Your Creative Push

Since 2009, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop has been cobbling together beats, rhymes and rhythms that call back to the early days of hip hop. Drawing on influences like the Beastie Boys, A Tribe Called Quest and Wu-Tang Clan, and new school lyricists like Spose and Watsky the sound is upbeat and decidedly revivalist. Can’t Stop Won’t Stop has been featured on the homepage of some of the most prestigious culture sites on the web. Buzzfeed, Gawker, ESPN, YouTube, Huffington Post, The New York Times, USA Today, TechCrunch, TheChive, etc. All totaled, and across platforms, their music has been listened to over 150 million plays. Despite frequent reconstruction and occasional setbacks, the music has been (and is still being) made by a core group, namely: David Eff, Fresh Big Mouf, Davey Hawkins, Chuck Wild and Fade Simmons, and David Eff comes onto the podcast today to talk about his and the group’s creative journey. http://yourcreativepush.com/csws In this episode, David discusses: -The ever-changing members of Can't Sto

Tai Taeoalii is an amazing artist who uses ballpoint pen to create surreal pieces of art intended to stimulate the viewer’s mind and evoke honest emotion.  Tai has recently taken his art “on the road,” using the time that he is not busy creating to tour the U.S. at various art galleries, museums, and art fairs.  Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/tai In this episode, Tai discusses: -His creative origins, doodling in class with a ballpoint pen, until selling his work on Ebay. -How he is now 38, but only really discovered who he is and his style 6 or 7 years ago. -How at art festivals and art fairs, you get to talk to the people buying your work and you get to get feedback from them. -How he starts a piece with an idea, and doesn't think much from that point on until the piece is done. -Listening to music helps him tap into his subconscious, much like doodling while on the phone. -The difficulty he experiences in attempting to do commission work, and why he doesn't do it anymore. -What it is like to be

Michael Shainblum is a professional photographer/filmmaker whose work consists of Fine Art Landscape Photography, Aerial Photography, Aerial Filmmaking, Travel/ Adventure Photography and Commercial Timelapse Photography.  He has worked with clients like Nike, Samsung, Verizon, Disney, BMW, Google and many more, and his work has been published by National Geographic, Wired Magazine, Huffington Post and The Weather Channel. http://yourcreativepush.com/michaelshainblum In this episode, Michael discusses: -That he was always trying to create from an early age.  And he knew by 15 or 16 that he wanted to be a photographer (and went with it). -What "Eat, Sleep, Create," means to him. -How creativity does something for him directly and it also does something for him through other people. -The joy that you can get from the simple act of creating something. -How being able to share and get feedback from people adds a special element of excitement to his work. -Why he thinks that his photography of nature and space reso

Adonna Khare is an artist mainly focused on large-scale pencil drawings.  Her work has been collected by prestigious public and private collections throughout the world.  And in 2012 she won the world’s largest art competition, ArtPrize, competing against over 1500 artists from around the world.  She has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, NPR, The Huffington Post, Daily Mail, Juxtapoz Magazine, and Mashable, just to name a few. http://yourcreativepush.com/adonna In this episode, Adonna discusses: -How she got to the point of drawing such large-scale drawings. -How much of her progress comes from permission.  Permission from a professor and permission to go bigger, and permission from herself to create large environments. -Her advice for people who brush off "big ideas" -- to instead give themselves permission to do them. -How she has many ideas stew in her mind, jockeying for position, and when she sits in front of the paper, that is when one in particular comes to the front to say "I am ready." -Why it

Adam Gaines was a Staff Writer on NBC's drama State of Affairs and his work on the FX drama The Bridge included co-writing the penultimate episode of the second (and final) season. He published the eBook Mixtape, a collection of one-act plays available as a free download on iBooks, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. And most recently released a sequel called Fire Sale, available on the same platforms. On the feature side, his script Negative is currently in production. Directed by Joshua Caldwell and starring Katia Winter, Simon Quarterman, and Sebastian Roche. And he’s set to make his feature directorial debut on the indie Prepaid, which he also wrote. Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/adamgaines In this episode, Adam discusses: -One of his first creative moments, in his creation of "R-Man." -Some of the things that held him back from creating. -How doubt begins to creep into ones creative life and how to get through it by trusting your instincts. -His advice for writers or anyone else who want to try

Oscar Gregeborn is a 17-year-old artistic phenom from Oslo, Norway who has a distinctive style of painting that you might confuse with that of a painter who has been painting for half a century.  His color palette in addition to his mesmerizing scenes leave you staring at the painting, yearning for entrance into his imagination. Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/oscar In this episode, Oscar discusses: -A glimpse into his life as a high school student and his intentions for college as well as the industry. -How he blends together the things he loves about his favorite artists into a kind of soup in order to develop his own style. -How he feels as if he still has a long way to go before he truly enters the scene, but he has the advantage of time. -His advice to young people who haven't "entered the scene" yet to develop their style and continue to work on their art. -The power in sharing your art. -His theory of "leveling-up." -How 10,000 hours might not be enough for artists, as it is a lifelong comm

Natasha Wescoat has been a full time acrylic painter since 2004 and has sold over 1000 original works to private and corporate collections worldwide.  Her art has been featured in ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and hit sitcom "The Middle" as well as Hollywood films like "Marley & Me".  She is also the founder of Art Career Academy, an online mentorship program for artists. Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/natashawescoat In this episode, Natasha discusses: -How she has been interested in art since a very young age. -The start of her business of selling her art on Ebay. -The woes that come from starting out as a young artist. -The value of getting input from the people who are watching you, as you can learn about your business and about yourself by listening to them. -How the business aspect and having a family can bog you down and drain you from your creativity. -Her worst creative moment. -The importance of separating your creative days from your business days. -Her best creative moment,

Suresh is a gifted public speaker, the host of the daily podcast BlissHacker Radio, and the author of the upcoming book “Be”. He is also a contributing writer to the Good Men Project. In addition to this, Suresh is a talented composer. Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/suresh In this episode, Suresh discusses: -How he doesn't fit into a particular category except for "creative." -How you question everything when you go through something like a divorce. -How hearing Robert Rodriquez talk about how he doesn't know how to do the things he does but just jumps in and does them anyway really affected him as a creator. -How people want to edit as they go, but how we can learn from children, because they just keep going and figure out the "editing" later. -His advice for people who are afraid of just jumping into some creative pursuit because they think that they will be terrible. -His method of "crowd-sourcing" for things he doesn't know how to do. -What he means when he describes himself as "limitless" in

Aunia Kahn is figurative artist, photographer, creative entrepreneur and inspirational speaker. She has created a hybrid art form combining many disciplines. She designs, builds, and executes characters, non-existent places, dreams, illusions, fears and fables into creations, melding elements of classical and contemporary art. Aunia also runs/hosts the Create & Inspire Blog & Podcast where she helps and inspires creatives to follow their dreams! Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/auniakahn In this episode, Aunia discusses: -How and why she started the "Create and Inspire" blog and podcast. -How John Lee Dumas of "Entrepreneur on Fire" inspired her to start a podcast (just like Youngman Brown with "Your Creative Push"). -How most artists don't realize that their art can be a business and many of the mistakes they make when trying to sell their work. -Her first creative moments with a Kodak Fisher Price camera as a child. -How even though we are the most photographed era in time, we are going t

Julie Zantopoulos is the author of Shoot Down the Wendy Bird. Before she published her first book she was Editor-in-Chief, creating content for a national print and online magazine, The Indie Chicks. She now runs a community of writers and fosters creativity in others. She will be launching Nobody's Beauty Guru, a site dedicated to her beauty addiction, in March. Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/julie In this episode, Julie discusses: -Her favorite trashy SciFi movies and how they can actually serve as inspiration if they are able to be produced. -One of her first creative moments as a writer when she went to Greece as a young girl. -The process of writing her book Shoot Down the Wendy Bird and the emotional journey that it takes both her and the reader down. -Her advice for people who might find it hard to put themselves out there in their writing or their art. -Her advice for writers or bloggers who want to write a book. -The importance of having trusted people to read your work. -How it is not a

Martin is an English artist with an African heart. Born into a family of zoologists in 1982, he grew up amidst forest and savannah creatures of central and eastern Africa. He has held successful solo exhibitions in Africa, Europe, and the United States and has exhibited with the Society of Wildlife Artists and at the David Shepherd Foundation's Wildlife Artist of the Year event. A driving force for Martin's work is his commitment to conservation efforts for endangered wildlife, and through his art he continues to support the work of selected wildlife charities. Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/martinaveling In this episode, Martin discusses: -His upbringing in Africa, how his parents were young zoologists, and what that meant for his life. -Why he draws detailed portraits of the animals on very clear white backgrounds, so that it doesn't detract from the animal. -How he became obsessed with detail but tried to hone that throughout his career. -How he likes to play around with composition, and push

You might know Kent Gustavson as an award-winning author, for his biography on musician Doc Watson called Blind But Now I See.  Or you might know him as a musician and producer, with 14 critically acclaimed albums. Or if you are a student at Stony Brook University in New York, you might know him as a teacher. Or maybe you know him as a public speaker and perhaps you have already been inspired by him from his Ted Talk, "We Are Alive." Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/drkent In this episode, Kent discusses: -How in college he did a lot of soul searching to "find himself," but a near-fatal car wreck with his father made it clear to him that he should do what he loves doing. -How he loves how art teachers see the world. -How the idea that "there are no mistakes" really changed the way he thought about things. -Jazz musicians and their ability to turn a mistake into a feature of the music. -How anticipating mistakes make them easier to deal with and much easier to learn from. -Training your ability to "

Nick Gentry is an artist from London who paints on recycled and obsolete technological materials such as floppy discs, 35mm film negatives, VHS cassettes, and X-ray prints. In doing so, he creates a conversation between digital and analog processes. Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/nickgentry In this episode, Nick discusses: -What the canvas of technological materials says to the viewer. -How he finds charm in the materials that have already had a life. -Where he actually obtains the floppy discs and VHS tapes to use for his art. -How he uses ambiguity and pulling many different pieces together in order for the viewer to make their own interpretations about the art and what it means to them. -The first time he made this type of art as an experiment, and how he left his work in the street to be picked up for free. -His predictions for the future of technology and his hope that we don't get lost. -How he tries to suspend his judgment while making art, so that if a piece isn't going particularly well,

Diana Gabaldon is the author of the award-winning, #1 NYT-bestselling OUTLANDER novels.  Diana has written eight books in the series, with more than twenty-six million copies in print worldwide.  The series is published in 26 countries and 23 languages, and includes a nonfiction (well, relatively) companion volume, THE OUTLANDISH COMPANION, which provides details on the settings, background, characters, research, and writing of the first novels in the series. Gabaldon has also written several books in a sub-series featuring Lord John Grey (a major minor character from the main series): LORD JOHN AND THE PRIVATE MATTER,  LORD JOHN AND THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE BLADE, LORD JOHN AND THE HAND OF DEVILS, and LORD JOHN AND THE SCOTTISH PRISONER. Returning to her comic-book roots, she has also written a graphic novel titled THE EXILE (set within the OUTLANDER universe and featuring the main characters from OUTLANDER), but told from the viewpoint of Jamie Fraser and his godfather, Murtagh. Diana’s current writing projec

Marc is an artist whose work is inspired in both form and style by western and eastern influences. He was born in Hong Kong, but has also lived in Sydney and London. He merges traditional Chinese inks with European watercolour and pen techniques in a contemporary style. He is self-taught, and utilizes many different techniques and subject matters to expand his work. Marc also runs the blog www.redinkstone.com – a website dedicated to helping aspiring artists achieve successful and sustainable careers in the art world. Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/marcallante In this episode, Marc discusses: -How his art career was jump started when his friend posted one of his pieces on Reddit and the thread went viral. -How he utilized that "break" to make another post on Reddit, showcasing pieces of art he did throughout his childhood and life, and how that post went even more viral. -How he worked in financial risk at that time, and art was a hobby for him until that point. -The tough times that he was going

Chan Dick is a Hong Kong photographer whose personal works have caught as much as, if not more, public attention as his commercial works.   In 2015, his photo book of picturesque bird-eyed view of Chai Wan Fire Station won him the Hong Kong Photo Book Awards. His photos have been selected by Invisible Photographer Asia and showcased at Angkor Photo Festival 2015. His photo series No Compromise portrays student activists aspired to make social progress in Hong Kong’s political scene. It won him a third place in the International Photography Awards (IPA) Competition in the professional editorial/political category. His earlier works include Escapers that touches on the odds of escaping from a totalitarian regime, and War, a photo story taken for kart racing aficionado to support the construction of a racing circuit in Hong Kong. The latter was exhibited in the 2014 Pingyao International Photo Festival in China. Today, Chan Dick answers some of our questions about his photography and what drives his creativi

Victor is a Research Director at a Philadelphia-based digital design and development firm. He regularly writes and speaks on the application of psychology to design. He has written for A List Apart, Smashing Magazine, UX Booth, User Experience Magazine (UXPA) and many more. Victor is the author Design for the Mind, an upcoming book on the application of principles of psychology to design. Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/victoryocco In this episode, Victor discusses: -His first creative moments, and how his interest in writing began. -How sharing your work can build your confidence... or help you to realize that you have a talent in the first place. -How people can surprise you with the amount of support that they can offer. -Some things in his early life that held him back from being creative. -The way that alcohol entered his life as a ritual for him to pass time on a nightly basis. -How once he stopped drinking, writing replaced that need and it came crashing down like a dam suddenly let loose.

Jon is an artist and graphic designer from New York.  His designs, typography, and illustrations have graced magazine covers, t-shirts, album jackets, murals, food trucks, movie posters, websites, and national ad campaigns, just to name a few.  He’s the Founder & Creative Director of Contino Brand menswear and accessories company, as well as Co-Founder & Creative Director of CXXVI Clothing Company. Listen to Part 1 Full Shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/31 In this episode, Jon discusses: -The experience of designing for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition 2015. -What it is like to have your fingerprints on something that is massive in scale. -How he handled the offer of being able to do body painting on the swimsuit models. -Working for top-secret projects and the difficulty it brings to the creative process. -How he handles his work based on his love for it, not based on his love for sleep. -How time vanishes when you are doing something you love. -What art and creativity brings to his life.

Jon is an artist and graphic designer from New York.  His designs, typography, and illustrations have graced magazine covers, t-shirts, album jackets, murals, food trucks, movie posters, websites, and national ad campaigns, just to name a few.  He’s the Founder & Creative Director of Contino Brand menswear and accessories company, as well as Co-Founder & Creative Director of CXXVI Clothing Company. Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/joncontino In this episode, Jon discusses: -How his love and ability for design drives him. -The difference between being a creative director and a young designer. -The origins of his confidence and the journey it has taken. -The importance of a "nothing to lose" attitude. -His worst moment as a designer, and the importance of going through it. -To not get too excited about things like interviews with Playboy. -How it is a constant push, and almost addiction, for creative people to constantly want more. -How LETTING GO of what he thought a designer was supposed to

Brett Gajda has launched two multi-million dollar businesses, studied with some of the world’s leading self-development teachers, visited 40 countries, released an album, starred in a stage musical, got married, escaped from Alcatraz, became a father, and he currently trains and coaches professionals at Fortune 1000 companies globally.  He is also the host of "Where There's Smoke" -- an amazing self-help podcast that is one of the major inspirations for Youngman Brown to start "Your Creative Push." Full shownotes: http://yourcreativepush.com/brettgajda In this episode, Brett discusses: -A recent review of his podcast "Where There's Smoke" that defined it as "genre-defying" and how that sentiment struck a chord with him. -The concept of "The Gap" (introduced by Ira Glass) and how to get over it. -How the only way to get to the level you want to be at with your art is to actually put the time and work into the craft that you want to master. -His advice for moving past the fact that the first thing that you crea