A Better Question

Posted on January 14, 2011 on designerstuff.net

It was the best question since the night at dinner, Kit Hinrichs turned to me and said “What do you want to do that you have not done?”

That question set my life on a different course.

Last week I talked to an art director for whom I was preparing a PDF of my work for his perusal. I asked what he would like to see.

“What do you like to do?” he asked.

What a different question from the “what do you want to do?”

Inspired, I sat down with my beloved Prismacolor pencils and mapped the things I like to do.

Nothing replaces for me the visceral experience of drawing. There is elegance in moving pencil, marker or brush across paper or canvas. There is passion in cutting into paint with a palette knife.

My quirky illustrations will probably not land me a job, but this mind map did help me clarify my own goals.

Do you have a map? Or a better question?