Getting Personal with Iconic Artists

Personal projects for creativity, inspiration and learning

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For a long time in my career, personal projects were an afterthought. If I wasn’t doing client work, I was pursuing client work because that’s how you get ahead, right? But the fun leached out of everything and my world turned gray as the thrill I felt early on from photographing food disappeared. I couldn’t figure out why until I got serious about doing my own thing apart from paid work. That’s when excitement flooded back because I’m not happy unless I’m learning, growing, or simply creating something for the hell of it. It gives my days structure and purpose.

So when work allows, I schedule at least one day each week just for noodling around. Most of it will never see the light of day, but that’s ok — it’s just to keep my creative fire burning. The way I see it, personal projects serve creatives in a couple of ways: They keep us excited while growing our skill sets. And they show potential clients what we love to do, and can do outside of the work shown in our portfolios.

One of my ongoing personal projects is a series of food portraits done in the style of famous artists. Now, I’m not really handy with a sketchpad, so abstract modern art was always going to be my destination, but there’s no shortage of amazing inspiration out there. I started with my favorite of the modern artists, Mark Rothko, whose color blocked paintings always put me in a meditative state of mind. I haven’t visited the Rothko Chapel in Houston yet, but it’s on my wish list somewhere after Iceland for the northern lights and Morocco for… Morocco.

Plenty of foods lend themselves to this treatment, but I kept it simple with a jam portrait (up top), tricolore (pesto, parmesan, marinara), and more.

I’ve continued this project over the past few months to include Jackson Pollock and most recently Paul Klee, and have a few more artists in mind for upcoming shoots. To me, personal projects are always open-ended, and I’ll pick them up when inspiration strikes and put them down again when the world gets busy and pulls my attention elsewhere.

To see more of the images in this series, as well as other personal projects, visit my website. And if you’d like a print, select ones are available in my shop.

What’s your take on personal projects? Are you a fan, always keeping one in the pipeline, or do you prefer to concentrate on paid work?

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WATCHING

Somebody Somewhere Plenty of shows can make me laugh, but I can’t think of another one that actually makes me feel joy (along with a lot of other hyper-specific human emotions that are probably only named in German). The second season just wrapped up, which makes it the perfect time to binge the whole thing.

That’s not to say I don’t like Ted Lasso, but some of the plots this season have been maddening. Still, I’ll be sad to say goodbye to these characters I’ve loved for three seasons. Holding out hope for a Roy-Phoebe spinoff.

LISTENING

Sun Ra “Love in Outer Space” was thisclose to being the first dance at our wedding reception.

Traingazing, Sam Wills Speaking of a meditative state of mind.

READING

For Business: You Are a Badass at Making Money, Jen Sincero Hint: It’s all mindset.

For Photography: Richard Avedon Portraits I don’t shoot portraits, but still draw incredible inspiration from Avedon’s work. Looking forward to seeing his murals at The Met soon.

For Fun: Chronicles of St. Mary’s, Jodi Taylor Time-traveling historians, need I say more?