Your Creative Push

Adam Wilber is a world-class magician, author, inventor, and keynote speaker who believes that creativity isn't a finite personality feature -- it's a skill that EVERYONE can master with the right mindset.

As a keynote speaker and creative thinking workshop leader, Adam engages, challenges, and inspires audiences with the promise that everyone can learn how to be creative and his five books define the magic formula of creativity and are the must-have manuals for anyone that wants to improve their creative quotient.

Upgraded magic tricks and brand-new illusions skyrocketed Adam's career as a professional magician. The never-before-seen inventions and illusions were highlighted on national television shows, including Penn & Teller, and in front of thousands of awestruck audiences at private and corporate events.

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

-How creativity saved his life.

-The response he got about a magic trick pertaining to creativity that set him on a new course.

-How he fooled Penn & Teller on "Fool Us."

-The role that creativity plays on his life.

-The way he handles imposter syndrome.

-How the tide has changed in terms of companies getting behind creativity as a focal point in their long-term vision.

-Becoming an author.

-How he goes about developing a new magic trick, specifically looking at his trick, "Decibel."

-How he feels about other magicians using his tricks.

"They say once you start doing what you're supposed to do and what you're passionate about, that's when you become successful."

"Your expectations are never as bad as the reality of the situation."

"That's where magic lives. It lives in the mind of a spectator."

"If you have that one thing that's been with you your entire life -- you've always wanted to do it, you've always tinkered, you've always dabbled -- then that's it. That's the thing you need to put your heart and soul into."

Penn & Teller: Fool Us // Adam Wilber Totally Baffles Them!

Aimée Hoover on "Between Worlds"

Aimée Hoover on Your Creative Push Ep. 174

Website / Facebook / Instagram / YouTube

Aimée Hoover : Website / Instagram

Jordan Hill is an illustrator and storyteller with a focus on characters and connections. She is the creator of The World of Immensum, which was born around seven years ago when an idea for a book series took on a mind of its own. Every short story, novel or illustration she creates take place in the same universe, with their placement in that universe depending on the planet, location on that planet, the time period it takes place in, or even the particular sub-timeline/alternate universe it is a part of.

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

-Her creativity from a very young age.

-How she navigated the "in-between" of being equally left and right-brained but wanting to fully pursue art.

-The negative experience she had of paying for college classes but not receiving an education.

-How she was able to double down on NaNoWriMo while she was also taking college courses and holding a job.

-How she always feels happier and more fulfilled when she is creating and exercising.

-The story of how The World of Immensum came to be.

-Embracing her joy for comic book style art.

-The way in which our interests, our past and our previous styles all come together to create our unique voice, which can't be copied.

-Constraints versus an entire imaginary universe with multiple realities.

-How ideas often come in great numbers as you are creating.

-The importance of writing down all of your ideas.

-Her goal of trying new things and putting herself out there.

"For some reason I just got it into my brain that I couldn't do art as my career."

"I had this moment where I just thought, Why am I paying money for them to give me a grade when I could just buy the book and teach myself?"

"When I thought that I might not be able to do it, I put every ounce of my spare energy and free time into it."

"Art is basically a culmination of your entire life presented in a physical object."

"The funny thing about art is that the more you make, the more ideas you have."

"Just because an idea isn't necessarily relevant now, it doesn't mean it won't be later."

"Find what you love to do and let yourself be bad at it. Eventually you will progress and you will get better."

Website / Pinterest / Instagram / YouTube / Twitter

Adam Wilber : Website / Penn & Teller: Fool Us

Marco Bucci began to study classical drawing at age 19, which led him to kindle a love for painting and illustration. He hasn't looked back since.

His experience includes books, film, animation, and advertising. His clients include: Walt Disney Publishing Worldwide, LEGO, LucasArts, Mattel Toys, Fisher-Price, Hasbro, Nelvana, GURU Studio, C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures, Yowza! Animation Inc., Pipeline Studios, and more.

Marco is also a passionate teacher, and currently teaches "The Art Of Color & Light" at CGMA, a course specifically designed to build painting fundamentals from the ground up.

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

-How he learned how to learn to draw.

-The way in which he pursued art after abandoning it as something that he wasn't as good as other people who "could draw."

-How the path to your goal is never a straight line and how you should embrace the fact that the path will be curved.

-The labor of love that is his YouTube channel.

-The way in which he plans and structures his YouTube videos.

-Trying to solve problems before starting a piece.

-How to avoid paralysis during the creation process.

-The difference between art and creativity.

-How we are all born with creative curiosity and don't question it (or our skills) until later.

-How he always tries to push himself to do something new with each piece of art so that he doesn't become complacent and rely on any formulas.

-The battle between hard work and fun.

-Starting small so that you can have small successes before taking on a big project like writing a book.

-Not fully defining the path that you are going to take to become the artist you want to be, and being willing and excited to venture off into new directions.

-How his short film Cindy, with Bryce Sage came to be.

"I didn't have the inborn talent to draw and my jealousy became a stubborn resolve to figure out this whole drawing thing."

"I never realized that drawing was a skill you could actually learn so I thought I was doomed from the start. But it turns out you can learn to draw."

"A big part of the creative process is discovery. You have to be able to make a right turn when you should have gone left and only discover that later."

"We're all born with the desire to create and so many of us snuff out our own flames. It's such a tragedy."

"I try my best to not repeat the thing I just did. Even if the thing I did was a huge hit."

"Start small and don't bite off more than you can chew."

"When it comes to becoming an artist, don't try to preordain your own path to success."

"It's better to create bad stuff than it is to not create anything."

Sketching With Focus [From Marco's YouTube channel]

Creativity and the Campfire by Marco Bucci

CINDY - a love story

Meet SpaceX's First Moon Voyage Customer, Yusaku Maezawa

Your Creative Push Ep. 306: Softly conquer the world! (w/ Cat Rabbit)

Website / YouTube / Facebook / Instagram / Pinterest

Jordan Hill : Website / Instagram

Fran Meneses aka Frannerd is a self-taught Chilean freelance illustrator who recently moved from Hastings, United Kingdom to New York City. She takes a deep interest in her followers and patrons and her work often reflects the things that they want to see.

She also has a popular YouTube channel in which she talks about pencils, paper, illustration and her daily life.

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

-Her recent move from the United Kingdom to the United States.

-The way in which she burns herself out before drawing the line and allowing herself to rest.

-Her constant battle with feelings of guilt for working too much or too little.

-How she needs to give herself more self-love and treat herself and talk to herself the way she would treat her best friend.

-How to know the difference between "urgent" and "important."

-The way in which ideas go from one person to another.

-How her graphic novel About to Leave came to be.

-The way in which the big projects such as graphic novels force you to face the things that you don't know how to do and also to emerge at the end as a new person.

-Taking notes as she is out in the world and cherishing the things that resonates with her at a deeper level as well as the things that make her feel awkward.

-Her thoughts, studies and art about friendship as adults.

-Balancing her work and projects amongst Instagram, YouTube and Patreon.

-The gratitude she feels for her patrons.

-The rules we make up in our own head about social media.

-How and why she made her YouTube channel (including inspiration from Art Attack).

"Since I love what I do so much, sometimes I'm not very respectful of myself and where I draw the line and let myself rest."

"A graphic novel is a test to yourself."

"Having Patreon and having my online shop changed the way I approached creativity and my working life completely."

Art Attack

Instagram / YouTube / Etsy / Patreon

Marco Bucci : Website / Instagram / YouTube

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

John Singer Sargent

Jacob Collins

Art Renewal Center (ARC)

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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."

Ableton

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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Fieldey : Website / Instagram

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."

Soft Stories

Isobel Knowles

Owl Know How

Website / Big Cartel / Instagram / Twitter / Tumblr

Sophie Gamand : Website / Instagram

Miss Led aka Joanna Henly is an artist, illustrator and art director based in East London.

As an artist Jo works from portrait commissions to large scale complex works, this work is often in public spaces or a live performance as part of an event – or she is the event, also creating portraits of guests of responding to a gallery or theme. In addition she creates personal work which is exhibited globally, as well as selling prints online.

-How each year of her career has been defined by something big.

-A look into the highlights of her career from the eight-year gap to workshops to working with agents.

-The way in which you think differently when you are teaching others and on the spot having to move quickly.

-The difference between teaching in-person and teaching through her books Figure Drawing and Portrait Drawing.

-Not having a day off for six weeks.

-Properly understanding burnout and how to deal with it.

-How everything she creates starts with writing things down, even if it is a very rudimentary idea or self-coaching.

-How The Artist's Way and morning journaling changed her life.

-Putting yourself in a productive and positive state of mind so that you create opportunities for yourself and also have the confidence to jump on opportunities that are presented to you.

-Signing up for and taking a course, and how it brought her out of the darkest part of her eight-year gap.

-How her seasons or years become themed.

-The forethought that goes into each project in terms of style and composition.

"When you take your ego out of the picture and it's not about you anymore, you start thinking differently."

"Push, but know that you can't go all four cylinders all the time. You can't. You need to have some time out. And thank your body for telling you that you have to stop."

"It all starts with words. It starts with writing things down. Even if that's just self-coaching myself."

"My brain works like too many Google tabs open all the time."

"I always put everything on paper first. I have tons of notebooks. They are core to my practice and to my ideas and to my mental state."

Portrait Drawing by Joanna Henly

Figure Drawing by Joanna Henly

Why People in Cities Walk Fast

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

Website / Store / Facebook / Behance / Instagram / Twitter

Cat Rabbit : Website / Instagram