How To Talk With Your Creative Partner

Notice I wrote "Creative Partner" not bright designer. I adopt Artistic Accomplice because it does two things; aboriginal it defines the accord appropriately as a affiliation with anniversary accomplice accepting equal, and additional it covers added than just bright designers and includes others like web designers, TV production, copywriting, etc.

How you allocution to these important ally is basic to accepting the a lot of out of them. As one I know. I accomplish so abundant bigger if I accept the goals and admonition of the aggregation I'm alive for.

Communicating your goals as a businessperson is capital in carrying your needs to your artistic partner. Accepting bright and blunt in communicating avoids ashen time acquired by miscues and assumptions. In accession to accepting bright in your advice I accept three phrases to accede not application if you allocution to your artistic partner.

"I'm not activity it"

This gets you nowhere. I don't apperceive how abounding times I've had not alone barter but admiral in the industry use this byword abrogation me continuing there apprehensive what the hell that means. If you're traveling to use this byword chase it by, "and actuality are my affidavit why." Be able to explain in apparent English why you're not "feeling" it. Animosity are actual abstract and accessible to interpretation. If you don't explain your animosity again the next annular of revisions may be a decay as the designer, writer, or ambassador may adapt your animosity wrongly.

"I'll apperceive it if I see it"

These are alarming words in the artistic community. This agency that the artistic has to absorb hours of billable time block account down aerial holes alone to be told "I'm not activity it." You wish to drive a artistic batty use this byword a lot. Just be able to go way above you account because any artistic account his alkali should/will bill you for the time spent "exploring" your thoughts. By accepting to enunciate your apropos and desires you can save yourself a lot of money.

"My wife brand _______ so use it in the ad"

As the applicant you accept every appropriate to ask your artistic accomplice to do whatever you ask. He/she should accede but aboriginal they should claiming you and ask why. Be able to accept a good, analytic acknowledgment added than "she brand blue." Creatives pride themselves on their ability of their field. They absorb a lot of time befitting up with trends, ability changes, and what is alive now. To say your wish dejected because your wife did some analysis and begin that business like castigation angle out in the accumulated apple if they use dejected is abacus to the partnership. It's bringing in accurate advice that the artistic can use to your advantage. Together you are creating a able business section that will account you added than a ailing anticipation out one.

As you can see the added able the advice amid you and your artistic accomplice the added able and cheaper the outcome. Conversely, your accomplice should be able to acquaint to you artlessly the whys of what they accept done. You shouldn't be audition things like; "I did it because I admired it," or "I like yellow." There should be acumen abaft every aspect of your marketing. From the acumen you are business to the architecture of your business cards, aggregate should be able-bodied anticipation out.

How Color Presentation Folders Can Help Promote Your Business

Have you been to any acceptable barter shows or conferences recently? Cast your apperception aback for a few moments and see if you can accompany to apperception any of the companies that you encountered there. If you're annihilation like me you'll apparently acquisition this a little difficult. Not abounding companies accept what it takes to accomplish any array of abiding impression, and this is area blush presentation folders can help.

If your aggregation isn't already application blush presentation folders as giveaways at barter shows and conferences, you are missing a admired befalling to angle out from the crowd, and authoritative a favorable appulse in the minds of your abeyant customers.

Here's how it works. At contest such as these, assembly accomplish their apathetic and abiding advance annular affectation afterwards display, abounding of which are announcement articles and casework that are adequately similar. The assembly accrue lots of $.25 of paper, business cards, leaflets and so on. Some of these get blimp into pockets and bags. Some of them ability even be carefully deposited in the next accessible debris can!

But if one of the companies whose affectation is visited by a delegate, takes some able apprehension of him, and makes a point of giving him one of their beautifully advised blush presentation folders, there's something of a about-face in interest. The aggregation in catechism has signaled acerb to the agent that his attention, and abeyant approaching custom, is valued.

Furthermore they've presented him with a abundant account that's traveling to be harder to ignore. Blush presentation folders, accouterment they are beautiful and robust, will be kept for a ample breadth of time. They'll be taken aback to the office, opened up and any capacity that accept been placed central are accessible for a added comfortable assay than was accessible at the accident itself.

In short, if your aggregation is the one giving out those admirable folders, it's your aggregation whose name will a lot of readily appear to apperception because it's traveling to be appropriate in foreground of all the assembly who accustomed one of your folders! Mission accomplished!

In adjustment to accomplish the appropriate array of impression, your blush presentation folders accept to be produced to a top standard, and that's area it's acute to use a acclaimed press aggregation to backpack out the job for you. This doesn't beggarly you'll accept to absorb a affluence to get what you need. A little accurate analysis will appearance you that top superior and low prices can be compatible.

Do Business With People

No amount what business you're in, your admirers is a basic aspect to your success and development. Not alone are they your antecedent of income, they are aswell a antecedent of advice that allows you to grow, advance products, services, and even affect the anatomy and action of your business.

Through Chump Accord Management, businesses are able to bear to their chump with a different connection. Keep in apperception that a chump database is comprised of individuals. Each alone is seeks to do business with addition individual.

Companies, baby and large, while comprised of a accumulation of individuals are consistently represented and associated with the "one person" who interacts a lot of with the company.

Today our abounding agenda tools, fabricated to abridge the accord amid a business and their clients, generally are the actual items that accomplish the alternation impersonal. Even with amusing media, you accept to accept a specific focus of creating a accord with your applicant or you can abatement into the convenance of alone broadcasting to the masses in your amusing platforms.

Your claimed cast and chump accord management

In a contempo chat with J.P. Narowski, CEO of KarmaCRM - a web-based baby business chump accord administration system, he aggregate that allotment of the acumen he developed KarmaCRM was because of the abstract attributes of chump accord administration (CRM ) systems:

"For about six months I approved every software amalgamation out there because like a lot of developers I resisted the appetite to reinvent the wheel. I was searching for a simple, fast apparatus that would acquiesce me and my sales guy to plan on projects together. All of the bales seemed to abatement short."

In our discussion, he appear that the acumen he called the business KarmaCRM was:

"Because I capital to accompany some accord and antithesis aback to the CRM world. I aswell anticipate the best sales humans are not just affairs their artefact but allowance out their chump in a amount of means because they wish to. Therefore the chump is added adequate with them and their services, and it comes aback about in business. Do acceptable to others and amusement the appropriate and your business will abound (karma) blazon of thing" explained Narowski.

Small businesses let your claimed cast flash through

If a business spends time accepting to apperceive their admirers and barter they can bigger serve their needs. As you become bigger acquainted with individuals, you can adapt for trends and advance with the demands of your audience.

It aswell accord you "space and time" to let your claimed cast flash through.

In the hustle and flurry of action that we do every day, it's generally too simple to abatement into acceptable broken from our access and even disconnected, in their mind, from the actual claimed cast that brought them to the table.

What I accepted with my altercation with J.P. Narwoski, is that he focuses on growing apathetic so he doesn't lose the focus of creating acceptable afterlife which is absolutely the different affiance of amount for his brand.

In their shoes

I focus on baby business owners and entrepreneurs who are in a different accompaniment of transition. They accept a claimed cast and its one able abundant that they apperceive their different affiance of value; it's bidding in aggregate that they do, blow and say; and the announcement of it is evolving. Why? Because they are alpha to abound and advance their business to a point area it becomes added than just "them" interacting with their barter and the acknowledged addendum of their cast is area the attempt lies.

And, that's why I'm consistently on the anchor for acceptable tools. From Hootsuite to administer your amusing media interactions and tracking, to Do.com to admeasurement your projects or from KarmaCRM to administer your chump abstracts to WhenIsGood.net to managing your affair scheduling - every apparatus I use focuses on automating the action but not the relationship.

make Business's Expansion Steady

Building a acknowledged business is a arduous affliction all the way through - some humans ability acquaint you that it's difficult to get started, others will assure you that the absolute claiming starts already you've absolutely hit it big, but the accuracy is that the accomplished action is riddled with challenges all the way through. It's important to apperceive how to handle those problems in a amenable and anxious way, as this will ensure that you'll be able to accumulate up with the beforehand of your operations.

The a lot of accepted botheration humans assume to appointment is arresting with the abrupt billow in their progress. At some point, eventually or after your business is traveling to blossom badly - it ability be just accidental luck that you've addled it big with a specific product, but you never apperceive if that amplification is traveling to appear over a abiding aeon of time, or actually overnight. This makes it important to be able for if that moment happens, and apperceive absolutely what you charge to do to abstain traveling beneath because you're clumsy to handle all the added challenges that accept al of a sudden appear up.

Remember that befitting yourself able-bodied affiliated is actual important - even if you're not application those access at the moment, you never apperceive if you ability charge a assertive account after on. If a supplier offers you acceptable ante but they alone plan with beyond shipments than the ones you're acclimation regularly, don't just bandy abroad their business agenda - accumulate it for moments like this one exactly. Because if you al of a sudden charge to ample in an added accumulation approach that aswell happens to be absolutely wide, you can't just go about searching for the aboriginal aggregation to appear beneath your architect and appoint them - you'll charge to accomplish an abreast decision, alluringly alive in beforehand who you'll plan with.

Don't go crazy on accretion your workforce - this is addition accepted affair faced by humans who're aggravating to handle with the amplification of their businesses. It ability assume appropriate now that you al of a sudden charge bags of added humans to handle all the added workload, but anticipate beeline for a additional - is this conceivably some acting state? Maybe the contempo hit you fabricated on the bazaar is traveling to die down in a anniversary or two, abrogation you with humans who al of a sudden don't accept any purpose in your company? Alone appoint as abounding added allowance calmly as you absolutely need, and alluringly try to yield on some added plan yourself to advice out anybody about you.

The capital point actuality is - don't go over your head. You ability get aggressive to try out all sorts of artistic things already you've gotten a aftertaste of success, but accumulate your arch beeline and accumulate cerebration realistically. Save your assets and advance it properly, and accumulate the amplification of your aggregation abiding and smooth. Eventually or after you'll balance and you'll alpha administration the new bearings just as calmly as you coped with the antecedent accompaniment of your company!

Multiple versions of the same painting

It is interesting that throughout art history we can find one artist who will paint multiple versions of the same painting- why is this?  There are many reasons but usually the first version of the painting was so successful that the artist had received another commission.  Let's look at several well known versions of the same theme by the same artist.

1483, Louvre (left) and 1506, The National Gallery (London) (right) 

The Virgin of the Rocks, Leonardo da Vinci 

Leonardo da Vinci created this new type of Madonna and Child painting when he first moved to Milan.  The figures aren't seated on a throne or a chair, but enclosed in a unique landscape which seems otherworldly.  The Virgin Mary puts her arm around the infant St. John the Baptist as he is given the sign of benediction by the infant Christ while being watched over by an angel.  A foreshadowing to Christ's baptism by St. John can be seen in the body of water in the foreground.  Leonardo is here using several techniques he is famous for: chiaroscuro (modeling form with lights and darks), sfumato (using this glazes of paint like smoke) and the use of atmospheric perspective in the blue-gray landscape in the distant background.  The gestures, colors and forms all act as symbols as Leonardo took great care to copy this painting nearly exactly in the second version.

Why two versions of this painting?  The web site of the Louvre museum has a good hypothesis regarding the two versions of Leonardo's Virgin of the Rocks.  The following text is taken from the website and was written by Séverine Laborie:

"The Louvre version of the picture was to have been the central part of a polyptych which the Brotherhood of the Immaculate Conception commissioned Leonardo and the de Predis brothers to paint for a chapel in the church of San Francesco Grande in Milan in 1483. The other version, now in the National Gallery in London and known to have formerly been in this chapel, and several archive documents indicate that the Louvre painting was never installed there. Its presence in the French royal collection is attested from1627, but several clues suggest it may have been acquired much earlier.

The most convincing hypothesis is that the picture, painted between 1483 and 1486, did not meet with Leonardo’s clients’ full satisfaction, which enabled Louis XII to acquire it around 1500−1503. The second, replacement picture, now in London, may have been painted by Ambrogio de Predis under Leonardo’s supervision between 1495 and 1508."

                1528, Metropolitan Museum of Art (left) and 1530, St. Louis Art Museum (right)

 The Judgment of Paris, Lucas Cranach the Elder 

German artist Lucas Cranach the Elder was a court painter in Saxony and above we see two versions of The Judgment of Paris.  This told a story from the start of the Trojan War where the shepherd Paris had to judge which of three Greek goddesses was the most beautiful.  Cranach made several versions of this theme, he depicts the goddess as young and lithe (if proportionally inaccurate) and shows Paris dressed as a Renaissance man.  This was a popular theme for a few reasons: it showed the patron was educated and had knowledge of the classics and it depicted beautiful women.  Yet there was another reason this story was popular among Cranach’s patrons.  The Metropolitan Museum of Art states on their website:

“Just as the emperor Augustus had claimed descent from Aeneas, a son of Venus, so many Italian princes traced their ancestry to the participants in the Trojan War or sought to equate their own accomplishments with the deeds of these heroes.”*

Patrons wanted to tie themselves to the events portrayed in either a painting or sculpture and so commissioned a well known historic or mythological theme from an artist.

*Source of quote: Heroes in Italian Mythological Prints | Thematic Essay |Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

 Supper at Emmaus, Caravaggio, 1601, The National Gallery (London)

The Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio has a few examples of multiple versions of the same painting.  His two versions of Christ's Supper at Emmaus are unique in this blog entry as being quite different from one another.

A Roman nobleman Ciriaco Mattei, commissioned the earlier version (above) in 1601.  In this first version Caravaggio pays as much attention to the detailed still-life objects on the table as to his figures.  The gestures that each figure makes are quite theatrical, Christ is shown as clean shaven and this version is not as dark.  In fact a figure casts a shadow that seems to represent a halo over the head of Christ.  While this is a well done painting, it isn't as realistic as his later version.

The second version of this painting was done after Caravaggio committed murder and fled to Naples.  Today it hangs in the Brera Gallery in Milan where I was fortunate enough to have recently seen it, in fact I spent quite a long time sitting in front of this painting.  This later version is more somber and powerful for the viewer, the figures appear in a naturalistic way rather than as having been posed dramatically for the scene.  The sobering changes in the artist's own life are clearly reflected in this work, done in 1606.

Supper at Emmaus, Caravaggio, 1606, Brera Gallery, Milan

 

Vanitas Still-Life, Pieter Claesz                                                              Vanitas Still-Life, Pieter Claesz     

1630, Mauritshuis, Holland                                                               1656, Kunsthistoriches Museum, Vienna

Seventeenth century Dutch painter Pieter Claesz was a prolific artist who specialized in the Vanitas painting.  In Latin Vanitas means vanity and the Vanitas painting uses symbols to reflect on mortality.  The message for the viewer was a reminder that while earthly life is fleeting, your soul is eternal. While variations of the Vanitas had been used for centuries, its rise in Dutch art coincided with a difficult time in the countries history.  The Twelve Years Truce with Spain ended in 1621 and much of the next decade was spent under siege.  In 1624 a plague swept through Holland, the plague returned in 1635 and struck most heavily in Leiden where over 14,000 died.  

The Vanitas painting became increasing popular through the 1620’s and went from being metaphorical to an allegory of death.  Symbols of mortality included: skulls, candles (both lit and extinguished), timepieces, extinguished oil lamps and empty hourglasses. Claesz painted many versions of Vanitas paintings as they were a popular style of painting and middle and upper class patrons were buying these from galleries to display in their homes.

 1638-43, Metropolitan Museum of Art (left) and 1640-45, Louvre, (right)

                                        The Penitent Magdalene, Georges de la Tour

 French artist Georges de la Tour paints another version of the Vanitas, the penitent Mary Magdalene reflecting on her sins.  He owed much of his style to that of Caravaggio and is considered a "Caravaggisti" or one of Caravaggio's stylistic followers.  de la Tour painted at least four versions of this work, The Repentant Magdalene, is now housed in the National Gallery of Art (DC) and The Magdalene with the Smoking Flame, at the LACMA.
This was typical for the artist, he also painted multiple versions of other themes during his career.

Like the Claesz paintings we have symbols of mortality, such as the skull and the candle.  There are also other symbols of earthly vanity such as jewelry.  Like Caravaggio he creates a somber mood with a strong light source, all four versions of this painting are illuminated by a single candle.  Though the earliest version is unique in that the flame of the candle is reflected in a mirror that Mary Magdalene looks into with a meditative gaze.  Like Pieter Claesz, Georges de la Tour was also selling his work for a broad market and therefore would paint additional versions of his paintings that were the most popular.

 

 Painting Gallery of Ancient Rome, Pannini, 1758, Louvre

Giovanni Paolo Pannini painted his famous pair of works: Painting Gallery of Ancient Rome and Painting Gallery of Modern Rome while he was the professor of perspective at the French Academy of Rome.  French painter Hubert Robert began working in his studio and Pannini was to become the biggest influence on his artistic style.  Pannini took on the role of a mentor for Robert and the younger artist proclaimed him to be the greatest painter of ruins in the world.  While under his supervision Robert assisted with the master’s well known first version of his paintings of imaginary gallery views of ancient and modern Rome, of which he would make several other versions.  The first version was commissioned in 1756 by the Comte de Stainville (the future Duc de Choiseul) who had himself and his friends painted into the scenes as visitors to the galleries.  This pair of paintings proved to be so popular with de Stainville that the year after he finished them Pannini created a second set of these paintings again for the Comte, now in the Louvre.  Robert himself owned a later third version of Pannini’s gallery view paintings as well as several other works by him.

 Painting Gallery of Ancient Rome, Pannini, 1756-57, Stuttgart, Germany

These are just a handful of examples of multiple versions of the same painting by the same artist, but many more can be found throughout history.

Holbein's The Ambassadors

I have long been fascinated by Hans Holbein the Younger's 1533 painting The Ambassadors.  This double Renaissance portrait is filled with symbolism both known and unknown.  The artist Holbein was originally from Germany and moved to England after the Protestant Reformation to work as a portrait artist.  Holbein eventually became a royal court portraitist for King Henry VIII and painted many members of the Tudor court.  

This work is a portrait of two French ambassadors who visited Henry VIII and have been indentified as Jean de Dinteville (left) and Bishop Georges de Selve (right).

 The Ambassadors, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1533, The National Gallery, London

It is important to keep in mind that 1533 was a seminal year in English history: Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine were divorced, he then married Anne Boleyn and was excommunicated from the Catholic church.  The Protestant Reformation was well underway in Europe and after Henry VIII was excommunicated, England too breaks away from Catholicism.

These events were in part why de Dinteville and de Selve were sent from France to England to visit the Tudor court.  It isn't entirely clear who commissioned Holbein to paint their portrait and requested so many symbols and details be added.  This work has been the subject of scholarly research and debates for centuries.

The Ambassadors, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1533, detail of dagger and book

One element that may go unnoticed by most viewers is that Holbein has listed the age of each of his subjects, de Dinteville (29) on the sheath of his dagger and de Selve (25) on the pages of the book his elbow rests upon. These symbols tie into the idea of de Dinteville as a man of action and de Selve as one who is leading a contemplative life.  The shelves in the middle are filled with additional symbols that show both men were well educated in a variety of ways.

 The Ambassadors, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1533

detail of upper shelf

The upper shelf is filled with scientific instruments and has been referred to as the heavenly realm.  Let's look more closely at these objects.  Sitting on top of a luxurious oriental carpet we have a globe of the heavens, a quadrant and several instruments used to tell time including two types of sundials.


Are these objects alluding to the knowledge and worldliness of the two ambassadors?  Is there a particular day and time that the instruments point to that add to the message in the painting?

The Ambassadors, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1533

detail of lower shelf

The lower shelf while the lower shelf is filled with the objects of man and thought of as the earthly realm.  Here we have a globe of the earth, a book open to reveal mathematics, a lute, several flutes and a song book open to reveal specific hymns.

The Ambassadors, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1533

detail of lute and songbook

If you look closely at the lute, you will see that one of the strings has been broken.  Therefore an instrument which would be considered harmonious, is now a symbol of discord.  Was this a symbol of discord between England and the Catholic church?  Perhaps instead it was a symbol of the discord between Henry VIII and Catherine as the queen failed to produce a suitable heir to the throne.  Later in the 17th century the lute was frequently used in Northern European painting as a symbol of a woman's sexual organs, though I don't know if there is any connection to that in this painting.

The Ambassadors, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1533

detail of floor and anamorphic skull

Still lower in the painting are the unique type of flooring and the anamorphic skull, which is unrecognizable when viewing the painting head on.  The viewer must stand to the side and crouch down in order to see it, though it is thought that it originally hung over a flight of stairs and that the viewer would have an easier time seeing this skull, perhaps so as to be taken by surprise by it.

While there are other examples of anamorphic art (where an image can only be seen from a certain viewpoint) it wasn't common at the time.  In fact Holbein was very skilled to have been able to properly execute this artistic trick.

 

The Ambassadors, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1533

detail of anamorphic skull as seen three dimensionally

The unique flooring is said to be the same as the style in the main altar of Westminster Abbey.  At Westminster the design on the floor has a significance as representing the universe.  Is the fact that there is a skull placed at the bottom, within a possible symbol of the universe a representation of the inevitability of death?  Look again at the full painting at the top and in the top left is a crucifix, placed in a spot over the heavens and earth and reminding the viewer that salvation could be found after death.

Articles and books have been written about this mysterious and compelling work of art and while several interesting theories have been proposed, we may never have all the answers.

If you have not visited the incredible Google Art Project site, I suggest you do so if only to view an incredibly close and detailed version of this painting.

Powerup Your Songwriting With A Chord Wheel

Quick what's the 1st thing that pops into your mind when you think of Music theory? Hey... This is a PG post. ha But you get my point. Very few people get excited at the thought of studying music theory. What I propose... Go at it a different way.

The Chord Wheel, provides an excellent way to propel your music and songwriting forward. Essentially, what it does is give you a plethora of options for chords to use that sound good tonally together. You start with the key you want to play in and spin the wheel to open up the options of what chords or notes to play next. The Chord wheel is an excellent resource for composition, soloing, music education, and transposing.

When writing our own songs, we typically have a handful of chords that we are comfortable with. Our staples, per say. But to continue on our journey as songwriters, we need to move past, what is comfortable, and learn new things. This can often be frustrating, slubbing through websites, books, and reference apps to get points of references.

This handy little tool has it all in one. Is it going to be the only thing we use? Absolutely not, but it can help open up even the worst of writer's block. There is even a handy app for all of our phones.

Another cool way to use this songwriting resource is to look up your favorite songs tabs, and see what chords they used and compare them to your own songs. See if your favorite musician or band is moving to the same positions you tend to gravitate towards.

Here is another cool trick!

Look up your favorite songs tab.

Pull out the chord wheel, and use the first chord as a reference point,

Now change the rest to different chords than the ones in your favorite song!

Maybe you start with moving all the chords just one spot to the right on the wheel.

Now play the chords together, and WALLAH you have a new song. Now, it may take some experimentation, but you get the point. Your options and growth, as a songwriter, have just opened up.

Have fun with it! Use the new inspiration to write that hit, or a new jam song for you and your buddies. We're all looking for new tricks, and this may very welll be a new way at looking at something you already knew.