illustration

Take Chances, Make Mistakes, Get Messy (Colin MacIntyre, cartoonist preview interview)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Well, fuck. I guess I should just give up the chase then. No more interviews.

At least, thats what I thought last Sunday, when I didn’t post this months preview post.

I made a mistake, doing this crazy venture, yet again. I thought I was going to make this awesome interview with a local cartoonist, a first for me on timotheories, and everything went to plan… right up until diving head first into the editing process.

You see dear readers, I brought in Colin MacIntyre of @thecolinium instagram fame with the intentions of revealing his secrets for you. Secrets about making artwork every day. This dude is insanely committed to sharing at least one drawing each day on his instagram feed. And he damn near does it at least five days a week. So that was my intention. To share a cool story with you, about a cool artist, and the awesome conversation we had.

Then I learned that somewhere along the line, his closeup video came out super yellow – I don’t know if it was the tungsten filer on my LED lights, or the warm tube bulbs hidden behind the chairs, but somehow, he ended an incredible shade of yellow and orange, like an Oompa Loompa. And so I messed around with Lumetri Colour settings in Adobe Premiere to correct my problem. Turns out that once something has been over-exposed, video or photo, it’s quite difficult to correct.

Lesson learned I guess! But you know what creative cuties? The results aren’t so terrible, and they work on two levels I think.

1) Colin is a cartoonist, so that resulting video has an illustrated feel, and

2) Pushing through with this interview is definitely in the spirit of Colin’s deeply held mantra of making art no matter what

Take chances, make mistakes, and get messy, as the great Mrs. Frizzle used to say, amirite? That said, Colin is  is a full-time communicator. He works in sales by day, and freelances as a cartoonist, podcaster (I Have Some Notes), and blogger (The Long John Index) who makes art every day. In this preview clip below, he and I discuss why making a commitment to art is difficult.

And humour conveniently plays a factor into his response.

theories Summarized

Does it really surprise you though to learn that television, smart phones and overcommitment can play a huge role in why we don’t make art? This is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg on why Colin is awesome and why making art is so important, even if you fail in the process.

So watch the clip, leave some comments, subscribe to my channel if you haven’t yet, and enjoy the process of watching me learn the ropes of this social media thing too, because surprise, I’m not an expert either. And it hasn’t stopped me from continuing this dream. Never give up, never surrender. That’s my own theory for success.

Tim!

Creative Parenting (Amanda Wall interview)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Last Sunday I shared a preview of an interview with an illustrator and graphic designer who I’ve known for a quite a few years. She is one of my personal inspirations and she regularly sets a high standard for commitment to her craft.

When I become a parent one day, I can only hope to be as gracious and dedicated to parenting, married life, and art making as this lady does. And she’s a few years my junior to boot.

That’s right, with an exclusive shoot, I’m ready to share the full length and well documented official interview with Amanda Wall.

In case you missed it last week, I wrote about a specific example of Amanda’s skill, which benefits greatly her ability to delegate regularly. No matter what she’s in the midst of this lady is committed – Amanda is a full-time freelance designer, who also stays at home with her son. She is passionate about life. That might seem super vague, but let me explain in greater detail; Amanda loves to produce work related to health and wellness, life events, social issues and the eclectic. She services clients from home, whether a business or an individual.

A graduate of Grant MacEwan University with certification in design and a diploma in illustration, she has been working in the industry for almost decade. And if you were to ask small Wall Riley, there are a set of credentials there that justify the title of Mom too.

Also, I was fortunate enough to get an opportunity to try out on location interviewing for the first time ever with Amanda, so don’t be surprised at the different environment, embrace it. Her kitchen and dining room are really nice, and well lit. Don’t believe me? Hit the picture below to check it out for yourself.

Told you that was going to be a good one. Aesthetically pleasing, mentally inspiring, and otherwise entertaining, I couldn’t have asked for a better hostess my first time off campus. And Riley was very accommodating too, can’t forget to thank him for his patience.

But what did you think? Did you enjoy the theme this time around? Are you a creative professional with something to say? Hit me up for a chance to do your own interview and get your voice heard, because timotheories isn’t just about me, it’s about you too.

And special thanks for Amanda for being amazing, appropriate, and available to meet!

Tim!

Stop To Smell The Flowers (Amanda Wall, preview interview)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Outsourcing has become a major way to do business in the age of communication.

And as Ferris Bueller once said,

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once and a while, you could miss it.

What that means for artists, is that it’s actually in our best interest to embrace the idea of outsourcing. Finding ways to trade off certain tasks for the sake of other ones, like making our art, for instance.

But what if you’re a parent AND an artist? Well, you have to figure out optimal ways to live for both of your passions.

Amanda Wall is a full-time freelance designer, who also stays at home with her son. She manages her business and keeps her son Riley engaged with all sorts of different activities, while her husbands works a day job. She is the kind of artist that finds double duty is the best way to accomplish her goals. And she is more than happy to delegate duties out when needed. Whether its meeting a deadline for a client in the service industry or finding time to go to the park and play with the kid, Amanda has a vice grip on life and she won’t let go of either of her two loves.

She’s figured out how to get the most out of her work, family time, and other responsibilities without sacrificing one for the other. It might help that she sometimes likes to think of Riley as a desk-mate, one she works with rather than against.

It’s an inspiring conversation, and this is just a small sample of life as an artist with a small Wall. So take a peek and learn what Amanda has to say when I ask her about outsourcing aspects of her business versus her household responsibilities.

She really does make things optimal, without having to stick to a rigid structure. Like so many of the moms I’ve met in my life, Amanda is an expert juggler with a great sense of empathy, and she’s happy to bring out the flowers when opportunity strikes.

Another week knocked out of the park my friends, and stay with me this week while we explore the city, get some inspiration from figures associated with Space, take a safety dance, review an album by Wilsen, and then dig into the real meat of this Amanda Wall interview, it’s gonna be a fantastic leg into the finish of May. What a week for theories!

Tim!

Earn The Power of Self-respect (Bryan Lee O’Malley)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

There was a time when I loved comic books, so much that I would buy new ones impulsively just to continue to round out my collection, get lost in the stories, and hold onto something I thought was real. Ironic given that I was enjoying fantasy stories.

But the thing is, just because I loved comic books, doesn’t mean I should have sworn them off for good, and then burned all of my copies in a fire of cleansing. Literally. I literally burned them all. Because I thought I was addicted. Read: WTF was I thinking. Yeah, I’m gonna come back to that story some other time. You don’t just get the good stuff right out the gate friends. You should know how the carrot dangle works by now.

(Foreground) Hershel Greene (Scott Wilson) - (Background L-R) Andrea (Laurie Holden), Glenn (Steven Yeun), Lori Grimes (Sarah Wayne Callies), Carol (Melissa Suzanne McBride), T-Dog (Robert 'IronE' Singleton) and Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) - The Walking Dead - Season 2, Episode 7 - Photo Credit: Gene Page/AMC

Yes, I’m watching The Walking Dead, and no I don’t care that I’m at least 4 seasons behind everybody. I’ll catch up quick. Like The Quick and the Dead.

Anyways. I was trying to make a point about indulgence.

Consumption of even the seemingly healthy things you love the most can cause you to gain weight my dear readers. Physical weight, emotional weight, spiritual weight, whatever. You name it, and someone has overindulged on it.

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And it’s important to enjoy the things you love, because if you don’t, nothing else will probably fill that void. Romantic and platonic relationships are important in life for connection, but without purpose, and entertainment, which often go hand in hand if done correctly, you might as well be a zombie.

Layers.

Which is consistent with the them of today’s spotlight author. That’s right, I’m sharing another post on the The 5 L’s of Language, because I know you need nutrition, and I promised to read the book I bought for my sisters birthday and which she wanted me to read so we could talk about it. So I did it Katrina, and I enjoyed Seconds. I really did.

But before I dig in too deep, we should run a quick refresh of what The 5 L’s of Language are all about –

I will read one book a month from the 5 groupings below, slowly expanding the number of books read so that I reach the point of 5 books a month. A book for each group

  1. LIFE – Biographies/Art/Music
  2. LOVE – Classic Fiction/Non-Fiction/Graphic Novels
  3. LEARN – Business/Leadership/Self-Help
  4. LABEL – Philosophy/Sociology/Psychology
  5. LEET– The Internet

I might be beating you over the head with this concept, but even I need a reminder now and then, and if The Devil is in the details, lets make sure we are thorough to avoid conviction. Today we are looking at Bryan Lee O’Malley and his particular brand of creativity which often shines right through in his illustrations, writing, and sometimes music. O’Malley authored the Scott Pilgrim series after all, and thus the theme at hand is LOVE. Because graphic novels.

Bryan Lee O’Malley vs the World

O’Malley doesn’t take himself too seriously. Well, at least not anymore. When he dropped out of film school and decided to create his first graphic novel, Lost at Sea back in ’03, it didn’t go over well with anyone. Especially not his friends. They were expecting him to put together something fun and irreverent, because that’s how he views life and that’s how his interviews come off when you read a bunch of them in a row.

But then he wrote Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life and seemingly exploded over night, even gaining the attention of film studios. Which is how Scott Pilgrim vs the World got made.

He makes art that combines video games, martial arts, romance, manga, and music all together in a sort of collage of pop culture. I immediately got what he was going for, because I grew up with all of those things around me. Almost to the point that I felt like it was a chronicle of my own fantasies. Which is impressive.

Scott Pilgrim, Seconds, and now Snotgirl, all have that manga look to them. But where Scott Pilgrim focused on martial arts and video games, Seconds was more about food culture and folklore. It was definitely a step away from the Scott Pilgrim books, movie, and video game. Seconds was definitely more mature than I initially expected too, though it was a shorter book, so it didn’t have time to run into the details and explore as many characters.

My point with this post is this friends. Make things that you love, because Bryan Lee O’Malley did, and even though he found a huge opportunity, I’m willing to bet a loaf of bread that he would’ve been happy no matter what success he got once he took a second attempt.

Check out his website here for more information, and this interview for some insight.

I’m out of theories for today, but check back tomorrow when I give you my own update. Should be a good one.

Tim!

The Pursuit of Purity (Andrew Wedman, Minimalism)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Andrew Wedman, of Andrew Wedman Design, is both an illustrator and a graphic designer – he doesn’t like to limit himself to one media of expression. But don’t let that fool you into believing that he has no discipline, no code of honour which he adheres to.

Like the TV show Community (read:one of my all-time favourite shows), Andrew is one of those rare individuals who is both succinct and clever in his approach to life and to his pursuits, casually sharing of himself and his interests in ways that are hopeful and genuine. On the off chance you have not watched The Wire before, I’ve provided the original clip(s) that the above Community clip lovingly parodied from, to further drive home my point.

So, as you will come to see, Andrew is very much of the mindset that how you conduct yourself defines who you are, and he works very hard to ensure that his internal compass points him in a direction which is healthy and conducive to his belief system. That of a minimalist.

Dear readers, we are in for a treat, because believe it or not (if you haven’t guessed at this point), my second timotheories interview is with Andrew Wedman! I feel incredibly blessed to have had the opportunity to sit down over iced chai and milk with this gentleman – When I met up with Andrew a few weeks back to discuss why he chooses to be a minimalist, I was very excited to have learned what makes him tick by simply talking through some basic questions like what he does with his possessions, to covering some more complex topics like how he develops his concepts from inception to completion.

I will tell you this much, it is an exciting 30 minutes that you won’t want to miss!

Please click on this link to be transported to a world where topics like the auto industry, the movie Demolition Man, and material possessions are all on the table for discussion. This is a great interview folks.

I think you will really understand what I mean about his dedicated discipline as you watch the video and get to review some of the work from his portfolio.

Running at about 30 minutes, we go through the pursuit of purity.

And so we’ve discussed some of my theories on minimalism and that’s about all I can ration this week. I would love to know what you think; please leave some comments. Lastly, a very big thank you to Andrew for being awesome, available and altruistic.

Tim!