Exempla Vitae: Narrative Art Journal

Art, the Plan, and Pain

2026-01-08T11:08:00.002-05:00

This was written in July 2017

I am sitting at my computer at 12:35 am on a Sunday morning.

I am feeling distressed due to the inability to participate in a local painting event through the Central Ohio Plein Air group.

At age 36 I still have anxiety about making the right choices. I am particularly sensitive as to whether God has approved or ordained my decision. Is He leading me? Is it wise?

Transparency

The lack of action that others see in my life is due to fear.

I think all self-inflicted pain is created from fear.

It is easier to sit under pain for fear of hurting someone else than it is to preserve yourself.

It is bad enough that I do not have a functional car. But the reason I missed this particular event had nothing to do with a car. I might've been able to get a ride if I reached out. This was not where fear had been so intrepid. No, I value my time off and the freedom to flow around and do what I think is necessary on a day off.

The problem is, Sunday is not a day off. It is a working day for me this week. I will have to leave for work in around 12 hours. Working Sundays create treacherously long weeks and I have six of them up until now.

The fear that is under my skin is not fear of doing bad work on my required Sunday or the days that follow. The fear is whether I can move beyond my current situation and survive. More importantly, can I swing for the fences and thrive.

But I am not afraid of proving myself or the work to get there. I have faced off those demons before and defeated them.

I will relish the journey if the payoff is good.

I am scared to death of the gaps. Will I survive? Will I land on my feet? Will I get buried alive? Who will save me should I fail?

Yet God has a plan.

I try to absorb as much wisdom as I can from His Word. I don't always understand His Word, let alone how to apply it.

The pain of not knowing is what I must face down and take another swing for the fences and stand on the rock of the Word of God.

Today

The pain of not having adequate transportation is still present, today, nine years later.

How do I deal with it differently today, than I did back then?

Some tools for the artist in distress

Take a breath
This problem can be solved
Cost is in God's wheelhouse, he has millions of unforeseen methods to get wealth to you
Do what is in your hand
Who can you reach out to for help?
Be teachable
Come up with a plan
Create thought experiments to mitigate this from happening again
Trust God with the outcome
Do some art

Resolve

You can get through the pain of not having. You can solve the problem. Just don't do it alone. Without trouble you would have no inspiration for your art. That tension allows you to God and yourself differently. So, today, resolve to be a problem solver. Resolve to learn what you can. You are more than your problem and you have much to do beyond this momentary trouble.

How To Write A Good Goal Question

2025-04-23T21:10:00.000-04:00

First off, I'm not claiming expertise on this concept of question writing, but I believe I have a good foundation to give you more than enough to start with.

For 3 years I conducted interviews in my art group, Visual Sanctuary. I tested and re-tested certain types of questions. Some questions required broad answers and some specific. Some questions required most of an evening to unravel and others were just redundant.

The process of writing a good question is more of a one-two punch with refining over an exact science. Little in life is actually an exact science.

I turned the question asking process of interviewers on myself after I read Zig Ziglar's Biscuits, fleas, and pump handles. It was liberating.

Advice-issuing friends and family often press you to state your goals in a nice squared-off corner response, but people who are not systematically wired just get frustrated with that.

Instead of getting caught up in the have-to's of goal writing, just ask a question about where you want to go.

Goal setting questions must:

Always start with who you are
Always start with where you are
Always start with what your passions are
Always start with what you want to accomplish

Always maintain an element of uncertainty
Always seek something beyond your current situation
Always be flexible with on-coming circumstances
Always involve you in a story you find interesting

You can answer these eight criteria in one or two simple questions, but probably not the first time you try. Be gracious with yourself and take the time necessary.

For the record, it took several dozen business, art, and career books to get me to this point. The process took over 5 years (half the time from college to the present) to discover how to do this.

You must be at a point in your life that you desire more than your current situation to be successful at this process. Without that passion driving you, failure will frequently snuff out your flame.

A Disciplined Illustrator

2017-08-01T17:00:00.000-04:00

Since I decided to make this site about illustrating most exclusively I had a vision of providing information directly from my experiences as an illustrator. Unlike prior posts here and posts on the sister site TheOWLE.Wordpress.com this information is neither purely a narrative account of being an artist, nor is it purely knowledge based instruction.

My vision for Exempla Vitae is to pass on wisdom attained from pursuing a full-time career as an illustrator.

I occasionally do one shot watercolor class, but mostly my activities have been based in cartooning for Bacon Wrapped Frog (BaconWrappedFrog.Wordpress.com), freelance, plein air painting, and personal projects.

The goal I wish to achieve is to have passive income (ongoing), freelance work (frequent commissions), gallery shows (maybe 2 a year), and a business in which I get to collaborate with creatives from other persuasions on unique and groundbreaking projects and products.

An artist must be disciplined and learn not only the craft and creativity behind their work, but must learn to be quick and technical. An illustrator must learn to balance using their style and process in such a way as to please their client or themselves if they have a personal project.

My time is divided between learning from other artists, ala copying their work in studies; learning anatomy; drawing animals; cartooning; and executing freelance work for other people.

Make no mistake learning to illustrate is central. No matter if I paint from life or draw from my imagination it all plays a role in learning the art and craft of storytelling visually.

I use time first thing in the morning and a 30 Day Art Challenge to keep me disciplined. Squeezing time in never really works, but finishing what you start and pursing passion and purpose over duty works even better.

Duty works if your attitude is set in that direction. Yet, you cannot turn off your emotions when creating work. Daily steps have to be taken to pursue one goal.

Wise Artists

2016-09-13T17:00:00.000-04:00

Grasping for wisdom is hard.

Wisdom is both intellectual and spiritual.

Knowledge stays with you in your mind. It is remembering.

Wisdom is driven from your heart to your mind.

You can know something in 2 ways.

When you know with your mind, it is knowledge.

When you know with your heart, it is wisdom.

Why is wisdom hard and knowledge easy?

Comparatively, wisdom is hard and knowledge is easier. Sometimes to have knowledge you must go and inquire. Interviewing can be easy, but direction is primary. Where do you go? Who do you talk to? This can be hard.

Wisdom comes with experience.

You have no head knowledge of something and yet gain wisdom.

We are in a society driven by head knowledge without moral character. In fact, we are in an information and even data driven culture. Base knowledge drives the culture.

The honest application of wisdom results in moral character.

If you are an artist, moral character will help you deal with your own issues and the issues that come from other people.

In the most difficult situation, you will make the right choice. This will result in favor.

Our moral character as artists will determine the content of our art.

The content of our art will change hearts and minds and will improve the world.

Wisdom AND Knowledge

2016-09-07T14:52:00.000-04:00

I have been experiencing a shift in my thinking over the last 5 years.

A lot of it has come reading the book of Proverbs written mostly by King Solomon and his cohorts.

Before, I thought that knowledge was enough to get by in life.

Knowledge is accumulated facts that make sense together.

You can collect facts, but have no real knowledge.

Trivia are seemingly insignificant facts.

More important, knowledge can be trivial if you do not know how to apply it.

Wisdom is the application and experience gained from applying knowledge.

Conventional wisdom is passed down or regurgitated wisdom.

People use common sense to determine if a choice lines up with the natural way of things.

Common sense is a bare minimum form of conventional wisdom. It is easily tested.

But who tests conventional wisdom or common sense anymore?

In ancient times, Israelites had prophets, judges, scribes, and rabbis. Hindu's had gurus. In the Greco-Roman world there were philosophers. Medicine men, wise men, and sages of all varieties helped guide day-to-day life.

They all pretty much had one thing in common...they derived their wisdom from the spiritual.

In the Christian church today we have pastors, teachers, evangelists, prophets, and apostles to guide in the same manner.

We have done a great job as artists passing down knowledge.

There is a lot conventional wisdom, facts, and studies passed around for the artist's benefit.

But, is there any real wisdom for artists to grasp? Can artists go above and beyond knowledge of craft and business to actually being people of moral character? Does moral character have to be private or can we let our wisdom shine?

Story Is Uncomplicated

2016-08-02T17:00:00.000-04:00

Story...

There is something profoundly inspiring in simplicity.

Life is rarely simple, but as humans our goals and missions are simple.

We do not complicate our desires.

It is either that we want something or we do not want it.

A story is the path from the conception of that desire to its fulfillment in reality.

It may take one minute, one hour, or many lifetimes to come to the conclusion of that desire, but what happens in the bracket of time until the desire is fulfilled is a story.

Where Do Solutions Come From?

2016-07-26T17:00:00.000-04:00

I want to clarify some points on learning, giving, submission, and position and how being where you are at now can be an advantage where you will go next.

Six years ago when I was laid off, I had a hard time disciplining myself to find a job.

Each week, my unemployment pay off required that I apply for 2 jobs in my field a week.

Well, one of the jobs I applied for was a delivery driver at an auto parts store.

My nerves and tiredness from worry, fear, and a varying schedule got to me. I hated my situation: "This couldn't be God's plan, could it?"

I scratched a couple of delivery vans in the midst of my weakness.

This offense caused me to get demoted and my hours significantly reduced.

Ironically, ended up as an early morning stock boy. I enjoyed this a little more.

I was responsible, with a team of guys to shelve auto parts in the shelves in the back of the store.

With my hours reduced, I resumed job hunting.

I got an interview, where I currently work.

As a result of my failures and my proven skills in shelving categorically and organizationally it reflected on my resume.

After I had gotten the job, my supervisor told me that this skill set was the primary reason that I got the job.

This is not about your resume, but your character. Take advantage of all applicable skills you can on your resume, don't leave one out.

But realize that you are an artist and you can create solutions to problems.

Where do those solutions come from?

God and your experiences...No one else can give them to you.

Skills That No One Else Will Ever Attain

2016-07-19T17:00:00.000-04:00

At my day job I often struggle with the conflict of within me.

Why am I not doing what I know I can do best at?

The answer that I often believe is that: I am not doing art, because I have not worked hard enough or smart enough or taken more risks.

Perhaps this is true on some level. We should all take these accusations seriously in review of our lives.

Yet, there is something to taking advantage of your situation, even if you are in a miserable rut.

If the above statement about my failings is 100% true, there is still a cause for not letting the miserable rut get me down.

It is this: Learning, giving, submission, and position are always important.

For the artist's ears this statement may sting a little.

It should.

I guess when I look at it honestly, I am not the author of my life...God is.

Learning, giving, submission, and position present opportunities to grow.

Learning, giving, submission, and position experiences no matter your place of employment or service give you advantages in the next step of your journey that no one else will ever attain.

Look for these experiences and cash in now and later on their benefits. Solve problems now where you are at and you may be the leader in the place of employment or service you take.

Art and Pain

2016-07-16T13:30:00.000-04:00

I am on this journey toward a somewhat ambiguous goal: to serve the world with art.

I don't much have a desire to save the world, but to leave it a little better than what it was when I entered. With God's grace, this is possible.

So, I get frustrated with not knowing where exactly I am going.

I go on detours that almost always lead to the same conclusions about art:

This would be easier if I spent more time dedicating my life to art

Well, I don't have enough money to support myself in the process and I'm not too keen on taking gifts from public coffers, free or loaned

But, it's clear, I have always and it will continue to be true that I need others help to succeed in the business of art

It seems that most people don't value my art enough to fund what I am doing, no matter if I do a free blog post each week showing people what I am capable of doing- giving them additional information for their benefit

So, I either have to continue being miserable in my rut and work on the same things more or get a better job and save up again and risk being in a miserable rut somewhere else

What do I do?

A Lesson From Walt Disney's Life

2015-08-19T12:53:00.005-04:00

Recently, I went through a biography of Walt Disney.

He was eventually an epic success, but before that and for most of his life he was an epic failure.

Fueling A Passion For Creating Art

2015-08-19T10:35:00.001-04:00

It's been almost a year since I last posted.

I'd have to say things have changed in significant ways.

I have come from saying "Well maybe, God wants me to create art for a living" to "It's becoming more obvious every day that I am on the right path."

This new found hope in selling art has fueled a new level of passion for art.

The Egg

2014-12-17T11:33:00.000-05:00

Like Schroedinger's cat, an egg is an apt symbol for unknown potential.

I'm In The Character Business

2014-10-14T18:19:00.001-04:00

Often its difficult to imagine a character. I have a hard time finding a reference point, but that changes when a narrative is attached to the required characters.

Where The OWLE Has Landed

2014-09-19T17:17:00.003-04:00

What Are You Teaching?

2013-12-12T19:29:00.003-05:00

To teach is the greatest act of sharing a person can give.

Taking On The World

Hold on to ALL of your dreams

2013-11-20T16:44:00.002-05:00

Hold on to all of your dreams.

~Richard Nelson Bolles

Ask The Artist

2013-10-11T19:14:00.000-04:00

I don't really get stage fright when I am doing a live painting.

I have painted hundreds of times, live.

In fact there are times when I was painting and I thought I was alone, but people have walked up to me to ask a question.

Photo by Heidi W.

With the dozen or so people watching and asking questions on Friday October 4th, I felt like God was cementing the value of my art.

Sure Bob Ross made millions off of his products and books, but he always painted for free.

The one thing I am truly striving for is to find something that people value- A cross-section between the art I create and what people will pay for.

I really want more people to see my art and ask questions.

I really want to serve with my gifts, so if you have some question that you would like to air on the art making process. Send it to me- mstudioartworks@gmail.com.

In the mean time: Check out my art show if you are in or going through Columbus, OH in October 2013- Cafe International Show.

If you can't get out to it, check it out online: Cafe International Art Show.

Watercolor Show

2013-10-02T20:26:00.000-04:00

At The Zoo

2013-10-01T18:22:00.001-04:00

3 Flowers #3

A Delicious Painting

2013-09-28T14:54:00.001-04:00

Seekers Creek

Beyond The Hills

2013-09-27T21:36:00.001-04:00

On Memorial Day weekend I visited family in Eastern Indiana. It was still cold. I had just a camera phone to base my light reference off of.

This was definitely a learning experience.

Working within my limitations, I used what I had. Light frequently changes when you paint outside, so it is preferred to have a secondary reference.

I enjoy leaving the pencil in heavy so that the texture can show through. This will be a piece that will be showcased at my art show at Cafe International on October 4, in Columbus, OH.

It will be 6 pm-close. At 6:30 pm I will be doing a painting demo from one of my outdoor photos. It will be an experience all can enjoy.

Address:

2361 North High Street

Columbus, Ohio 43202

Click this link to art show: Cafe International Art Show

Painting Out

2013-09-10T15:15:00.000-04:00

Blacklick Metro Park, Reynoldsburg, OH

There is nothing I enjoy more than painting outside, especially in a park or distant wooded place. Exploration is the key. I explore physically and then explore artistically.

Tonight at 6:30 pm I will be the showcased artist for an art demonstration of the above photo at cafe International. It's a great place to try a variety of cultural flavors and enjoy the creative atmosphere.

Here is their address: 2361 North High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43202

I hope to see you there!

Chalk The 'Ville

2013-08-08T14:22:00.000-04:00

Rock The Ville, Westerville, Ohio's art community art festival will be on Saturday August 10th 12 noon- 9 pm. They will have live music, spoken word/poetry, dance, fashion, and of course Chalk Art (not just professionals, but families as well).

The Long Uphill Trek

2013-07-31T20:45:00.001-04:00

Things ain't like they use ta' be.

Freedom to Create

2013-07-20T22:03:00.000-04:00

Perhaps its often overlooked that the cost for freedom allows all different kinds of expression.