My Creative Workout

Simplifying My Creative Tools

I’m constantly looking for ways to simplify everything in my life. It’s a never-ending battle as life seems to always be throwing more complexity at me. When it comes to being more creative, I’ve found that simplifying the tools I was using provided just the spark I needed to get myself back on track.

One does not accumulate but eliminate. It is not daily increase but daily decrease. The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity. – Bruce Lee

When it came to photography I always deferred to using my DSLR, and as for drawing I always thought I needed to have my sketchbook with me. The problem was that all too often I would just choose not to take pictures or draw if I didn’t have these items with me. This changed for me after this latest upgrade to the iPhone 6s. [Read more…]

Taking My Own Advice

By Mark Chisholm | Leave a Comment

It seems like so long ago that I wrote a post about getting the train back on the tracks. Little did I know at the time, soon after publishing that post I would find myself completely derailed creatively. For far too many months now I’ve avoided my own advice and allowed way too many of life’s challenges both at home and at work to zap my motivation to do much of anything creative. For the most part I haven’t been taking pictures, haven’t been drawing, or even writing.

In an effort to finally emerge from this creative funk, I took some time for myself today and went for a walk on the beach. I only took a few pictures with my phone. It was a simple step forward… just what I needed. I’m looking forward to taking another step tomorrow.

Rediscovering the Joy of Drawing

By Mark Chisholm | Leave a Comment

I developed an interest in drawing when I was a child. On most Saturday mornings before dawn, while the rest of my family was asleep, I could be found in front of the television with paper and pencil watching a show called “The Nature World of Captain Bob.” This was an instructional drawing show that was broadcast on a local channel in the Boston area back in the seventies and eighties (yes…a long time ago).

Each week Captain Bob would pick a subject from nature and teach the viewers how to draw it. At the same time he would teach you everything you would ever want to know about that particular animal. It was amazing how he could turn simple lines and shapes into amazing life-like drawings. It wasn’t long before I was committed to learning how to do this myself. I would tune in each week to see which animal Captain Bob was going to draw next. By the end of each show, I would compare my drawing to Captain Bob’s. Most of the time my drawing was way off the mark. But I would still work on it after each show ended. Over time, I was able to come much closer to the realism that he was able to capture.

[Read more…]