Let's Get Messy!
HEADS UP: Next week I’m dropping a digital icon pack for the Makers featuring over 200 different, hand-designed vector icons. If you want to get your hands on it upgrade to Maker status today.
The Finds
These miniatures by Cityfolk Studio are next level. As Hi-Fructose put it, “You can almost smell it in your ears (speaking specifically to the mini-CBGBs bathroom display).
You can almost feel Thomas Burden’s 3D typography.
If you’re ever in Paris, the l’Orangerie museum is a must-visit, specifically the massive Monet Waterlillies permanent exhibit. Or if you’re in London, you can see Ai WeiWei’s version of Waterlillies #1 made entirely from lego bricks.
The most prolific author on Amazon, with over 200 author credits (probably more now) is ChatGPT.
According to Saatchi, I’m a trendsetter.
Outsider
I can’t say for sure if I’m right about this, but I believe the art world is heading into a trend of less-than-perfect art. Based on those artists in that last bullet point above, and all the others like them, I get the sense that unadulterated, free expression is becoming more popular. As a practitioner of this style of work, I can attest that making it is pure joy. With any art, there is sometimes pain involved if I’m not getting the effect I’m looking for in the work, but the process is liberating.
Take a blank canvas, panel, or sheet of paper and add anything to it with no pretense or agenda. Don’t worry about subject matter or motif yet—just lay paint. Let it dry (or don’t) and then add another mark or swath in a different color.
Step back, and just like when you were a kid, lying in the grass and looking up at the clouds, turning nebulous shapes into creatures or objects in your imagination, find a thing and bring it into existence.
If something doesn’t work, paint over it. Add something random, like a strip of fabric or paper, whether it compliments or conflicts, and then add something to that.
What’s the first word or phrase that pops into your head when you look at what you’ve made? Grab a fat marker, paint pen, or spray can and write that word—doesn’t matter if it makes sense or not. (cont.)
New in the Shop
I have not stopped wearing this hoodie since I got it. I know we’re coming into spring, but the weather has been fickle AF lately. If you want something that’s rad as hell and warm enough for chilly days, then pick yourself up one of these Dead Heroes Never Disappoint hoodies (comes in black and white).
The thing about making radical, maximalist art is that if you’re not familiar with it, everything feels like a mistake.
It took me a long time to get comfortable with the work I make, and I still have moments where I need to step away from a piece for days, weeks, or even months. When I’m ready to come back to it, I’ll flip it upside-down, add to it, or completely paint over it.
One of the compliments I get most often on my work is how deep the layers go. That’s because I’ve painted over some canvases multiple times, and I always leave a little from the past showing through so viewers can see where the work has been.
This process isn’t for everyone. It requires some bravery and the ability to toss out whatever convictions you have about making art. Your traditional process has no business here. However, you can let that knowledge and experience guide you. I’m constantly referencing back to my time as an art director, using design fundamentals to guide me.
I want to clarify that I don’t think anyone should change their style to match a trend like this outsider style, but I’m a big fan of dabbling into new media, mediums, and styles. Daliances into new territory help us grow and learn new things about ourselves as creative people. And then there’s the sense of fearlessness you get from making a mess on purpose.
Let’s get messy!
Extra
A fairly accurate depiction of how procrastination really works.