The Oatley Academy of Visual Storytelling

“Throw Your Arms Around Me” :: Digital in

➡️ for the 🎦

Timelapse :: “No Such Thing As Neutral”

➡️ for the 🎦

This recent plein air painting brought back one of my most profound memories…

Several eccentric trees bordered the back yard of my childhood home. My favorite was a cool gray with wobbly branches that swept low so I could climb without much risk of injury.

One Spring day, a family member referred to it as “dead.”

I objected, citing the obvious signs of life: sprouting, yellow leaves. The family member reasserted their diagnosis and I silently held to my own.

Someone soon decided that the tree was too unstable and hired someone else to cut it down.

The stump never stopped sprouting leaves.

In the years since, I’ve given extra attention to trees that appear to be living and dying simultaneously.

…like the trees in this painting. They’re lush and green on one side and dry and brown on the other.

…and they’ll probably continue to sprout leaves for years to come.

I’m no arborist, so I have to accept the possibility that, despite being alive, that tree in the back yard of my childhood home was dead *enough* to pose a threat to me, my family and our neighbors.

…a legitimate reason to cut it down.

…but humans often assert certainty when curiosity would be the wiser response.

I remember that tree as a metaphor for how, in our desperation for certainty, we risk hastening the conclusions of which we’re most afraid.

The full interview series with my mentees who were recently featured in ImagineFX Magazine’s “Rising Stars” issue is now available at bit.ly/ifxmb!

Today, we’re highlighting the segment featuring Mutia Terian aka !

CHRIS: “It’s easy to see [work like yours] and just feel like it’s forever away. 

But it’s a combination of following the path of other people that are trying to help you and that are invested in you and, and have your best interests in mind. 

..but then also a bit of creating your own path. 

..and I think that’s sometimes why it takes a while. 

..because it’s hard to kind of blend those things together. 

..but you’ll get there. 

It’s not far away in that you can’t reach it, or that it’s lost.

…like you’ll never find it because you don’t know the pathway there.

You will find the pathway there.”

MUTIA: “Yeah. I think our journey is not a straight line. I had to do a detour. 

I can’t really see a year or two from now, but what I can do is one step at a time. 

Maybe we gotta do a detour first before arriving to the destination. 

..and that’s okay.”

Find more of her amazing artwork (like her super-appealing character design pictured above) at MutiaTerian.com

🤞for the folks running . Dare we dream of a time like the early days on deviant art?

Check out our latest episode of “You’re A Better Artist Than You Think” for some legendary (literally) insights into developing more dependable workflows!

De-Stress Your Creative Process (With This Classical Practice) From the golden age illustrators to Nintendo and Pixar, this classical practice has helped to de-stress the creative process for over a century. “You’re A Better Artist Than You Think& #…

New lesson from our free Artists' Mindset course!

Why Artists Need To Slow The Hell Down You’re A Better Artist Than You Think Lesson 2.1

What do E.T., Peter Rabbit and The Grim Reaper have in common? You'll find them all in Room 2's favorite art books of 2022!...

Our Favorite Art Books Of 2022 What do E.T., Peter Rabbit and The Grim Reaper have in common? You’ll find them all in Room 2’s favorite art books of 2022!

Calm colors for anxious days.

Networking Tip:

If an artist wants to be put on a pedestal, they’ll do it themselves.

Most artists don’t.

…but they *do* appreciate being appreciated.

Reach out. Be gracious.

…but don’t grovel.

Make sense?

When a painting gets out of control, we often react by working *harder.*

Longer hours, more brush strokes, less breaks...

..but then it just gets worse.

Instead, try slowing down. Take more frequent breaks to think, plan, experiment with solutions and gather better reference.