Sweaty Creatives

As an artist and someone who spends a lot of time alone I've discovered a few things about myself. One of these things is that I have an incredible imagination. You might be thinking, well that's awesome you're an artist. But what I mean is that my mind can take me on journeys that I didn't even want to go on and they have nothing to do with creating art and yet they have everything to do with being an artist.

Creatives are some of the most self deprecating people and as Brené Brown puts it, we're constantly putting ourselves in the arena. It's difficult to put your work that you spend so many hours, days and weeks on out in front of others. You want people to like/love what you do but sometimes they don't respond as well as you'd like. Sometimes there are critics. Sometimes you want certain people that you know and respect to respond to your work and all you hear are crickets. For me, this is when my imagination goes into overdrive and can lead me into the darkest of places. But realizing you have absolutely no control over whether or not they like what you have created is a great starting point to letting go of the need for their approval. Just do your work. Period. Whatever it is, do the best you can and don't worry about what anyone thinks, good or bad. The people who need what you do will find you. So work from your heart, put it out there and leave it. Now go back and do it again. This is all that you are required to do. So get your butt in the arena and create something!




99UCONF 01A BROWN v05-720p from 99U on Vimeo.

Clouded Leopard

Yesterday I finished this small 8" x 10" commission of a clouded leopard. This was a really fun piece to do and I can see another clouded leopard in my future. More than likely at a much larger size. These leopards like far too many animals, are on the verge of extinction and this painting will be auctioned to raise funds for these amazing cats.