Your Creative Push

Scott Listfield is known for his paintings featuring a lone exploratory astronaut lost in a landscape cluttered with pop culture icons, corporate logos, and tongue-in-cheek science fiction references. Scott grew up in Boston, MA and studied art at Dartmouth College. After some time spent living abroad, Scott returned to America and, shortly before the real life, non-movie version of the year 2001, began painting astronauts and, sometimes, dinosaurs.

Scott has been profiled in Juxtapoz, Wired Magazine, the Boston Globe, New American Paintings, and on at least one local television station. He has exhibited his work in Los Angeles, London, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Miami, Montreal, Boston, just to name a few.

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

-How he wanted to be an astronaut as a child, and how that would later (greatly) influence his art.

-High school art class, and how it took him some time to realize that college art classes could be similar.

-The experience of travelling abroad and not feeling at home, and how that feeling remained with him after he returned to America.

-Watching Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey and how that influenced him to use an astronaut as his protagonist.

-How he could have never expected the astronaut paintings to last as his subject matter for so long.

-How and when inspiration strikes him.

-The obligation that he sometimes feels to cover current political issues.

-The importance of getting out of your everyday routine if you are lacking inspiration.

-His daily struggle of not having enough time in the day to do everything he wants to do.

-How he was nervous about running out of ideas once he became a full time artist (but found the opposite to be true).

-His advice for balancing a full-time job with your own personal artwork.

-Building a routine out of your creative passion.

-The amazing tool of the internet and social media.

"I felt like I had been tossed into the deep end of American pop culture and I didn't feel at home or comfortable."

"There's this idea of artistic inspiration. The artist is usually wearing a beret with a pipe in their hands, staring at a blank canvas, saying 'Aha!' And that is never the case for me."

Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Tumblr

Bill Logan : Website

Become a patron! http://patreon.com/yourcreativepush

Just a quick one today, asking you to please consider donating what you spend on one cup of coffee, once a month.

So much of my time, effort, and money is required to keep this show going, and it is starting to really add up. And with sponsorship not yet panning out, I need your help in order to keep up the quality and quantity of episodes that you are used to.

If the podcast has helped you to get to your creative passions, please consider becoming a Patron.

It will go a long way to helping out the show, and it will make me love you more than I already do.

Thank you so much for your support, and thank you even more for getting to your creative passion every single day and making the world a better place!

<3 Youngman

Glen Phillips is an American songwriter, lyricist, singer and guitarist, who is best known as the singer and songwriter of the alternative rock group, Toad the Wet Sprocket.

This episode features songs from Glen's latest solo album, Swallowed by the New, which is available everywhere music is sold (and links below).

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

-The story of how Toad the Wet Sprocket started.

-How he originally wanted to be a teacher and didn't think that he had the ego or the thick skin to be a professional performer.

-His thoughts on religion, spirituality, and his desire to reclaim the word "God" for himself.

-The importance of being grateful.

-The singing circles that he is taking a part of and the sense of community that it has brought to his life.

-His take on the purpose of music and how it is not about one person singing and everyone else listening.

-His attempt to be vulnerable and share his pains so that it can act as a tool for other people.

-How he felt miserable for years in the role of provider that he put upon himself.

"In some ways it's everybody's dream and it's everybody's nightmare because you're getting up there and bearing your soul in front of people and allowing them to judge you."

"Life gives you the coursework you need, not the coursework you choose."

"I just feel a great compulsion to give thanks."

"Everyone came in here, ready to wake up and the music is serving as this solvent to take away all this stuff that's secreted over everyone's soul and kind of free them up for a moment."

"Music is not about being the star. It's about sharing and losing yourself in the song and ceasing to exist for a moment and realizing that you are a part of something larger."

"The happiest people I know are the hardest working."

Swallowed by the New [iTunes] [Amazon] [Physical]

Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter

Scott Listfield : Website / Instagram

Jake is an illustrator who has worked for 15 years on everything from animated films to comics to picture books. He is the creator of the Missile Mouse graphic novel series published by Scholastic, and he has worked for Blue Sky Studios, creating sets and environments for feature films like Horton Hears a Who, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Rio, and Epic. He now freelances out of his home studio in Utah.

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

-A bit about his personal life and what he is currently up to.

-Why he started SVS School, who his target audience is, and what you can learn there.

-Some of his earlier memories of drawing.

-How his parents and teachers were very supportive as well as his friend's mom, who was a painter.

-How doubt, comparing himself to others, time restraints, and over-committing to things are the main things that sometimes hold him back.

-How sometimes he compares himself to other people who are doing other careers and making lots of money, but then he remembers the freedom and joy that drawing gives him.

-How he gets through negative thoughts and battles through his resistance.

-The influence that both his wife and God play in his life, especially when he feels lost or discouraged.

-One of his hardest moments creatively, which actually came as a result of accomplishing one of his lifelong goals.

-An e-mail that completely changed his perspective when he was feeling like Missile Mouse was not having an impact.

-If you are taking on a large personal project, making sure that you create an appropriate balance with all of the other things that are important in your life, such as family, friends, and work.

-Making a large project into a marathon, not a sprint, and chipping away at it.

-The importance of rewarding yourself as you reach milestones.

-Finding a way to create accountability with self-imposed projects.

-How he balances his time, by making sure that everyone knows what is expected of them and being able to be flexible.

"For this little artist kid, there was all this opportunity and I just ate it up."

"If I faced any resistance then and now, it's always been self-imposed."

"I think being an artist as your career choice is probably the hardest thing you can do to make money."

"Yea. I could be sitting there on the beach, thinking, Man, I wish I was drawing."

"Life is hard enough as it is with everything that people are doing, and I'm happy to provide a place for someone to escape to when they need. And that's what keeps me going."

"It doesn't work to have accountability to yourself. Because yourself knows all your excuses and sees the validity in them and will give you a pass."

"You need a final product, you don't need a project."

Society of Visual Storytelling (SVS School)

You Need a Product, Not a Project e041 (Jake's YouTube channel)

Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Pinterest / YouTube / Tumblr / Store

Glen Phillips : Website

Shawny Sheldon is an artist who is inspired by nature and quirky whimsical stuff.

She forged a path for herself as a high school art teacher, and she has been teaching for twenty five years. She is also the creator of Lily the Hedgehog.

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

-Her poor eyesight as a child and how it affected her as an artist.

-Some of her other early influences like her father, water, New York City, and the great masters.

-The experience of going to California.

-The decision she made when faced with the choice between the commercial route and teaching.

-Her decision to forge forward with her goals, even when people told her that she couldn't find a job as an art teacher.

-The influence that teachers and professors have and why they shouldn't be discouraging.

-The fears that she had in starting her Instagram account and participating in Inktober.

-Creating Lily the Hedghog, and how she became a symbol of strength.

-Learning to let go of perfect.

-Her creative relationship with her son.

-Some of the most important messages she attempts to teach her students, not just about art, but about life.

"I was just set in my way that this was what I was going to do. And I did it!"

"If you are supposed to be doing something, you can feel it in your body."

"Teachers have great power. And they can abuse it."

"When things don't go right in your life, it's actually a new opportunity for you to reinvent something or for you to be better at something."

"Perfectionism is not about being meticulous. It's about fear."

"You woke up in the morning. You're here. You have a gift. You have the gift of today."

Inktober

Keith Haring

Instagram

Noah Bradley is an American artist, known best for his work on Magic: The Gathering cards, as well as his The Sin of Man project.

He is also well-known as the guy who told everyone "don't go to art school. As a supplement to that advice, he founded Art Camp to help art students all over the world learn to make better art.

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

-The list that he made of things he wanted to do with his life, and why he chose "artist."

-His experience at RISD and VCU.

-How he decided to become a landscape and environment artist.

-The confusion, disappointment, and excitement that he felt when people started responding to his landscape work.

-Being plagued with the desire to move onto another piece as opposed to finishing the one he is working on.

-His experience working for Wizards of the Coast and doing art for Magic: The Gathering.

-Why he gave away free prints at Illuxcon and what that did for his art career.

-The difficulty he has in scheduling his life and knowing where he is going to be the next day.

-Why he believes that people should not pay for art school.

-His advice for people who have difficulty keeping self-imposed deadlines and holding themselves accountable.

-The importance of making your creative passion a habit (especially in the morning) so that you can take the decision-making process out of it.

-Finding an external source to hold you accountable.

-Quitting social media and what has happened since.

-His personal project, "The Sin of Man."

"For my own happiness, I can't just sit around and not make something. If at the end of the day I don't have something tangible in my hands or on a screen that I made, I don't feel happy about how productive I was that day."

"Just go for it. Whatever happens to click for you is the thing that you should be pursuing. And it's often not the thing that you originally set out to do."

"Find ways to make it a habit rather than a decision."

How I Became an Artist by Noah Bradley

Don't Go To Art School by Noah Bradley

Art Camp

The Sin of Man

Website / Art Camp

Shawny Sheldon : Instagram

Chrilz is a contemporary artist whose work focuses on human nature -- our experiences, our relationships, and our emotions.

Everything Chrilz creates is in a Neo-Figurative Expressionist style that uses the human form as its vessel. Through color, line, geometry, and realizm, he is constantly seeking to visually express this severely emotional, dynamic life. Every pieces is both formal and conceptual in a very intentional way, all of which serving the ultimate goal of expression.

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

-His experience at college and determining which path he wanted to devote his time and energy towards.

-Getting together with Michelle Tanguay and what that did for his outlook on a creative life.

-What to do when you don't have a creative framework in your life.

-His grandmother's advice that you need to stop saying you want to become an artist and just say that you are an artist.

-Being inspired by the talented artists in the Detroit area.

-How you can simply "cold call" someone you look up to.

-How he is so intentional with his art.

-How artists don't create artwork, they beget it because it is such a big part of you.

-Finding contentment from creating something honest that pleases you, not someone else.

-How he developed his style.

-Being conscious of what he is doing and what he is saying with his art.

-The importance of writing down ideas for later exploration.

-His writing and his "conceptual statements" that go along with his pieces, and how he is often unsure of whether they come from himself, his art, or the figure in his art.

"Keep doing it if it's bringing you that joy and you still feel that passion for it."

"If you put it off until tomorrow, it's never going to happen."

"Be honest with yourself. Be honest with the artist that was built within you."

"As an artist, you don't create artwork, you beget artwork. It is such a large piece of you."

"Make something honest and then put it out there."

Chrilz' Art Prize Page

Michelle Tanguay

Francis Bacon

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Website / Instagram / Art Prize

Noah Bradley: Website

Amanda Giacomini has dedicated her life to uplifting people and creating more beauty in the world through yoga and art. From teaching yoga at the White House to presenting at some of the biggest yoga festivals, conferences and Asian Art museums in the world, Amanda infuses the ancient teachings with creativity and joy. Her journey in yoga began in 1994, and she continues to study with many great Indian and Western masters.

In 2001, along with her husband, MC YOGI, she founded Yoga Toes Studio in Point Reyes, CA. She has been featured in Yoga International, Origins, Marin Magazine, Happiness + Wellbeing as well as appearing the cover of Yoga Journal and Mantra Magazine. As an artist, she created an award winning series of children's books, called Mo's Nose, that feature her beloved rescued pit bull, Mo, as the main character. She has a catalog of paintings inspired by her yoga and spiritual practice. Currently she is working on a project to paint 10,000 Buddhas.

Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/10000buddhas

-The story of how her massive 10,000 Buddhas project started.

-How committing to a large project helped to creatively anchor herself down and thus get to a flow state more easily.

-How her painting is similar to rehearsing for a dance performance, where she doesn't have to think about the movements after doing it so often.

-The experience of completing her ten-thousandth Buddha.

-Her practice of yoga and how it relates to her art.

-How she has now developed (and embraced) a new identity of "10,000 Buddhas."

-How she avoided repetition by changing the scale, medium, and colors.

-Her creative relationship with her husband, MC Yogi.

-Some of the synchronistic things that have happened in her creative life.

-How she used to start projects and never finish them, and her advice for people who might struggle with a similar experience.

-How a creative journey is a cyclical one, with many ups and downs.

"It started with a little seed of curiosity."

"I think there was something about committing to a big project and a big number that helped me get to that flow state."

"I had tears of joy that day that I made a commitment to the goal and I had kept it."

"That sense of curiosity is important to me as an artist."

Book Tour / Events

MC Yogi

Youngman Brown on The Pawprint Podcast

Website / Facebook / Instagram

Chrilz : Website / Instagram

J.T. is the New York Times bestselling author of fifteen critically acclaimed novels, including What Lies Behind, When Shadows Fall, and All the Pretty Girls, and is the coauthor of the Nicholas Drummond series with #1 New York Times bestselling author Catherine Coulter.

With over a million books in print, Ellison's work has been published in twenty-five countries and thirteen languages. Her novel The Cold Room won the ITW Thriller Award for Best Paperback Original and Where All The Dead Lie was a RITA® nominee for Best Romantic Suspense. She is also the author of multiple short stories.

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

-Her time living and working in Washington D.C. and how she thought that was the path she was going to go down.

-How reading John Sanford inspired her to get back to her own writing and to give it a shot.

-The memory of sitting down to write after eight years of not writing.

-Her advice for people who have had a long hiatus from their writing or art, to just do it.

-For people who have full-time gigs, to find an hour of time to put towards their calling.

-How people know how to budget their money to save up for a vacation, but they don't think of their time with creativity the same way.

-How her thesis advisor told her she "wasn't good enough" to get published, and how that voice remained in her head for years (and still does).

-Her advice for anyone who has received negative feedback and can't get that voice out of their head.

-The importance of having a critique group or some friends or colleagues that will give you honest feedback without tearing you down.

-One of her hardest times creatively, when she actually thought she was going to quit, and how "The Artist's Way" brought her out of it and realized that she needed to pivot and write something different.

-How you should not leave behind "half-eaten sandwiches," or half-finished stories.

-How it is important to be honest and explain to loved ones why you need to spend time doing your creative passion and what it brings to your life.

"I think everybody goes to D.C. thinking they're going to change the world."

"I sat down and I started to write. I wrote a paragraph, hit period, and I started to cry. Because that was it. I had come home."

"Something was wrong. I was good at what I did but I hated every minute of it. I hated getting up in the morning. I hated going to work. I hated going to sleep at night because then I had to get up and do it the next day. If you are feeling that, you need to step away. Life is just too short to be miserable in your work and in what you do."

"Writing is not easy. It is not an easy path. There are a lot of obstacles in the way, but any creative outlet whether you're a writer, a painter, or a poet... you have to just do it."

"You can find an hour to do anything."

"Fifteen minutes a day, write 250 words. You will have a novel by the end of the year. It's totally doable."

"That's why I didn't write for eight years. Because somebody told me I wasn't good enough."

"If you can understand why a story is appealing on a broad level, you can fix your own."

"Voice can't be taught. Voice is something unique to every writer. And Voice is something that comes when you trust yourself."

"Learn how to structure and build a story and then let yourself go. The voice will come."

"A bad day writing is better than a good day doing anything else."

"The problem with being a writer is that it takes a lot of introspection."

"All creatives are selfish. And you have to be selfish and you have to be able to respect your time."

"It's very threatening for the spouse or parent of a creative person to see you finding satisfaction in something that's not them."

"No One Knows" by J.T. Ellison

"The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron

Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter

Amanda Giacomini : Website / Instagram

Megan Auman is a designer, metalsmith, educator, and entrepreneur who has built a a multi-faceted business around her passion for art, commerce, and visual content creation.

Megan splits her time between running her eponymous jewelry line and teaching the intersection of art and business on Designing an MBA.

A best-selling CreativeLive instructor, her designs have been featured in Elle Decor, Better Homes & Gardens, Cooking Light and on top-rated blogs like Design*Sponge.

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

-Her creative education in metalsmithing.

-How platforms like Instagram and Pinterest are tailor-made for visual artists.

-Some of the mistakes that people make on Instagram and Pinterest, like being overly promotional (or not promotional enough).

-Her tactic of using professional images alongside conversational dialogue.

-The ratio you should be sharing of personal pictures versus pictures of your work.

-How you should feel free to repost old work as well as share things that are sold out.

-Why so many creators get frustrated and give up on Pinterest (and why they shouldn't).

-How you can utilize Instagram and Pinterest in tandem.

-Thinking about Pinterest as a search engine.

-How to turn your followers on Instagram and Pinterest into customers and sales.

-The importance of having an optimized website.

-Getting into a mindset as a businessperson if you are looking to make money from your art.

-Starting a mailing list.

-How she balances her time between her business, her art, and her teaching by separating them.

-"Marketing mornings."

-Designing an MBA and her Creative Live courses.

"My motto is 'professional images, conversational copy.'"

"If you're not consuming a lot of the visual culture that's happening online, it's hard to turn around and create your own."

"On Pinterest, it's about reaching critical mass."

"You don't know if it's going to sell unless you put it up for sale."

"Selling online is hard and if you are struggling you are so not alone."

What you need to know about the Pinterest lag (and how to get past it to find success on Pinterest)

What to post on Instagram when you're a maker, artist, or designer (and how to share your work without feeling overly promotional)

Viraltag

Tailwind: Pinterest & Instagram Marketing, Scheduling & Analytics Tool

Website / Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest / Twitter

Amanda Giacomini : Website / Instagram