Birthday t-shirts

Hey friends, these are the two designs that I'll be printing at my birthday party.  Honey Badger will be printed in white ink, and PeliCAN will be printed in black ink (so bring your shirts accordingly, depending on what you want).

If you'd like me to get some shirts (at wholesale prices), email me, or FB message me, or get a hold of me in some way by JULY 19th and I can get you the color shirts shown here.  No pressure, just wanted to offer it if you want American Apparel shirts :)  See ya at the party!

Monster sketches

Monster design - all photoshop.  Woo!

Trust 30 carries on

So while I totally f'd up and got lazy at the end started working on other personal development projects towards the end, I did go back and finish all the Trust 30 topics, and wow, a month went by already?

Anyway, I'm not sure if I'll keep going, but I have learned a lot and hope to start posting more here and in general about life, art, etc. etc.

So for one last trust 30, I'll go with the topic by Seth Godin and talk about something that happened on my birthday.  According to Google search results, not much happened, but the things of note that happened was that Iron Maiden played a show in Texas.  Actually, something a bit more interesting is that Reagan nominated Frederick M. Bernthal to be a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Committee.  I did a quick google search on that guy, but does anyone have any idea of how terrible he was (only based on the fact that Reagan nominated him)??

Fault and Change

I already know that it's all my fault!  So.  How am I approaching it?  I have to make hard decisions and put in the work that I don't want to do in order to change it.  I have to face my fears, take risks, do whatever it takes to pull through and make my life as awesome as I want it.  It's called taking ownership, and it's time to make it happen by taking small, focused, forward steps towards the goal line.  Let's get to work!


Think of all the things that are not working in your life. That job you don’t like, that relationship that’s not working, those friends that annoy you. Now turn them all on you. Imagine that everything that’s not working in your life, is your fault. How would you approach it? What would you work on to change your life to the state that you want it to be?
(Author: Carlos Miceli)

Image

I actually feel like I don't really care, but I think this is due to me walking naked in a parade in Berkeley before, and always dressing up in weird costumes for parties, and generally being an attention hog.  Whether or not it's a good or bad picture, I think just wanting more attention has always been my thing, and perhaps being a weirdo is actually more who I really am than anyone cool or composed.

Mess up your hair. If you are wearing makeup – smudge it. If you have a pair of pants that dont really fit you – put them on. Put on a top that doesn’t go with those pants. Go to your sock drawer. Pull out two socks that don’t match. Different lengths, materials, colors, elasticity.

Now two shoes. You know the drill.

Need to add more? Ties? Hair clips? Stick your gut out? I trust you to go further.

Take a picture.

Get ready to post it online.

Are you feeling dread? Excitement? Is this not the image you have of yourself? Write about the fear or the thrill that this raises in you? Who do you need to look good for and what story does it tell about you? Or why don’t you care?

(Author: Matthew Stillman)

10 Year Text

"If you just stick with it, you'll make it.  And turn off the videogames."

I'm going to limit the amount of time I spend on games to 1 hour a day, and I'm going to use the time given to me to make sure that my entrepreneurial ventures work.


Imagine your future self, ie, you 10 years from now. If he/she were to send you a tweet or text message, 1) what would it say and 2) how would that transform your life or change something you’re doing, thinking, believing or saying today?
(Author: Tia Singh)

Overcoming Fear

Major Life Goal: Becoming an illustrator for Magic:the Gathering/Wizards of the Coast

Fears/Uncertainties about why I haven't taken action:
1.  Fear of rejection/lack of skill
2.  Fear of being kicked out of my house
3.  Fear of not getting my art made into a card

Reasons for each fear:
1.  Fear of rejection/lack of skill
 - There is a high level of talent for those currently illustrating the game now
 - I'm worried that my portfolio isn't good enough right now
 - I don't have much of this sort of work under my belt

2.  Fear of being kicked out of my house
 - If I spend a lot of time working on a new portfolio, I'll lose out on other, more pressing income opportunities
 - I don't know how long it would take me to paint a whole new portfolio
 - I need a job now

3.  Fear of not getting my art made into a card
 - What if they just give me a kill fee since they end up not liking the final artwork?
 - My style might not be what they're looking for
 - Irrational fear of not measuring up

Well, the answer to most of these is to keep painting stuff on the side and learn to like my art regardless of what other people think.  huzzah!


Write down a major life goal you have yet to achieve or even begin to take action on. For each goal, write down three uncertainties (read: fears) you have relating to each goal. Break it down further, and write down three reasons for each uncertainty. When you have three reasons for your fear, you’ll be able to start processing the change because you know where the fear stems from. Now you’ll be able to make a smaller changes that push you towards your larger goal. So begins the process of “trusting yourself.”
(Author: Sean Ogle)

Personal Recipe

The type of person I'd never want to be 5 years from now is someone who is uncaring, unartistic, and a general grump.  He'd be demanding and would yell a lot and wouldn't be with Eve.  He would probably go out and party to excess all the time and never do anything creative.  He'd also be living in Stockton with his  parents and would be working a retail job in Stockton.

Oh god, the horror.  To prevent this, follow the recipe as below:
-make sure you draw or paint daily.  Even if it's a little doodle or something small or its just putting paint on the canvas, make sure you do something.  If you don't do either of these things, make sure you that write for a good hunk of time.
-take action.  do at least one thing that will further you along your way to accomplishing self-employment through the arts.  Eventually, if you keep doing one thing daily, you'll make it.
-Keep your eye on the prize.  Figure out what you want, so your goal is clear enough to shoot for.
-Make sure you cherish Eve.  She's the most important person in your life and don't you forget it!!
-Be thankful.  Right before you go off to bed (and/or when you get up), think of one thing you're thankful for.  It'll keep your heart in the right place.
-Limit your time on Facebook and with videogames.  Use a timer if you can't exercise self-control.
-Be happy about your work.  No one is the final arbiter of your work/your life's value besides YOU.


Think about the type of person you’d NEVER want to be 5 years from now. Write out your own personal recipe to prevent this from happening and commit to following it. “Thought is the seed of action.”
(Author: Harley Schreiber)

alive-est

I most recently felt the most alive when I was at our gallery show The Undiscovered.  I was at a tiny little gallery/smoke shop in the mission and was surrounded by friends and supporters.  There wasn't really any smell, besides wood and maybe a little bit of sweat, but I was constantly talking with friends about my work and just hanging out and happy that people were deeply pondering the Secret of Deadbrook.


When did you feel most alive recently? Where were you? What did you smell? What sights and sounds did you experience? Capture that moment on paper and recall that feeling. Then, when it’s time to create something, read your own words to reclaim a sense of being to motivate you to complete a task at hand.
(Author: Sam Davidson)

Call to Arms

Over the next 12 months we're going to focus on turning Monkey + Seal into major players in the art market.  Over the next five years, we expect to be household names for artists with books, toys, and many other licensing deals signed or in progress.

Over the upcoming months, we're going to do our usual round of conventions and fairs, but make sure that we leave an impression.  Zine Fest, APE, and Baz Biz Holiday are all going to be huge events for us.  We'll release a comic by APE, hopefully a new zine by the Zine Fest, and more of everything by the holiday season.

This next year we'll focus more on seasonal opportunities  - next May and June will be big for ties for graduates and fathers.  We'll use August and October to build up interest in monsters and our books.  Late January and early February will be a great opportunity to tell ladies and gents that their male partners would look great in a tie.

We'll also explore more venues for sales, including becoming licensed SF street artists and increasing our areas of exposure by pursuing more wholesale venues.  Aquariums, both domestic and international, as well as bike shops, SF-specific gift shops, will be new opportunities for selling our products.

LETS DO ITTTTT!!!!!!!





What if today, right now, no jokes at all, you were actually in charge, the boss, the Head Honcho. Write the “call to arms” note you’re sending to everyone (staff, customers, suppliers, Board) charting the path ahead for the next 12 months and the next 5 years. Now take this manifesto, print it out somewhere you can see, preferably in big letters you can read from your chair.
You’re just written your own job description. You know what you have to do. Go!
(bonus: send it to the CEO with the title “The things we absolutely have to get right – nothing else matters.”)
(Author: Sasha Dichter)

Intuition

My intuition would look like a dragon made out of flames and scorched rock.  The first thing he'd tell me is that I need to be less scared and face my fears.  Hmm, good advice.


If you could picture your intuition as a person, what would he or she look like? If you sat down together for dinner, what is the first thing he or she would tell you?
(Author: Susan Piver)

Courage to Connect

Hmm, not sure about anyone I'm rally dying to connect with.  Maybe...hmm, I feel like I'm fortunately enough to be in a place where there's no one I'm really dying to connect with, or maybe I just don't know the right people to want to connect with.


Who is one person that you’ve been dying to connect with, but just haven’t had the courage to reach out to? First, reflect on why you want to get in touch with them. Then, reach out and set up a meeting.
(Author: David Spinks)