How Do You Know If You Are Creatively Successful?

I had a conversation with some friends recently that’s been lingering.
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The gist? What does success look like for creativity? What if you get to the end of your life and you’ve never “made it”?

According to a 2012 Adobe study, 25% of people believe they are living up to their creative potential. No wonder that question stings a bit.

I remember that when I was younger, I just wanted to create, and get paid for it. That’s it. Enjoy the work I do and get paid for it.

I went to art school and graduated with a degree in graphic design, and upon graduation hit the pavement seeking employment.
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I never stopped to think about what success looked like (beyond employment) or what I really wanted. The resulting years were one of seeking someone else to define those things for me, and a frustration that would rear its ugly head every few years resulting in a job change.

Creativity is a muscle, and a tool. But we still have to tie it to goals, desires and dreams.
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But here’s a hard truth…

Creative success will remain elusive as long as we’ve left what success looks like undefined. Or maybe worse, we’ll attain it to find out it was the wrong success.
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Do you know what creative success (beyond projects) looks like for you? ​
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• Maybe you’ve defined it as “making a living from your creativity”.

• Or having a regular creative practice just for yourself.

• Or developing a body of work in a certain creative discipline.

• Or becoming a famous artist. ​
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While there are no wrong answers, I would challenge you with this: be as specific as possible.

Want to make money from your creativity? Great. How much? Put a number to it so you can measure, and if need be, adjust or change tactics.

If things are vague or a constant moving target, we’ll never know if we’re on track. We might just get discouraged and quit, while an examination of our expectations is in order.

Both Seth Godin and James Clear have mentioned falling in love with the process more than the outcome. The process keeps us in the game. The process is easier to detach from our identity. That’s what “Daily Creative Habit” is, a process you apply to your own creative modalities.

James says:

“When you fall in love with the process rather than the product, you don’t have to wait to give yourself permission to be happy. You can be satisfied anytime your system is running. And a system can be successful in many different forms, not just the one you first envision.”​
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And under all the work, chasing opportunities and accolades, isn’t that what we really really want? To be …happy?

Creativity and success is a life long pursuit. The definition you have of success today may change tomorrow. And that’s ok. Just know what it is.

Know how to keep yourself in the game. And in such a way that you don’t attach and identify yourself with someone only the struggle.

That’s why I talk about celebrating your wins and making fun a habit. It’s creating new biases and neural pathways that reach for positivity rather than negativity.
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And while it’s cliche at this point, creative success is really about the journey, not the destination.
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So can I ask you?
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What does creative success look like for you? If there was one part of this I could help you with, what would it be?

Art Happens... Here

I stumbled upon this really inspirational show called "Art Happens Here with John Lithgow" (Check out the trailer here).

Picture this: John Lithgow (yeah, the dude from 3rd Rock From the Sun and a gazillion other things) willingly subjects himself to the horrors and joys of going back to school.

And what's the catch? He's there to prove a point about the magic of arts education. From dance to ceramics, silk-screen printing to vocal jazz ensemble, Lithgow dives headfirst into it all, showcasing how creativity can be the ultimate life hack

In his own words, Lithgow states:

"The arts give young people all sorts of tools to move on in life, even in the other areas of academia...They teach them discipline and hard work and patience and collaboration and cooperation and civility. They give young people an early sense of empathy....Hi everybody I'm John Lithgow. Come along and watch me go back to school. Printmaking, ceramics, vocal jazz ensemble, and dance. And celebrate arts in education with a bunch of incredible kids. It's called Art Happens Here."

Now, let's talk about you…

You are never too old to learn or grow. (and I'm not just saying that because I keep getting older...)

It's easy to get stagnant. Complacent. Comfortable.

When was the last time you tried something new? Perhaps something you really suck at? (we don't like that part. We want to be immediately great out of the gate!)

But hey, that's where the magic happens. It's about breaking through those self-imposed ceilings and embracing the chaos of learning something new. (yes, messy)

So, here's the challenge: sign up for a class in a completely alien (yes, a nice call back to 3rd Rock show.. wink, wink) creative discipline. Watch how it shakes up your world, how it breathes new life into your tired routine. And if you're feeling a bit lonely on this journey, fear not! Join us at the Daily Creative Habit Membership for some much-needed company.

In the end, just remember: age is just a number, and learning is a lifelong adventure.

Whatever you do, just be sure to never stop learning and growing. Your creativity depends on it!

What does Nine Consecutive Years of Daily Art Look Like?

This is year nine! All 365 days.

Every year since I have embarked on this 365 day art making journey, I mark the passing of another year with a college of images, all created from that year.

If you’re not familiar with my story on how I came back to my art after a ten year absence and depression, you can catch up here.

Creating and sharing these images are a way for me to track my daily creative habit, and celebrate my wins.

I’ve also recorded a Creative Chats podcast episode of nine insights I have gained through my nine years of daily art making. You can take a listen here.

If you’re interested in establishing your own creative consistency, I’d love to have you join us in our free facebook group Daily Creative Habit!

And now…. Here’s what all 9 years together looks like!

I’ve been sharing my art for free everyday for the past 9 years and will continue to do so. If you’ve been enjoying it and feel like tossing in a few coins in the ol’ tip jar, you can do so below :)

Inside Look: Uniform Pets - Girl Scout - Chihuahua

First a quick catch up: for the next several posts, I’m going to be giving you an inside look into my new series “Uniform Pets”. I’ll be sharing the insights and inspiration behind each piece.


The series as a whole came about as I was thinking about how we identify and categorize, specifically, dress code pertaining to jobs/organizations, as well as breeds of pets. We know a police officer in a crowd of people because we’ve identified their uniform. We’ve come to expect a certain dress code associated with our doctor’s visits. If he or she were dressed in a tie dyed t-shirt and shorts, we would question their abilities and professionalism. Yet, this same doctor might be dressed that way on their “off hours”. We don’t have the same feelings towards a Chihuahua and a Pit bull.  One has become an icon of the Hollywood elite and the other has been mired in PR issues with news reports spreading incidents of their aggressiveness.

Most of the time, we don’t think about these connections. They are part of the operating system that runs below the surface. In this series, I hope to make viewers stop and think more about these connections and assumptions.

For this post I’m sharing about the inspiration behind the Girl Scout - Chihuahua.

This one reaches back to some of my earliest memories. I have a sister who is 3 years older than me. All through elementary school, she was a part of the Brownies and Girl Scouts. My mother also helped in her troop, so I would be taken along.

I remember craft projects, the uniforms, the badges and achievements. I remember sitting in the cafeteria of St. Rita’s Catholic school (where we both attended) after school hours with the smell of mop water still hanging in the air. And the cookies. Oh, the cookies. That’s probably the biggest marketing promotion for the Girl Scouts ever. Even to this day, I doubt people associate much else with the Girl Scouts beyond the cookies. But there is indeed MUCH more.

Consider their oath, while raising three fingers (long before a Hunger Games salute was even a thought): "A Girl Scout is ready to help out wherever she is needed. Willingness to serve is not enough; you must know how to do the job well, even in an emergency."

Later on, I did my own, albeit short, stint in the cub scouts. And even though it was short lived, I’m glad I did it. I have fond memories of pinewood derbies (but I always lost), playing “steal the bacon” with our bright yellow scarfs, and learning a little about some tools from our a neighborhood friends father who was our den leader.

This is dedicated to the scouts and leaders who at the heart of it all, looked to the needs of others rather than themselves.

Close up detail of the Girl Scout Chihuahua 

And my choice of the Chihuahua just seemed appropriate for the sweet innocent look of this breed. A few friends and family members think I modeled this Chihuahua after my own, Cooper, but it’s not him (honestly!). Regardless, there’s something about those eyes that beckon you to buy cookies. Or an art print :)

This piece was digitally painted using my iPad Pro, and app called Procreate and Photoshop on my Macbook Pro.

It's available in 3 options:

Deluxe Matted 8x10 giclée art print (final size 11x14) -  $65
Gallery Wrapped 16x20 Canvas -  $320
Gallery Wrapped 24x30 Canvas (Limited Edition - 250) - $720

Do you know someone who would love this? Share it with them. Or better yet, why not get one as a gift to show your appreciation!

Inside Look: Uniform Pets - Police Officer - German Shepherd

For the next several posts, I’m going to be giving you an inside look into my new series “Uniform Pets”. I’ll be sharing the insights and inspiration behind each piece.

The series as a whole came about as I was thinking about how we identify and categorize, specifically, dress code pertaining to jobs/organizations, as well as breeds of pets. We know a police officer in a crowd of people because we’ve identified their uniform. We’ve come to expect a certain dress code associated with our doctor’s visits. If he or she were dressed in a tie dyed t-shirt and shorts, we would question their abilities and professionalism. Yet, this same doctor might be dressed that way on their “off hours”. We don’t have the same feelings towards a Chihuahua and a Pit bull.  One has become an icon of the Hollywood elite and the other has been mired in PR issues with news reports spreading incidents of their aggressiveness.

Most of the time, we don’t think about these connections. They are part of the operating system that runs below the surface. In this series, I hope to make viewers stop and think more about these connections and assumptions.

I’d like to begin with “Police Officer - German Shepherd”.

In today’s day and age, the public opinion of the police has been tarnished, especially where incidents of police brutality and misuse of power fills the news. While most artists, who are more activist in nature, might spend their efforts creating art around these injustices,  I want to honor those who do their job with integrity.

My father was a NYC police officer, a detective in fact. I grew up respecting the police. I got an inside look at what officers had to go through, the sacrifice, risk, and a level of stress that few of us will ever know.

Artists and the Police are often at odds, and that was a bit true in our household as well. My father used to teach at the police academy in NYC that overlooked one of the buildings of the School of Visual Arts. Legend has it that he and other officers would often shake their heads at the strange artists (after all, I’m sure there were a fair share of artists who had trouble with the law). As the story goes, he was quoted as saying, “None of my kids will ever go to such a place.” Ironically, probably a good 10 years later, that was indeed the very art school I attended. He might not have understood art, but he was supportive of mine.

As a tribute to my dad (who passed away a few years ago) I used his badge and shield number in this piece. The name tag cites "Shepherd", not only references the German Shepherd breed but also the role of a shepherd (to serve, protect, help bring order and guidance.)

For the dog breed, I chose a German Shepherd, the breed most associated with K9 units. They are known for their high intelligence, loyalty, ability to be aggressive and ease of training.

Close up detail of "Police Officer - German Shepherd" Painting.

This piece was digitally painted using my iPad Pro, and app called Procreate and Photoshop on my Macbook Pro.

It's available in 3 options:

Deluxe Matted 8x10 giclée art print (final size 11x14) -  $65

Gallery Wrapped 16x20 Canvas -  $320

Gallery Wrapped 24x30 Canvas (Limited Edition - 250) - $720

Do you know someone who would love this? Share it with them. Or better yet, why not get one as a gift to show your appreciation!

Passion and Puropse

I had the opportunity to speak to about 45-50 high school kids at a retreat a few weekends ago.

It’s been a long while since I’ve been in an environment like that. Once upon a time, into my late twenties, I spent 10 years in youth ministry with my local church’s youth group.

To add to my sense of nostalgia, it was hosted at a retreat center where I spent many formative years myself attending youth retreats and camps. It’s a place of life change for me. Although the grounds and buildings have been updated, I can still reminisce at every turn.

My topic for this informal talk was was “Passion and Purpose”.

I opened by asking a few questions.

“How many of you know what they were passionate about?”

Lots of hands went up with answers like - dancing, photography, sports, baking, fixing things, and so on.

“How many of you aren’t sure” A few hand shot up.

“How many of you wish I would stop asking people to raise their hands?” A brave snarky few raised their hands.  “You, my friends”, I countered, “might just have the gift of critical thinking.”

When I asked how many people knew their purpose, two hands went up. And I’d say that’s probably pretty spot on. Purpose is more slippery especially in our high school years. After all, we're still trying to figure out who we are. (Let’s be honest, many adults are still wrestling with these issues as well.)

So many times students hear the word potential.

“You have potential to be great at this. Keep it up.”

“One day, you’ll be a force to be reckoned with.”

But my challenge to them on this day was to identify something they considered a passion, and pair it with helping someone. Forget someday potential. You can do something TODAY. RIght where you are, with what you have.

Passionate about baking? Perhaps there’s a family near you that can’t even begin to think about food due to a new baby, or an illness in the family that keeps them busy with hospital visits.

Passionate about fixing things? Find that elderly neighbor who might need assistance with some household items that need fixing.

When we our passions collide with serving people, bringing them value, we can find a greater purpose. We get to use our gifts and talents, and other people get to be blessed by them. Everyone wins.

The thing is, it takes intentionality. We have to look beyond our own issues, hangups, hurts – all the self-centered things that can keep us preoccupied so that we don’t even notice the needs of those around us, let alone try to creatively serve them.

My hope is that if even a few of those students walked out of there with a different perspective, perhaps there could be a huge impact on their lives, and the ones they serve. A ripple effect of passion and purpose.

What about you? What are you passionate about? Do you have a sense of purpose?

Are there things that are causing you to not see the needs of the people around you? Who could you serve with your talents and passions?