Creative Pep Talk: Inspiration from 50 Artists

153 Pages·2017·26.97 MB·English

by  Andy J. Miller

Preface and compilation copyright © 2017 by Andy J. Miller.
Introduction copyright © 2017 by Brandon Rike.
Artist statements, bios, and artwork copyright © by the individual artists.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission
from the publisher.
ISBN 9781452152776 (epub, mobi)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Title: Creative Pep Talk : Inspiration from 50 artists / preface by Andy J. Miller ; foreword by
Brandon Rike.
Description: San Francisco : Chronicle Books, [2017]
Identifiers: LCCN 2016019503 | ISBN 9781452152080 (hardcover : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Commercial artists. | Inspiration in art.
Classification: LCC NC1001 .C74 2017 | DDC 741.6092/2--dc23 LC record available at
https://lccn.loc.gov/2016019503
Design by Andy J. Miller
Chronicle Books LLC
680 Second Street
San Francisco, California 94107
www.chroniclebooks.com
8 PREFACE BY ANDY J. MILLER
10 INTRODUCTION BY BRANDON RIKE
12 RILLA ALEXANDER
14 STEVE ALEXANDER
16 ALWAYS WITH HONOR
18 CHUCK ANDERSON
20 KATE BINGAMAN-BURT
22 DARREN BOOTH
24 WILL BRYANT
26 BUILD
28 JON BURGERMAN
30 MIKEY BURTON
32 TAD CARPENTER
34 DAN CASSARO
36 DAN CHRISTOFFERSON
38 LISA CONGDON
40 JON CONTINO
42 HELEN DARDIK
44 AARON JAMES DRAPLIN
46 JOEY ELLIS
48 DANIELLE EVANS/MARMALADE BLEUE
50 BOB EWING
52 DANIEL FISHEL
54 ADAM R. GARCIA/THE PRESSURE
56 TIMOTHY GOODMAN
58 ROB HODGSON
60 MEG HUNT
62 ERIN JANG
64 OLIVER JEFFERS
66 JOLBY & FRIENDS
68 LITTLE FRIENDS OF PRINTMAKING
70 ERIK MARINOVICH
72 MARY KATE MCDEVITT
74 ANDY J. MILLER
76 DEBBIE MILLMAN
78 JEN MUSSARI
80 NEASDEN CONTROL CENTRE
82 ANDREW NEYER
84 MIKE PERRY
86 CHRIS PIASCIK
88 BRANDON RIKE
90 NATHANIEL RUSSELL
92 CHRISTOPHER DAVID RYAN
94 ROB RYAN
96 SAGMEISTER & WALSH
98 CAROLYN SEWELL
100 SKINNY SHIPS
102 MATT STEVENS
104 NATE UTESCH
106 SARAH WALSH
108 TEAGAN WHITE
110 NATE WILLIAMS
112 ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
129 About the Author

While the word pep is not the first one I would use to describe my mission
amidst a global creative community, it’s simply a different name for the
same thing. Whether the word is pep, inspiration, optimism, persistence,
dedication, effort, excitement, or any other synonym you can find in the
thesaurus, the sentiment is the same: In order to achieve and maintain
success in a creative field, you must prioritize enthusiasm. As idealistic
as it may seem to expect people to keep smiles on their faces, a deep
exhaustion only reminds us of its importance. A career spent extracting
every last creative molecule from our brains on a daily basis tends to
drain us so completely that we must have another motivation beyond
money or deadlines.
Gratitude is necessary in creative fields. There is an imperative to
appreciate the fact that our work is born out of our talents, as opposed to
our obligations. We draw pictures for a living. If that isn’t a reason for our
heads to explode every day, then I just don’t know what is.
But this creativity comes with an emotional price. What we make often