Having a Black & White Appreciation Moment - 2

Hugh MacLeod. Do you know him? He's a cartoonist. He found his niche while doodling on the back of business cards, during down-time in New York bars. That was in the late 90s. Now he's happy to have moved out of the city and continues to draw cartoons of the business card size.

And larger prints too. His humour is ... cynical, dry and yet positive. He posts a daily cartoon on his website Gaping Void which you can sign up for.
(There's also a widget to include in our own websites).



I like that he isn't sugary soppy and stamps his feet when surrounded by bulls**t,  and yet hidden within his cartoons is this description:
"A story without love is not worth telling ... Love matters. People matter. Everything else is secondary". Hugh MacLeod.
I'm reading his book Ignore Everybody And 39 Other Keys to Creativity.

A lot of what the man says is resounding with me, not just with creativity, but with all our choices - more on that when I've had a ponder. Meanwhile, you can read a sample of the book on his website.
To give you an idea, here's a few chapter headings ...
Chapter 5:
If your business plan depends on suddenly being "discovered" by some big shot, your plan will probably fail. (He was "discovered" by a hot shot publisher but turned it down because it was a sting deal).
Chapter 20:
Sing in your own voice
Chapter 28: 
The best way to get approval is not to need it.
It's an illustrated biography, as much as a book of encouragement.
It's more letters of advice from a fond uncle (who has learnt through experience) than a smug, drum banging self-help manual.

Sexy Orange

The sun. A glorious ball of vibrant orange. Warms the cockles of our hearts. Take a moment to enjoy. Orange is sexy.

Ah its such a mood lifting sight. Everyone seams to smile more with the suns out. But today it isn't out. It's hidden behind prolific rain clouds and the predominate colours are black and grey. Grey skies, black and grey fashions and a lot of black umbrellas. 
Short of starting a craze for big orange umbrellas ... now there's a thought ... 

Don't you love the internet?! There's always someone with a similar thought. Different voices, same thoughts ... Well until everyone decides they do want to carry round an orange umbrella we can benefit from seeking out some orange to concentrate on.


Designers' colour theory mood wheels and chakra charts both illustrate similar strengths for each colour.

So why is orange sexy? Well it feeds the sexual organs area for a start, but it's more than that. Sexy = vibrancy, energy, joy de vivre, mojo, creativity and vitality. A sexy creative is an unblocked creative. 


Feed on orange and the rest follows. We would all benefit from more orange. Smell it, eat it, breathe it but most of all be aware of it and absorb it.

Safety in Numbers with Creative Block

Image: Scott Hansen

Back in the day, a creative woke the left side of their brain with a flick through a favourite mag and maybe the arts pages of a newspaper. Now, we have the internet and instant access to blogs. Hooray for blogs and the trouble so many go to to share their inspirations.

However, sometimes the ideas still refuse to come and we realise we have spent two hours rearranging paint brushes / building a paper clip snake / cleaning the keyboard with cotton buds or reading the gossip sites "to check the fashions".

Scott Hansen gives us a reassuringly laid back piece in the tone of:  Yeh it happens, so this is what a few of us do about it. If your work place isn't your home, the pasta cooking may not be helpful but how the writer ends that piece would work in most places of work! Thank you Scott.

So do we think this guy may have creative block?


This pic is on the Unhappy Hipsters site, who credits this photo to Dwell, with the caption:

"With the shelves finally ordered by size, function, and smell, he got to work separating the pine needles from the sawdust on the terrace." 


And there are many more like that one . . .