The Blog I didn’t want to write

So it’s Thursday and I’m four days late on my self-inflicted blog. It’s my own standards and goals that prompt me to write about nothing. Maybe it was my upbringing on Seinfeld that collides with technology so that now I have the means to tell everyone I’m doing nothing. But I’m not, I’m doing something; I am painting and doing some design work. This is what I like to do. Actually I like this blog stuff and it helps me grasp the English language…a little better.

What I’m doing is designing for me. Which happens to be one of the most difficult things in the world. As a graphic designer or as an artist that does commissions, I have no problem creating something for you/them. It’s easy; I listen to the client, take notes, reflect upon it, and then come up with some brilliant solution that I know is right. I then fit my big head through the door and present it to the client. Problem solved, yeah! I get paid, then go to the studio and create. It is not so easy when you are designing for yourself though. It’s like a two-sided conversation in my own head. It gets bad when I refer to myself in the third person. “Jeff what would you like to see?” “OMG what am I selling??” “I don’t know Jeff, what are you selling?” “Jeff”…well your not Madonna or Prince so maybe we should go with “Schaller.”  The arguments continue. I flip through photos of myself for PR, critiquing myself like I’m appearing in GQ. For any other client I’d say,  “You look marvelous in that photo.” Then I would do some weird hand gesture to distract from the dissatisfied look my eyes were really showing. Throw on a drop shadow in Photoshop and drop cap in the first paragraph and Voila! We have a design.

It’s day four and I think I finally have a design. I took myself aside discussed it with Mr. Jack Daniels (he has the most honest opinion) and came up with a solution. Ok, I wish it was like that but it was really a couple of eight hour days moving stuff around, second guessing, then going to some trusted friends… Jack Daniels, Jose Cuervo and Jim Beam. I looked at it fresh. I looked at it upside down. I reversed it in the mirror and then went back to it in the morning. I’m happy to say I am pleased with it and now can sit down and write my blog.