painted this prior to studying color while a student at the Creative Circus in Atlanta, a portfolio school with concentrations in advertising, design, art direction, copy-writing and image making. It was here that I first began to really understand color. My undying gratitude goes to Sylvia, who still makes her students cry with frustration (even some of the boys). I’ve taken what I’ve learned from her and continued to study and experiment over the years since graduating. I’m so glad to have that knowledge and that’s why I decided to share it with others.
Have a terrific, original, excellently creative week, my friends!
Have a great week, friends!
5 hours of kayaking off from Roche Harbor was exhilarating and beautiful!
Good thing we worked up an appetite because 
If you’re coming to CHA next month, please come to the class I’m teaching - Branding for Artists and Designers. We’re our own worst enemies when it comes to branding…we have a really hard time committing to a look, a style, a “voice” because we want to be able to be all things and when we finally do land on what we want, we get tired of it really, really quickly. Designers typically try everything we do a million and one ways, right? That’s what makes us Designers. We have to try it as line art, as polkadots, as hand drawn, as distressed….it could on for ever and ever! It’s crazy hard to finally decide. There are lots of things to think about when creating your brand identity. I’ll be discussing some hot spot issues to be avoided and will be offering a list of what TO think about when designing your logomark or logotype. I’ll also be discussing naming your business and why using your own name can be both good and bad.
seems to attract. But it’s such a beautiful field and here’s what we’re finding this week - I think I’m going to be making a pie this weekend. 
And here’s a color palette from this photo. Isn’t it just delicious?
And here’s a fun picture from just down the road. I think these blooms were wilting just as I was in the steamy heat of midday, here in the deep south. 
And one more from my friend and neighbor’s beautiful yard.
I’m pretty sure this one will be a painting soon!
