Dissatisfaction=Action (Time To Do Something Different)

I've always been bothered by excessive consumption. It has never really sat right with me, and there were times in my life when I would try to make sweeping changes in my life to rectify this. Each time I've went down that road I've realized pretty quickly that it's near to impossible to go all-or-nothing, especially raising a family, in our country. I've tried to find ways to satiate this dissatisfaction, but I would fall back into old habits and go about business as usual.


Well, the old sting has come back, but this time I've decided to make small, easy changes that I can truly implement on a personal level, and some that I can apply at home daily with my family as well. I want to share the journey, and my thoughts, with you.

I've openly shared my thoughts with others and I often get asked, "How does this fit in with your job? Aren't you in advertising?" I think this is a very good question, and it makes me look even harder at my chosen profession. I often ask myself this very thing. Being in advertising, a field that is very obviously geared towards the buying and selling of goods, can I honestly be true to my own feelings about consumerism without being a hypocrite? And on a side note, does this perspective that I embrace keep me from being good at my job? 

I think the answer lies somewhere in the middle for me. I've always sort of half-joked that the reason I'm decent at small-market advertising is because I'm not a victim to it. I resist being "sold," always keeping a healthy dose of skepticism about the advertising I am exposed to.

I think that advertising can be creative field that can do a lot of good, especially if the program, event, business or group is offering something this is truly beneficial to the community. Of course, there's also the reality that it's just pushing another plastic bottle, or styro-foam cup, encouraging people to "buy and toss," rather than reuse.

I've decided to walk that tightrope, and live in the middle-grey area, for now. I think that embracing these thoughts and finding a way to apply them to my craft will be good for me and my clients. It will help me look deeper into what they do, and the message they are trying to communicate to the public by approaching it with honesty, looking for ways to create the most impact with the smallest drain on resources. 

In presentations concerning social media I've often said that the dissatisfied will light the world on fire, while the satisfied sleep in the flames. That seems to apply here. Often, satisfaction breeds complacency, but dissatisfaction leads to action. Small actions. Small steps. Real, workable application in everyday life. That's the path I plan to take. I'll keep you posted on how it's going. -OP

Related articles

• Advertising, marketing and public relations: Where should your resources go? - Toronto Sun (news.google.com)
• Advertising/Marketing/PR/Consumerism (ask.metafilter.com)
• Advertising Ideas for Small Businesses (thinkup.waldenu.edu)
• Unconsumption does not think you are ridiculous (dothegreenthing.com)
• The Best Ways to Advertise a Small Business (thinkup.waldenu.edu)
• On globalisation, consumerism, and F2P (spinksville.wordpress.com)

My Wife Is Awesome... In A 1979 Heavy Metal Sort Of Way.

So my Wife went on a little trip with her Mom this past weekend. They take make sure to have a bit of Mother/Daughter time every Summer. Well, my sweet lady always gets me some sort of gift when she travels, even though I insist that she not.

Last year she got me an old Green Lantern comic, which was really cool, but this year she wins the award of sweetest little miss of the year! Lookit what she grabbed for me...

It's the November 1979 issue of "Heavy Metal" and man do I love it! When I opened it up I was stunned at the color. What an amazing cover!

Another reason this cover really jumped out at me is because I recently stopped by Richard Pace's blog, "The Burning Monster" and followed along as he worked on his "Jungle Girl" piece. I thought this was a really cool piece, and they kind of echo each other. 

[Source]

If you're not subscribing to Richard's blog then you need to get on over there and do that. You're missing some interesting artistic treats.

So, back to my 1979 "Heavy Metal." What a great gift, right? If you're a "Heavy Metal" reader then you know that each issue is loaded variety, talent and that great indy vibe. This issue was no slouch in any of those departments.

There was a great page where you could order back issues... all the way to issue 1! Try picking that up on the cheap.

And who the heck remembers "Heavy Metal Money?" Not me. So cool, right?

And just look at the composition and color on these two pages from the story "Elric." Oh. My. Dang!

This book is a beaut and I'm proud to display it in my office. What makes it even better is that my lady said she had other options, but she just knew I'd like this one the best. Like I said; great lady.

So honey, consider this an apology for all the times I told you not to buy me gifts. If you keep bringing home goodies like this, then I'll except them all with open arms!

A Gator On The Go

I started working on my Louisiana themed piece for the "Drawing Board" show (I posted the concept sketch at www.oranparker.com about a month ago). I needed a break from my western heroes' portraits, so I figured I'd peck on this for the rest of the week. I'll probably sink in at least an hour a night. I'll post the progress as I make it. Thanks for taking a look-see.

Posted via email from The Parker Brand Picture Post!

Southwest Louisiana Arts Camp 2010: Celebrating the Arts and the Creative Spirit for 30 Years

I've been sending my children to the Arts Camp in Southwest Louisiana for the past four years. The camp is held during the first month of summer, beginning the first week that school lets out for break. It's turned into something that they both really look forward to each year, counting down the days as school ends and art camp begins.

For the last two years the camp has been held on the campus of the Lake Charles Boston Academy for Learning. It is a much larger facility than in years past. As a parent of participating children, I think the move to this facility was smart, and I take it as a sign that the Camp has grown.

Each year, on the final day of camp, they hold an open-house event for everyone in the community to come and enjoy the campers' work on display. This year the bulk of the work was displayed in the campus gymnasium, which made the viewing experience all the more enjoyable.

It was really nice to see the large crowd come out. When you see the parents, families and children all gathered in one place to see their individual camper's work you really get a sense that there is something special happening with this program.

They had a nice refreshments area at the event last night. I saw this sign at the station, and it was then that I realized the camp had been around for 30 years. What an accomplishment!

In the same area, there was a display of 30 years of Arts Camp t-shirts. A t-shirt can be a small thing, but when you see them collected in one place like this you realize that you and your children are a part of something special. There is history there. 

I'm always excited each year to hear about my childrens' projects. They really seem to get into them, and I love the way they share the details when they get home. It's always such a treat to finally see their work. What they share with their words paints a mental picture, and I find that what I see in my minds-eye is never quite correct.

I usually sign my daughter up for cartooning and drawing, since that seems to be where her strengths and interests lie. Right now, she's really into wolves and manga style art, so much of what she produced reflects those affinities.

Samples of Lily's Work

My son, seems to have a different set of interests. He loves making craft-art, so I try to get him in the classes that focus on building things, or making art from other objects.

Samples of Jonah's Work

I feel extremely blessed to live in a community that offers a summer program for children that is so enriching, and I am even more grateful that my livelihood provides me with the means to send them each year. It brings them so much joy each summer. It would be truly heartbreaking for me if I were not able to provide this for them.

I believe that the Southwest Louisiana Arts Camp helps my children express themselves creatively, helping them grow into more well rounded individuals. It teaches them to use their imagination, and shows them that if they can think of something in their mind then they can make it real with their tools and hands. This camp also teaches them that there is a large community of creative people out there with good hearts and kind spirits. To me this is the most important lesson of all.

Soon, my daughter will be too old to attend the camp, so I hope to see her stay involved by working as an assistant, eventually volunteering her time to teach, like many of the art campers from the past. I believe that teaching children to live well, be smart, be kind and utilize the creative aspects of their mind is truly holy work. If my children are motivated to take that path in life, then I'll give my bones to the wind without a fight.

As I browsed the plethora of art, several individual pieces and displays really stood out to me. Some were simply attractive because of color, others design, and some skill. There were many that simply made me smile.
I've done my best to clump these favorites together. I hope the young artists, assistants and instructors will forgive my titles.

"Psychodelica"

"Hoot Masquerade"

"Under Sea Glass"

"Twitter Birds"

"Random-O-Rama"

These faves are only a small sampling of the work that was on display. I took a lot of pictures of the works at the event, and have put them into the gallery below. Take a minute and treat yourself to the creative goodness that is the result of the 2010 Southwest Louisiana Arts Camp.

If you're interested in seeing some of the work from the 2009 Art Camp, you can click over and see that gallery here.

"A Man Named Clint" A Parker Brand Sable Brush & Ink Sketch

If you follow this blog, then you may remember me mentioning the art show that I'll be a part of titled "The Drawing Board." This show will feature three Southwest Louisiana artists, and will be made up of our quick sketches, with each artist turning three of their sketches into more developed, finished pieces. The goal is to try to spend 15 to 30 minutes on each sketch.

One of the subjects requested for the art show is "American Heroes." I thought it would be fun to produce some really quick Sable brush & ink sketches of American movie cowboys (of which I am a tremendous fan) then choose one of the series to develop further.

I sketched out the first of this set tonight on a piece of 8.5x11 Bristol. I spent right at 20 minutes on it, which makes this exactly what this particular art show is calling for. You may recognize him. If you don't then I'm almost 100% certain that you won't get into heaven.

SIDE NOTE: It was nice to draw something besides super heroes.

Posted via email from The Parker Brand Picture Post!

From Pencils, Inks & Digital in a Pinch! (or "Meet Tax Max")

If you've been following along for the past few days then you've seen my pencils & my inks on the "Tax Max" character.

From what I understand, Tax Max will be appearing in an auto dealership commercial. He was described to me as your typical, larger-than-life super-hero type with a big 'ol, proud, cheesy grin. I didn't get instructions on the Tax Max uniform except to make it red, yellow & blue (hmmm...I wonder why?). I recommended that we simply use a dollar sign for his emblem since it resembles an "S" because the whole point is that Tax Max will "saaaaave yooooou money!"

Drawing this one wasn't going to be enough, though. I needed to add digital color and set the character as a nice movable element in Photoshop that could be used in After Effects. I had to color the piece with a mouse (we don't have a pen tablet at our office and this is on a real tight deadline). I also had to add more cheese to it with a real simple, comic-book style "Tax Max" title.

I'm not sure how the finished spot will look (I'll post it once it's all put together so you can see what this will be used for), but either way...here's where Tax Max stands as he goes to video. Thanks for coming along for the ride.