The Lardner Report

Unleash your creative superpowers!

Acting On Impulse: It’s What Art’s All About

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LONdon NYC sketch 4tlr greenjpg

(Pic #1) Responding to the urge – with a 10-minute sketch (Neocolor crayons on hotel stationery)

One of my most true passions is to surround myself with great art.  Lately,  I’ve been doing just that. In fact, because I’ve spent the last several months providing art for corporate clients with prestigious Manhattan addresses, I’ve been totally immersed.

I’ve been prowling through galleries, searching online, ferreting out emerging talent, and getting to know gifted artists I had only recently come to admire. Even riding on the Long Island Railroad, I’ve seen creativity flourish in the graffitied walls alongside equipment yards and railroad tracks. (Pic #2)

LIRR pastel closer letters 4tlr

(Pic #2) Forget MOMA or MOCA — it’s the LIRR for edgy art.

But still — until  last Monday — I was feeling unfulfilled. Like the line from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: “Water, Water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.” I realized I needed to paint. Something. Anything. NOW. So here we go: a sketch I made in the bathroom of my New York hotel (Pic #1) and a photo I quickly took (angry about the dirty cymbalta window) on a hustling commuter train last week. (Pic#3)

LIRR dirty window pastel. 4tlr jpg

(Pic #3) A smudged window provides a veil of pastel blur for my spontaneous exterior shot on the Long Island Railroad – passing through Jamaica Queens, NY

My inner critic could spend a month telling you what’s wrong with these hasty little pieces, while my inner-child could spend a lifetime telling you what’s right about it. John Lennon had it right: “If art were to redeem man, it could do so only by saving him from the seriousness of life, and restoring him to an unexpected boyishness.”

A sweet reminder.  Yes – art is a business, there is an element of commerce, and that’s all good. But for me it also has to be about the 6-year-old girl who begged  for an extra 10-minutes before bedtime, because she still had sharp crayons, and there was still room on the paper. That 6-year-old doesn’t have a client, or a budget, or deadlines other than “lights out” —  but she loved art with all her soul. It’s good to catch up with her every once in a while.

The 10-Minute Task

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Committing to daily creativity.

Exploring color--10 minutes at a time

For nearly the last decade, I’ve conducted dozens of radical workshops on creative thinking for corporate executives.  My company is called “Creative Voltage” and we use abstract art as a learning tool. My clients include a sweet list of Fortune 500 standouts, and media giants. I also hold private experiential seminars for a number of prominent CEOs with a passion for art.

In my sessions, I encourage those top tier business minds to find time to create something–every day. It doesn’t matter what they produce—because these exercises are always about the creative process—not product. I can’t emphasize that enough.

It’s always a daunting task to step way outside one’s comfort zone—but in the end—the journey is always worth it. The only way to stimulate the right brain, from my experience, is to engage the right brain. And though I’ve taught hundreds of people how to do it, I still struggle with finding time to consistently ambien create my own art.

To celebrate the launching of my blog, I’m therefore committing to a daily 10-minute task–my own internal “creative zone.” At the start of each day, or the end of each night, I sit down at my art table and paint, or draw–just like I did when I was a kid—with no boundaries, no expectations, no judgment. Whether I ultimately like what I’ve created is immaterial.  I’m making art.



I encourage you to try this with me. Let me know how it feels. Let me know if it jumpstarts your creative process.  I’ll be posting some of these “abstractions” for you to peruse. Here are a few from my first week. I used my favorite Caran D’Ache water-soluble “Neocolor” crayons. I drew with my left hand though I’m a righty. I like the way it seems to naturally “disconnect” the work from my otherwise judgmental brain.

Give yourself 10-minutes. See what happens. Send me your scribbles. I used an iphone–it’s an easy upload.