Dave’s New Book Available on Amazon Soon!

Hi everyone, I am pleased to announce that my latest book, a guided sketchbook called 1001: A Sketch Odyssey is complete and will be available from Amazon shortly!

 

If you want to improve your drawing skills and enhance your creativity, this book is for you! If one were to classify this book, it might best be called a guided sketch book. There are other guided sketch books out there, but this one is a bit different. Beyond improving your drawing skills, my purpose in creating this book is to build your creativity. There are things in this book to design, invent, reimagine, etc. There are illustration challenges, character design challenges, branding and graphic design challenges and on and on. There are Whatsits (nonsense words to fire your imagination to create), combined image projects, cartoon and comic challenges and much, much more. Basically, this book contains 1001 different prompts, each designed to boost your imagination and creativity. So how should you use this book? Very creatively… Work through it in order, or at random, pick and choose ideas or work cover to cover. Keep extra paper nearby to build on your ideas. Do the projects literally or move beyond the literal to your own interpretation. Invent things, design things, do a challenge a day, use the book as a curriculum for an artists group or a creative retreat, grow a prompt into a whole new project. The possibilities are endless. There are no wrong answers and you are only limited by your own imagination and creativity, both of which will be built up as you work through these pages. Remember creating is fun, or at least it’s supposed to be, so push yourself to learn and grow, but don’t forget to… Have fun creating!

ANew Piece of Pop Art

I try to be a pretty easygoing guy, but there are still days where I feel like this.

How about you?
Prints available here!

God and the Creative Process: Getting the Idea and Putting it to Work

Probably the first thing we need in the process of creating is the idea, the inspiration. We need to know what to create. Staring at the blank page, (canvas, screen, etc.) can actually be pretty daunting especially if you’re wanting your work to glorify God. I’ve found a process that seems to work so I thought I’d share it.

1. Pray
If we’re trying to create something that glorifies God, a good place to start is to ask Him what to create. I find it easiest to step away from the blank surface and spend some time with the Father. Ask Him for inspiration. Ask Him to lay a burden on your heart. Ask Him to point you in the right direction.

2. Listen
Often our prayers are more like a shopping list than what they should be, a conversation. When you talk to God, He does talk back. Maybe not always audibly, but in your Spirit through the “still small voice.” It’s important that we leave some silence  in our prayer time so that we can hear what He has to say. He might direct you to Scripture, or give you an idea or show you something you hadn’t noticed before.

3. Create
Once you have your God given idea, it’s time to get to work. Don’t fret about what you don’t have. Start with what you do have and make the best possible thing you can with it. If you’re truly lacking in resources, take the project as far as you can and pray that God will bring what you need, show you how to get it or how you can do without it. Also “bathe” your creation in prayer throughout the process. Ask God to guide your steps, help you create it, use it to impact people to His glory, etc.

4. “Ship it”
Once you’ve finished (and prayed over it) it’s time to release it to the world. Art is a gift meant to be shared. Withholding it is the same as hiding your light under a bushel. The same goes for “eternal tweaking”—you know being your own worst critic and eternally refining, changing, editing it, trashing it. There is nothing wrong with wanting to do your best work, but there comes a time where you have to say it is finished and put it out there.

5. Trust it to God and see what happens
Ultimately the success or failure of the piece is in the eyes of God and the beholder. If God called you to it and you’ve given it your best, God is pleased. He doesn’t waste a lot of time comparing you to the more skilled  artist down the street, because the little secret is, it’s not about the art, it’s about giving God your best. God can and will use it to touch the hearts He wants to touch and reach the people He wants you to reach. I believe that’s why He calls us to create in the first place. Our human measures of success are really flawed anyway. If God uses your work to reach even one person for Jesus or even just make the next step toward Jesus, that’s eternal impact. How much is that worth?

God wants to work in you and through you in the creative process because He loves you. Don’t let anything hold you back. Serve Him faithfully today!

What’s holding you back from giving God your best?

From the upcoming “manifesto” God and the Creative Process, by Dave Weiss.

IllustrationFriday.com Challenge: FREEZE!

The IllustrationFriday.com challenge was the word Freeze and maybe it’s just because I watch too much NCIS but the first thing I imagined was a police officer shouting Freeze! Sometimes I think it would be a good idea to have an image like this posted at various places, to make us stop and think before we take an action or make a decision. How many things in our lives would improve if before we did something rash our little “internal cop” would yell “Freeze!” or maybe he does and we just don’t listen???

New Print, New Initiative from My Most Popular Post… BewareofArtists.org

Queen Victoria once said, “Beware of artists – they mix with all classes of society and are therefore most dangerous…” I love that quote and wear it like a badge of honor. I posted it to my blog almost two years ago and it still gets more hits than almost anything I have every posted. Sounds like it resonates with people. I am working on a street art initiative now for my ministry AMOKArts.com and it’s going to be called Beware of Artists. Details coming soon to BewareofArtists.org

For a poster print of this piece, click the image or click this link to get it on a T-shirt.

Thoughts from a Legend: Salvador Dali

It’s odd that one of the most unpredictable, original, unique artists of all time would have said this, but he did. At times I think the fear that it’s been done before keeps artists from creating. King Solomon said there is nothing new under the sun and he may have been right. Take your best ideas and give them your best. What makes your work truly unique is you.

Trying a Different Style… The Foray into PopArt Continues

Recently, while on vacation, I got inspired in some galleries and museums to try my hand at a different genre, namely pop-art. While I figure it is probably the closest genre to what I do, it still feels like I’m stretching and that is good for an artist.

I’ve been looking at the work of Warhol, Lichetenstein and various other pop artists. I love the way they expressed people so I decided to do a piece or two using a photo of my son Chris as the subject. He got a pair of star glasses in the dollar bin at Target and posed with my wife in equally interesting props for some gag photos. I loved his expression so I thought I’d use it. Chris does community theater so for the shading on his face and hair, I used the titles of the shows he’s done so far. I’m having a great deal of fun on this foray into a different style of art. Hopefully you like them too.

The first one was more inspired by Lichtenstein, though it also feels somewhat reminiscent of art from a Japanese Game-Show.

This one is obviously reminiscent of Warhol:

What would it take to stretch you out of your creative comfort zone? Try a new style, a new medium, or just a whole new way of doing things. It’s a great way to bring you out of a creative rut. You may find a whole new way to express yourself.

New A Night AMOK Promo Video

I finally got the chance to put all the great photos Donna Parcell took of A Night AMOK and put them into a promo video for the new A Night AMOK: Pix of JC page here on AMOKArts.com

Pix of JC is an evangelistic presentation, A Night AMOK: Pix of JC (Pictures of Jesus). This hour and half long program is designed to introduce people to Jesus and inspire and encourage people to “paint a better picture of Jesus” with their lives by representing Him well and using their God-given gifts to serve God and others. To bring A Night AMOK to your church, contact Dave Weiss at AMOKArts@aol.com

Photo Credit: Donna Parcell, Indian Creek Church of the Brethren

Don’t have a Kindle or want to read on your computer/phone?

Ministering to the Creative Soul is now available as a print book from Amazon.com for $6. Click the cover to get yours!

Happy Anniversary Dawn

Yeah, I know, she just had a birthday. I schedule it that way on purpose. I had heard all of these stories of inept men forgetting their anniversaries, so I wanted to schedule this so that I might forget one, but would never forget both. I never forget either, though I am frequently not around for one or the other, due to a conference my day job has every year about this time. This year I missed her birthday but will make up for it today.

Thank you honey for the best years of my life and for everything you’ve done for me. You are one of God’s greatest gifts to me.

Here’s one of our favorite artists doing one of our favorite songs, ad while it’s really a song about our relationship with God, parts of it could also apply to a really great marriage. I praise God because He’s given me both…