hey! How's it going? The end of the year is near & many people are thinking about resolutions to up their game in a few weeks when the clock strikes midnight on Dec 31.
Jocelyn, the human behind Hurry Slowly and a new online course: RESET, a cosmic tune-up for your workday. In her most recent newsletter, she shared How to Be an Artist 33 rules to take you from clueless amateur to generational talent (or at least help you live life a little more creatively) by Jerry Saltz. Here are my favorites:
Lesson 2: “Tell your own story and you will be interesting.” — Louise Bourgeois
Amen, Louise. Don’t be reined in by other people’s definitions of skill or beauty or be boxed in by what is supposedly high or low. Don’t stay in your own lane. Drawing within the lines is for babies; making things add up and be right is for accountants. Proficiency and dexterity are only as good as what you do with them. But also remember that just because it’s your story, that doesn’t mean you’re entitled to an audience. You have to earn that. Don’t try to do it with a big single project. Take baby steps. And be happy with baby steps.
Lesson 7: Develop Forms of Practice
For instance, on the subway, while waiting or sitting around, practice drawing your own hands. Lots of hands on the same page, hands over other hands. Other people’s hands, if you want to. You can draw other parts of your body that you can see, too. But you have to look and then describe with your pencil or pen what you see. Don’t make it up! Mirrors are fine, even if you want to draw only where your cheek turns into your mouth. Play with different scales, make things bigger, smaller, twisted.
Exercise: Forget Being a Genius and Develop Some Skills
I think all artists should:
- Build a clay pot.
- Sew pieces of fabric together.
- Prune a tree.
- Make a wooden bowl on a lathe, by carving.
- Make a lithograph, etching, or woodblock print.
- Make one hokey Dalí-like painting or mini Kusama light installation to get this out of your system.
You are now in possession of ancient secret knowledge.
Lesson 21: Define Success
But be careful. Typical answers are money, happiness, freedom, “doing what I want,” having a community of artists, having people see what I do.
But … if you marry a rich person and have lots of money, would you be satisfied with just the money? Also, Subway sells a lot of sandwiches, but that doesn’t make them good.
What about being “happy”? Don’t be silly! A lot of successful people are unhappy. And a lot of happy people aren’t successful. I’m “successful,” and I’m confused, terrified, insecure, and foul all the time. Success and happiness live on different sides of the tracks.
Do you want the real definition of success? The best definition of success is time [...]
Lesson 33: Be Delusional
At three a.m., demons speak to all of us. I am old, and they still speak to me every night. And every day.
They tell you you’re not good enough, didn’t go to the right schools, are stupid, don’t know how to draw, don’t have enough money, aren’t original; that what you do doesn’t matter, and who cares, and you don’t even know art history, and can’t schmooze, and have a bad neck. They tell you that you’re faking it, that other people see through you, that you’re lazy, that you don’t know what you’re doing, and that you’re just doing this to get attention or money.
I have one solution to turn away these demons: After beating yourself up for half an hour or so, stop and say out loud, “Yeah, but I’m a fucking genius.” [...]
These rules are your tools. Now use them to go change the world.
Get to work!
As always, thank you for reading!
Jon
p.s.
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Cycling
I'm Speaking at the Adventure Travel Show on Jan 20th
I'll be sharing my (life) lessons from the Silk Road Mountain Race at 13:30 on Sunday January 20th in London. I'll either bring a bike or borrow one to get a ride that morning or on the 19th.
Let me know if you're keen to catch up!
Stefano aka Calamaro 🦑 interviewed my friend Lian for Broom Wagooon!
Lian talks to Stefano about her new initiative Shift Cycling Culture + lots more : )
Collective Reward #016: Swagstravaganza
A lot of people regretted no subscribing to the Bikepacking Journal before Issue 1 shipped. Don't sleep on issue two!
Startups
Weekend - The Ultimate Performance Cycling Sneaker Quoc Pham on Kickstarter
Quoc Pham is raising funds for Weekend - The Ultimate Performance Cycling Sneaker by Quoc on Kickstarter! I wear their road show & soon will be adding their gravel shoe to my riding essentials. The Weekend looks great!
Zwift, which turns indoor cycling workouts into multiplayer games, raises $120M
Wow! What a journey the Zwift team has taken. I first worked with Eric and his team back in 2014 when I started up Twotone & was contracted by Mark Riedy & TRUE Comms to help with their PR in Europe. In 4 years, they've really changed the game & are only gaining speed!
Workspace 6 has a new website!
If you need a place to rent a desk in Amsterdam, check us out! (Thank you Guy & Aleksandra for all the work to make this happen!)
Sales & PR
Specialized Creates Edgy Video Campaign To Promote Comfort Bicycle Saddles For Women
We've started to get some attention for Specialized's campaign about actually addressing ride comfort for women. Thank you for the article Carlton!
How to Ask for Sales Referrals
You don't get what you don't ask for ; )
How to Shorten Your Sales Cycle with Social Media
Social media is often cheesy & impersonal.
It doesn't have to be that way. And if its not, it can help you build trust with prospects.
Radness
Chad & Tashena
Chad & Tashena are a photographer duo based here in Amsterdam. Recently, they stopped by the Twotone office & shared their portfolio.
Follow them on insta: @chadandtashena & consider them for your next fashion or lifestyle photoshoot! : )
