Su Doyle -artistic endeavors and marketing adventures

Fresh from the Farmers Market

 

For an understanding of where food comes from, for great conversations, for the freshest produce, you can't beat a farmer's market.  For painters, there's yet another reason -- beautiful, irregularly shaped produce that you can't find in a store. This bunch of multicolor radishes caught my eye. Watercolor was the only handy option - I had to sketch and paint them fast before they went into a salad.  

My only hesitation in "buying the whole farm" at a market are the dollar bills in my pocket (they don't take plastic), my small family, and the fact that I can't paint everything before I eat it.  Just as well.  I'll be back next week.

Curing Writer's Block with Paint Chip Poetry

I'm not scared of putting colors on canvas.  But I am nervous about painting my walls a new color (subtlety is not my strong point).  So I've hoarded paint chips over the years, along with all the crazy/wonderful color names. In the hope of creating a cool collage, I cut a bunch of them up with deckle-edged scissors.  The collage was a bust.  But the remaining names looked really fun.  so I keep them in a little box on my desk -- for "Paint Chip Poetry".

Here's how it works:  I pull out a few chips at random and force myself to make a cheezy story about them, e.g. The sailor with a Grey Beard and a voice like Cracked Slate secretly collecting Water Irises as a hobby. Not even close to poetry, but a great way to get my mind un-blocked so I can move to the next task. 

Whatever it takes to keep the thoughts flowing....!!!!

Using the materials you've got

 
  
I recently visited the UNESCO world heritage site of Hampi, in south India. Absolutely breathtaking.  The entire city was built of granite during the 14th-16th centuries.  Why granite? the area was (and still is) a bouldering paradise, with a river nearby -- the perfect spot to build an empire, because the materials were at hand.  

I could spend hours looking through art supply catalogs thinking of new ideas.  But some of the best ones come from making the most of whatever is close by. 

Question: How do you build a coliseum (in five minutes or less...)?

Answer:  ask a 6th grader... 
My son's Destination Imagination team was challenged to create a coliseum from start to finish in less than five minutes, in front of a live audience.  Restrictions:  life-size, no oil-based paint, no wet paint or glue, no loose glitter, no staining materials, budget of under $10.

The team raided my art supplies and came up with the following "trials" using solid paintsticks and damp rags.  Each piece was executed in under three minutes.  Great example of boxed-in restrictions driving out of the box thinking!

An elementary perspective

Today I helped hang an art show for the local elementary school.  I contributed a step ladder, pliers and an artistic eye -- and got back a great deal more in return.  

An interpretation of Van Gogh from a 2nd grader?  A Kandinsky clone from a Kindergartener?  A mess of colors that would go with both nothing and everything?  Absolutely fearless stuff -- and a reminder that I should take a look at kids art more often.

Sketching from a moving vehicle

 
I took my sketchbook on a recent tour of south India.  With a jam-packed itinerary, I didn't get to paint anything serious, just sketch scenery from the window of a bus or train.  I was forced to take it all in and put it down on paper as fast as I could.   It was disappointing not to create a "masterpiece" with all the vibrant colors I saw, but the process of rapid-fire sketching was a reward in itself.

Trading cards as a quick fix

I can't always find time (or make time) to paint something big.  Often, a "painting snack" will have to do. 

I bought a bundle of Artist Trading Cards (ATCs -- tiny 2.5" x 3.5" canvases) months ago to trade with friends -- and looking at the unopened packages filled me with guilt.

 

So I ripped one open and decided to make a mini-painting for myself, as a light snack. For a summery theme, I based it on a photo of my son jumping off a swim platform.  For simplicity, I only used 3 paint colors: white, paynes gray and burnt umber.

I'm not trading this card, but keeping it, to remind myself that making art doesn't have to wait for a groundbreaking idea, or a huge chunk of time to execute it.

Nothing to lose = everything to gain?

To build on Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car" lyrics, the boldest ideas come from those who have nothing to lose.     For those of us with established careers, or at "established ages" it's harder to think bold.     Rebellious streaks nonwithstanding, our lives are more hard-wired than we think.    Our skills, CV, career networks, personal networks, industry knowledge all serve to keep us on the same track.    Any effort we exert helps us go faster and farther in the same direction.   

But what if we want to switch tracks?    We often lack the infrastructure to make the change.   

In Working Identity -- Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career, Herminia Ibarra addresses the obstacles that success can create -- barriers that discourage us from thinking more broadly about our lives.  This is sage advice for business leaders, not just career changers, given the fact that success discourages change.   After all, reinventing ourselves could be the most difficult re-positioning exercise of all, since we can't keep ourselves at arms length.

We don't have to start from zero, but we can visualize the process of doing so.   Visualizing a "fresh start" could yield a bounty of fresh ideas.   

Sensory deprivation...and its benefits

I've been living in a sensory deprivation tank for six weeks.   My car radio is still busted, despite 3 replaced fuses.   My first two days of commuting in silence, without NPR News, audiobooks or station-switching, were long and painful.   I was fidgety and restless without my morning information and multi-tasking fix.   

By day three, I was out of withdrawal and actually felt more focused.    I was more in control of my own thoughts and direction for the day, instead of letting a 3rd-party do the thinking for me.   I was ready to tackle the day -- on my own terms.

I will eventually get the radio fixed -- I can't live without news and weather forever -- but it's nice to know that I can create my own forecast, my own state of mind, and the ability to create without clutter.   

Another reason to trash my resume.... again.

I have the resume I dreamed of having 20 years ago.  And I hate it.   It's perfect for finding the last job I had, but it limits me from finding my next adventure.   

Successful people are both defined and limited by past achievements.  Short story masters get published, but they don't get book deals to write novels.   Successful artists are discouraged from switching their medium or subject matter.   V and C-level executives have no where to go but up:   better to take months without pay looking for the next level job than to move laterally, and have to explain later why you "took a step down".

I have written and re-written my resume a half dozen-times since January, following classic advice to put my executive experience front and center.  I only just realized why I'm constantly revising it: a title-laden resume is a poor representation of my true capabilities.  It may actually limit my opportunities by implying "too expensive", "too specialized", "too high-level to get things done".   

I didn't jump on the executive track for the prestige or the perks.  I wanted to make a difference, and rationalized that I could make a bigger impact the higher up I was in the organization.   So I'm going to continue my focus on making a difference, and leave myself open to new possibilities.   

And if I get questioned why I "didn't strive for more", I'll come up with a good answer -- which is something all creatives should be able to do anyway.