Like a late night discussion with an old friend

I discovered this podcast in the middle of 2015 and it came at just the right time in my creative life. From the very start, I felt like Andy's pontifications were speaking directly to me. I'm in my mid-30's so I've had plenty of time in the "industry" to figure things out—I've tried my hand at everything. I've been a portrait painter, gallery artist, illustrator, art director, comic book artist, designer, college educator in graphic design and I'm currently working on a second masters degree in Design part-time, BUT I've felt frazzled/listless in my creative practice more often than I would like. It ultimately affects the quality of the final, creative product. In several of these podcast episodes (I can't remember which ones), Andy discusses this directly and I felt convicted of stretching my skills too thin and making my focus too wide. These even caused me to re-think my personal mantra for my career, "DO IT ALL." I was so, so wrong.

I say this, because we all come from different places and Andy does a great job trying to reach people where they are with this podcast. The encouragement is golden. Also, Andy makes being a parent and a creative professional seem possible (it is...with hard work). I have many peers in the industry who put career before family, and he makes the valid point that life/family really feed creativity.

Lastly, I like Andy's monologue episodes the best. He speaks intelligently, honestly, with humor, but keeps it clean. Too much crass language can really have a negative effect. Thanks for everything, Andy! Sorry it took me so long to comment.

Take it easy,
Chase Q

PS. Andy, I added your podcast to my Syllabus for the upcoming semester. Required listening?