When Frank Tate signed me to a record deal with Five Minute Walk, way back in 1998, he was abundantly clear it wasn’t because I was the best, most marketable artist he’d ever met. In fact, what he said was “The songs are pretty bad, actually. But I believe in you and I think that … Read More
In her book Big Magic, Elizabeth Gilbert is winsome and charming. She is also transparent and earnest. This feels like a book written by someone who has done hard work, grown and isn’t embarrassed in the least about her process. I didn’t love it. But I did like it and think it’s worth reading. SOME SPECIFICS: … Read More
You know those dramatic stories of artists who smoke and drink and binge an stay up all night and ruin their lives on the way to creating? Yeah… don’t emulate those. On the whole, I think healthy people make healthy art. I think the art you make is an outpouring of who you are. And while … Read More
I picked up the Star Wars digital release and immediately jumped to the iTunes extras and searched for the 1-hr behind-the-scenes documentary called “Secrets of Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey.” Honestly, I’d have paid the $19.95 just for that 1-hr. From Daisy Ridley’s audition footage to JJ Abrams’ reaction to shooting Han and Chewie’s classic … Read More
From Title Pending: “At a pivotal point in the writing of my first book, I spent some time at the Phillips Gallery in Washington DC. Along with many other great works, the Phillips Gallery hosts a col- lection of pieces by Mark Rothko, whose work I greatly admire. I stood in the Rothko room for … Read More
It is likely that, if you’ve been making art for a while, you have felt the seasons change but might not have had the language or permission to see that seasonal change for what it was. It may have felt like things had simply dried up—that rain wasn’t falling and the ground was hard. Everything … Read More
When I’m at the beginning of a project, I generally let just one or two people into my process and share my vision, or at least as much of it as I have clearly in mind. They are people who will hold me to the work I’ve committed to rather than just pat me on the … Read More
The hike to the top of Mt. Diablo is roughly seven and a half miles. And though I know that cognitively, I don’t climb the mountain with that number in mind – I climb it in sections. The first two miles are relatively easy, with a few short hills and plenty of flat ground between. … Read More
The grease board listed, in red and blue dry-erase marker, all the movements, reps and weights involved in the day’s workout. I was familiar with everything on the board… with the exception of one word. I’d never seen it before in this context. So, I went ahead and took a radical step… I asked what … Read More
Inspiration generally gets me to the foot of the mountain. But once I’m there, inspiration often fizzles because the mountain doesn’t look like the mountain anymore. It looks like a steep hill and lots of short steps carrying a cheese-ob- sessed toddler on my back. It looks like a spreadsheet or a blank page instead … Read More
