Drawing for Overnight Success

Over the weekend, I read an awesome book of just 80 pages by Chris Guillebeau –279 Days to Overnight Success. This 'manifesto' should be required reading for artists, writers, and internet-enabled creative entrepreneurs. Chris is one of my business heroes –like Steve Jobs and Tony Hsieh– and the manifesto is available as a PDF for free (no sign-up hoops or anything like that; just click and download) on his site.

'Overnight success, you like?'
sketch of Borat from 2006 by Ben Capozzi

Like all of Chris's work, the Overnight manifesto is inspiring, but even better, there's loads of practical advice, guidance, and mentoring. He may not be a visual artist, but Chris has said so well so much of the very useful things I wish I'd heard in art school that he should teach classes; the Overnight manifesto alone is more practical than anything we looked at in my entire Pro Practices class!

More: Figure Work That Works

As promised, I thought I'd say a bit more about what I look for in figure work, and especially styles of linework. The kind of figure treatment from this find on Etsy is especially appealing.

original drawing by Etsy artist HelenGotLib

Look how cool this is!

From the Archives: Pensive Fellow from 2007

In the continuing process of excavation going on here, I present another page from an old sketchbook, this time a handsome, heroic dude posed pensively.

The cartooned hands, bull neck, and high, angled cheekbones may reference or prefigure the TRAPT dude I made for some graffiti-inspired work around this time.

Figure Work That Works for Me

Early this week, I cruised Etsy briefly, and just to see what sorts of figure work were currently on offer. Several pieces immediately jumped out at me, and I thought that maybe why they did was worth a post, because it likely says something about my own work.

torso study from '06 by ben capozzi

The Figure has always been my favorite subject. Not all figures –several fat, naked, sleeping hippies from college drawing classes spring to mind– but heroic, interesting bodies always draw my eye. 

The drawing below is a nice example of what I'm not really interested in.

From the Archives: Dave Cooper-inspired sketches from '07

you can follow me on instagram for more pics at bencapozzi

I absolutely LOVE the work of Canadian artist Dave Cooper. I discovered him in the mid 2000's and have just a few pages in a sketchbook from '07 where I played around with his style: tiny faces swimming inside great heads; bugged eyes; overripe and undernourished features.

I'm Making 2012 the Year of My Economic Recovery

inner child 01, 2006 © ben capozzi
This year, I need to perk these guys up.

If you follow me on Goodreads, you know I've challenged myself to read 78 books this year (more than twice last year's goal) and that I've been on something of a Business and Economics tear so far this year.

But there's also a business book I read last year, Quitter by Jon Acuff, that I really enjoyed and one which I would recommend heartily to not just artists and creative types, but to anyone whose work, life, or balance there-between is weighing on them.

One of the themes that emerges from Quitter is just that, Emergence, particularly of things past or once known in our lives but now forgotten. That buried treasure contains gems of personal meaning and original insight (see Jung), and Acuff often refers to bringing them up as a process of excavation –digging down to see what you once knew was important– reclamation, and recovery.

The same process is underway in many public institutions and in many Americans (one hopes) in the wake of the economic and political crises of the recent past. All this really resonated with me, and I took it as another nice ding from The Universe to get my priorities straight, and get on with my own economic recovery.

This recovery though, is not alone, nor even primarily, about my financial economy.