We recently connected with Eric Calande and have shared our conversation below.
Eric, thank you so much for taking the time to share your lessons learned with us and we’re sure your wisdom will help many. So, one question that comes up often and that we’re hoping you can shed some light on is keeping creativity alive over long stretches – how do you keep your creativity alive?
I think creativity and curiosity go hand-in-hand. To stay creative, stay curious. Ideas can materialize from so many sources. The words of another, an emotion, a song, a found object, a new material, a beautiful vista, they can all be sources to spark creativity. Being curious about all these things (and more) can lead to new experiences, new thought processes, new views. That information can be processed in all sorts of ways promoting all sorts of outcomes. I also no longer worry about trying to be “original”. As many have said, it’s all been done before. It’s more important to make things yours, to make things authentic and unique to yourself.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I attended and graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the oldest art school in the nation. My studies focused on painting and printmaking. At the time I assumed I’d live an artists life, consisting of studio time and gallery openings. As life unfolded, I instead found myself working as a graphic designer in the tech industry. It was a far cry from the life I had envisioned, yet I was getting paid to be creative while doing work I loved. Eventually I fell into the world of videogame development were I worked as artist, animator and even art director. It’s an industry that’s filled with great people and amazing talent. The hours can however be long and demanding and artists seldom got the support or kudos they required and deserved. Due to shear exhaustion, I found it difficult during those years to focus on my own, more traditional artwork. Today I’m slowly re-engaging with my fine art background with hopes to create a solid body of work so I can get proper gallery representation. One notable event I participate in each year is the annual Red Dot Charity Art Auction which is hosted by The Chuck Jones Center for Creativity. Chuck Jones was of course the legendary animator who worked on and directed many of the most notable Looney Tunes cartoon shorts. Each year I donate several works of art to their charity auction which supports creativity programs that support the elderly and those with special needs along with community creativity work. It’s a fantastic event and one I’m proud to participate in.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Patience is undoubtedly one of the most important qualities all artists need. You don’t just pick up a brush or pencil and have masterpieces flow from your fingertips. It takes patience and dedication to learn the craft and you never fully learn anything. The artistic journey is one that is lifelong and one with no distinct, defined destination. There are certainly places you can jump off the ship along the way, but there’s always a new destination just ahead and always more to learn. Kindness would be the second quality artists need, not to others, but to one’s self. You’re going to struggle, you’re going to create a bunch of ugly, imperfect things, and that’s ok. Just be kind to yourself when you don’t get things quite right or when you look back at earlier works. Discipline is probably the third most important thing. It’s hard, most struggle with it. There are so many distractions in life that it can be hard to stay focused. Finding a routine and sticking to it can be helpful, but not foolproof. This is where kindness will again play a critical role. Don’t beat yourself up for dropping the ball for a bit. All that matters is the forward journey. With dedication you’ll get to where you hope to be much faster, without it, things move at a slower pace, but just keep moving.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
When I feel overwhelmed it’s often because I’m trying to do too many things at once. For instance, let’s say I’m working on a new painting and I have a long laundry list of things to fix. The thought of it all can be overwhelming. Sometimes you don’t even know where to start. It can be easy to just shutdown and walk away until you’re feeling up to approaching and refining all the problems. In such a situation my advice is to break things down into small, manageable chunks. If you have thirty things to fix, start with the top three. Tackle those three, get them under control and then pick another three things to focus on. It may seem an obvious approach but if your fix-it list seems daunting, and you’re overwhelmed, you can lose sight of this simple solution. And honestly, this approach is quite versatile and works for many issues in life.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ericsgallery.com
- Instagram: coolfool
Image Credits
All images © Eric Calande
