We rented motorbikes, well sorta motorbikes, more like overhyped scooters and drove to this beach called Doc Let. Was pretty cool, the people were tripping out that we found it, i guess very few tourist make it out there, and I'm not surprised... We were driving for about 2.5 hours and lost for about 1 hour of that... Anyway, driving motorbikes in Vietnam is the best. Like a video game. Cars in the wrong lane, oxen on the road, women with children walking, the whole gamut. It's really fun.
Oh, and the beaches are really nice here.
Oh, and the beaches are really nice here.
This is my favorite shot from the last couple days. We rented motorbikes... i think it gives a good feeling of what it is like to drive in vietnam. Big truck passing another big truck with a car trying to overtake the second big truck, and i, being on the motorbike, have been forced onto the shoulder... pretty fun driving. You need to be on your shit around here!
That's Quinn, my buddy who I'm traveling with... hello moto.
Doc Let Beach.
A pretty average beach shot, but i wanted to make all of you in cold/inclement weather jealous.
Fields on the way to Doc Let.
vietNOW.
Shiva Buddhist God...
Tourists... always mild entertainment, especially since I'm one too.
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I'm a junk show.
I don't have my USB cable and the main reason i came to the internet cafe is to update this site, i also can't send email... something is wrong with my connection.
Seriously,
But with that being said i stumbled across this, i think a lot of it rings true, if you want to be a skier, artist, musician, whatever...
It's a long one but motivating at that and worth your time, I promise.
anthony
So You Want To Be an Artist
I read this on website of Shawn Barber who is a very good painter of tattoo portaits ( http://sdbarber.com/pages/faq_pg.html )
-----------------------------------------------------
Experience and risk taking precedes opportunity. Opportunity fosters growth, knowledge and confidence. Confidence is taking responsibilty for your choices and actions, knowing that the integrity of your decisions will solidify your personal aesthetic on life.
Everything in life comes down to choices.
Do I want to sit in front of the tv to get away from the monotony of everyday life?-
How long should I stay at the party, talking about the same old same, night after night?-
I hate my job, I hate my boss, I should be doing something else with my life, but just not right now.
I'll do it tomorrow, I'm really not in the mood, I'll deal with it later, I'm bored.
These statements are an example of possible choices and decisions.
These passive sentiments are felt by many.
I felt this way and said these same words.
In 1995, at twenty-five years old, I finally got off my ass, went back to school and started to take responsibility for my actions, my future and myself. It didn't happen overnight. It didn't happen in two years. Change comes from the willingness to allow new ideas, different opinions and maintaining an open mind to the infinite possibilities there are when one is willing to take chances. Believing in what you do and DOING what YOU want to do, creates opportunity and builds an empowering state of mind.
we do what we have to, to get by. it's too easy to give up right away. anything that is worthwhile takes time, patience and an open mind. life is not perfect and you will definitely have down times, that's part of it. what separates the successful people and the ones still working at coffee shops (i've had my share) is the belief in what you're doing. as long as you're true to yourself and believe in what you're doing- you will become successful. money comes and goes-it's not what is important; sure you've got to eat, but how many people can truly state that they get to do what they love to do every day and are making a living at it. i guess what i'm saying is don't go in thinking about$$$$, or copying someone else's style to make a quick buck, do what YOU do and the money will eventually come. that, and you'll respect yourself and won't regret believing in yourself.
I work everyday-monday to monday, at least eight hours a day. I paint every single day, sometimes a few hours- sometimes several; i'm at a point now where i'm working primarily on personal work, yet a large percentage of time goes into commercial work. i also spend a significant amount of time working on new projects- i design and maintain several artist websites. I also teach two classes at two different art schools and, most recently, have been learning to tattoo. i'm fairly obsessive with everything i do.
from september of 1997 to the present (09.10.06)- i've made over 750 paintings and illustrations. i keep a running log of each and every work i make, to know what i've done and to see where i'm going in my work. i look at these lists often and there are a ton of paintings that are just plain bad. through looking at my bad work and seeing what i don't like and what doesn't work for me- i try and not make the same mistakes / decisions that i had in the past. it's all about learning from yourself and listening to your own worst critic. i also have quite a few friends and colleagues that i show my work to- for feedback, comments and criticism. a lot of the times i may disagree with what they have to say or we have different tastes and opinions, but i trust their judgment and they are only trying to help. they may see something that i had totally overlooked, or i may be killing something or sometimes the piece is a dog and you have to allow yourself to become detached and analyze the work besides yourself. step away, take a break, go back to the work tomorrow- look at it with a fresh perspective- anything you can do to make each piece the best it can be, every time out. it's a challenge and you will never, ever have a winner all the time. but you have to realize that fact. you must also accept that you are the conductor of your work and your success. you are in control.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Being a Professional Artist
Be Prepared to Struggle
The life of a freelance / self employed / gallery artist is not an easy one. It definitely has it's ups and downs. The pros- you can be creative everyday, you can set your own schedule, you can travel whenever you like, you are in control of your day to day, including your future... The cons- inconsistent cash flow, stress of not knowing when work will come, sometimes you have to do work that is less than exciting, no health insurance, bills sometimes get paid late...
Be Down for the Long Haul
It's not going to happen overnight. If you're lucky- in 5 years you maintain some sort of consistent work flow, sales and success. For most, it takes 7-10 years. The first 3 years are the hardest. With a lot of people, these are the 'make-or-break' years. Frustration, lack of motivation, laziness, insecurity and lack of drive will overwhelm most people who even think about being an 'artist'. You can't claim to be something if you make no effort or have no aspirations. Wanting to be and being are two completely different people.
Make a list of goals, no matter how lofty, outrageous or small they may be. Work diligently and daily until you achieve these goals. Appreciate and celebrate the small successes, but stay hungry and keep your focus on the future and the unaccomplished goals.
Put yourself around successful, healthy and creative people. If your friends are excited about life and what they do and who they are, that energy is contagious. People that have no drive, no direction or aspirations are dead weight- they are going nowhere, talk about the same things and, typically, their depression and negative energy will affect you and take you away from your own goals. Sometimes it's difficult, but if someone truly cares about you, they should be happy for your success and dedication, not jealous, bitter or resentful. Life is way too short.
Be honest with your work and your weaknesses. You HAVE to be your own worst critic. Do not settle for where you are. You should constantly strive to get better and learn something new. Complacency turns into laziness, which falls into boredom and mediocrity. Why do something if you don't care about it? No one is 'making you' do it. If art is a hobby, that's all well and good- but don't fool yourself and think you're something that you're not.
Be humble. Realize that you're not that good. There are 10,000 artists living that are better than you. There are 100,000,000 in art history that are even better. Feel good about what you do but don't lose sight of this reality. Challenge yourself to do things you don't think you can do, either out of fear or lack of knowledge. Expose yourself to ALL kinds of art- painting, sculpture, film, furniture design, illustration, architecture, animation, etc. Ask yourself WHAT and WHY you like certain aspects of your favorite art pieces and allow that to nurture, inspire and motivate your own work.
More than anything stated, the most important ideal is to HAVE INTEGRITY.
Stand behind what you do, have your own voice, your own aesthetic and your own opinions. Don't try and be the 'Flavor of the Month'. Please, Please, Please- whatever you do, don't be a jackoff. The art world is very small. Don't let yourself get labeled as a clone, a copycat, a spineless, unoriginal bastard. No one will respect you or your work. It's lazy and unethical, disrespectful and disgusting.
Don't turn work or commissions down. No job is too small. Sometimes, you even have to do work for free.... ALWAYS be professional. Try to challenge yourself and take on more than you can handle. You will be surprised, when it comes down to crunch time, if you focus and make deliberate decisions and actions- you will accomplish much more than you thought you were capable of.
I don't have my USB cable and the main reason i came to the internet cafe is to update this site, i also can't send email... something is wrong with my connection.
Seriously,
But with that being said i stumbled across this, i think a lot of it rings true, if you want to be a skier, artist, musician, whatever...
It's a long one but motivating at that and worth your time, I promise.
anthony
So You Want To Be an Artist
I read this on website of Shawn Barber who is a very good painter of tattoo portaits ( http://sdbarber.com/pages/faq_pg.html )
-----------------------------------------------------
Experience and risk taking precedes opportunity. Opportunity fosters growth, knowledge and confidence. Confidence is taking responsibilty for your choices and actions, knowing that the integrity of your decisions will solidify your personal aesthetic on life.
Everything in life comes down to choices.
Do I want to sit in front of the tv to get away from the monotony of everyday life?-
How long should I stay at the party, talking about the same old same, night after night?-
I hate my job, I hate my boss, I should be doing something else with my life, but just not right now.
I'll do it tomorrow, I'm really not in the mood, I'll deal with it later, I'm bored.
These statements are an example of possible choices and decisions.
These passive sentiments are felt by many.
I felt this way and said these same words.
In 1995, at twenty-five years old, I finally got off my ass, went back to school and started to take responsibility for my actions, my future and myself. It didn't happen overnight. It didn't happen in two years. Change comes from the willingness to allow new ideas, different opinions and maintaining an open mind to the infinite possibilities there are when one is willing to take chances. Believing in what you do and DOING what YOU want to do, creates opportunity and builds an empowering state of mind.
we do what we have to, to get by. it's too easy to give up right away. anything that is worthwhile takes time, patience and an open mind. life is not perfect and you will definitely have down times, that's part of it. what separates the successful people and the ones still working at coffee shops (i've had my share) is the belief in what you're doing. as long as you're true to yourself and believe in what you're doing- you will become successful. money comes and goes-it's not what is important; sure you've got to eat, but how many people can truly state that they get to do what they love to do every day and are making a living at it. i guess what i'm saying is don't go in thinking about$$$$, or copying someone else's style to make a quick buck, do what YOU do and the money will eventually come. that, and you'll respect yourself and won't regret believing in yourself.
I work everyday-monday to monday, at least eight hours a day. I paint every single day, sometimes a few hours- sometimes several; i'm at a point now where i'm working primarily on personal work, yet a large percentage of time goes into commercial work. i also spend a significant amount of time working on new projects- i design and maintain several artist websites. I also teach two classes at two different art schools and, most recently, have been learning to tattoo. i'm fairly obsessive with everything i do.
from september of 1997 to the present (09.10.06)- i've made over 750 paintings and illustrations. i keep a running log of each and every work i make, to know what i've done and to see where i'm going in my work. i look at these lists often and there are a ton of paintings that are just plain bad. through looking at my bad work and seeing what i don't like and what doesn't work for me- i try and not make the same mistakes / decisions that i had in the past. it's all about learning from yourself and listening to your own worst critic. i also have quite a few friends and colleagues that i show my work to- for feedback, comments and criticism. a lot of the times i may disagree with what they have to say or we have different tastes and opinions, but i trust their judgment and they are only trying to help. they may see something that i had totally overlooked, or i may be killing something or sometimes the piece is a dog and you have to allow yourself to become detached and analyze the work besides yourself. step away, take a break, go back to the work tomorrow- look at it with a fresh perspective- anything you can do to make each piece the best it can be, every time out. it's a challenge and you will never, ever have a winner all the time. but you have to realize that fact. you must also accept that you are the conductor of your work and your success. you are in control.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Being a Professional Artist
Be Prepared to Struggle
The life of a freelance / self employed / gallery artist is not an easy one. It definitely has it's ups and downs. The pros- you can be creative everyday, you can set your own schedule, you can travel whenever you like, you are in control of your day to day, including your future... The cons- inconsistent cash flow, stress of not knowing when work will come, sometimes you have to do work that is less than exciting, no health insurance, bills sometimes get paid late...
Be Down for the Long Haul
It's not going to happen overnight. If you're lucky- in 5 years you maintain some sort of consistent work flow, sales and success. For most, it takes 7-10 years. The first 3 years are the hardest. With a lot of people, these are the 'make-or-break' years. Frustration, lack of motivation, laziness, insecurity and lack of drive will overwhelm most people who even think about being an 'artist'. You can't claim to be something if you make no effort or have no aspirations. Wanting to be and being are two completely different people.
Make a list of goals, no matter how lofty, outrageous or small they may be. Work diligently and daily until you achieve these goals. Appreciate and celebrate the small successes, but stay hungry and keep your focus on the future and the unaccomplished goals.
Put yourself around successful, healthy and creative people. If your friends are excited about life and what they do and who they are, that energy is contagious. People that have no drive, no direction or aspirations are dead weight- they are going nowhere, talk about the same things and, typically, their depression and negative energy will affect you and take you away from your own goals. Sometimes it's difficult, but if someone truly cares about you, they should be happy for your success and dedication, not jealous, bitter or resentful. Life is way too short.
Be honest with your work and your weaknesses. You HAVE to be your own worst critic. Do not settle for where you are. You should constantly strive to get better and learn something new. Complacency turns into laziness, which falls into boredom and mediocrity. Why do something if you don't care about it? No one is 'making you' do it. If art is a hobby, that's all well and good- but don't fool yourself and think you're something that you're not.
Be humble. Realize that you're not that good. There are 10,000 artists living that are better than you. There are 100,000,000 in art history that are even better. Feel good about what you do but don't lose sight of this reality. Challenge yourself to do things you don't think you can do, either out of fear or lack of knowledge. Expose yourself to ALL kinds of art- painting, sculpture, film, furniture design, illustration, architecture, animation, etc. Ask yourself WHAT and WHY you like certain aspects of your favorite art pieces and allow that to nurture, inspire and motivate your own work.
More than anything stated, the most important ideal is to HAVE INTEGRITY.
Stand behind what you do, have your own voice, your own aesthetic and your own opinions. Don't try and be the 'Flavor of the Month'. Please, Please, Please- whatever you do, don't be a jackoff. The art world is very small. Don't let yourself get labeled as a clone, a copycat, a spineless, unoriginal bastard. No one will respect you or your work. It's lazy and unethical, disrespectful and disgusting.
Don't turn work or commissions down. No job is too small. Sometimes, you even have to do work for free.... ALWAYS be professional. Try to challenge yourself and take on more than you can handle. You will be surprised, when it comes down to crunch time, if you focus and make deliberate decisions and actions- you will accomplish much more than you thought you were capable of.
Anthony, so worth the read. that is one of the coolest things i have read in a long time. cheers for posting it.
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We've been in Mui Ne for 2 days now. It's a real mellow beach town about 6 hours north of Saigon, although it's only six hours away, it feels like a million miles. Plenty of reading and relaxing has gone down. Tomorrow we travel again to Na Trang, but this place has been a nice change.
We arrived in Mui Ne from Saigon... it's a noice change. Really mellow and relaxing! About time!
Just north of Mui Ne there is a fishing market. This is the scene at about 7 am, all the ships come in from the night and unload their catch, on the beach sorting, selling and buying goes down, scales and all the like. Women sort, men bring the goods in from the ships, and the kids all help out. Vietnamese people never stop working.
Kid at the fishing market... he wanted me to take pictures of him and not the scene bellow.
We rented motorbikes today and drove around for about 2 or 3 hours... pretty fun. Little shot from the trip.
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Dogs, or as Pikies call 'em Dawwgs.
Well, two nights ago I at dog. In a back alley. Serious. I don't know if it was Cocker spaniel, or Shitzu but it was dog! ahah. So, with that being said, maybe I should fill in the details, how does someone end up in a back alley of Saigon eating dog?
My friend Quinn and I finished dinner pretty late, on our walk home we stopped to check out this disco that is near our hostel, it was always pretty busy and super tacky, we were always joking about partying there so we actually went in. It was actually fun, good times were had so we stayed for a while. After leaving the disco we returned to our hostel and the place was closed, but not closed like door shut closed, but closed like Alcatraz closed, bars across the front and sheet metal behind the bars. After banging on the entrance for a while we give up. No hope. We should walk around back and maybe if we pound on the back door they'll wake up!
We hit the back alley, here we met our new friends, three Vietnamese guys had a wicker mat rolled out in the alley, seated in a circle they had a burner in the middle and were cooking up food and drinking rice whisky out of re-used water bottles. As soon as we round the corner they spot us, yelling indecipherable phrases in Vietnamese/English they motion us over, make room for us and begin to feed us shots. Its good times, they're celebrating one of their birthdays. Vietnamese people are so welcoming, and were super happy to have us as part of their party, sharing and laughing together. After drinking a couple shots they want to share food to.
'I'm sorry it's Dwaakgg' says on of them,
'Ah, Duck I say, cool' as the other holds a piece of meat toward me with his chopsticks,
'Noo, Dwaaaggg, rooof, rooof, yooou knooaaww' says one of the others while posturing like a small dog begging.
'Dog' I say laughing!
So, that's how you end up eating dog. Good times and new friends. And you know what, dog doesn't taste that bad, like chewy pork. Same taste. We stayed there for a while longer, eating dog and drinking whiskey! a memorable night. From the well to do's of the Saigon disco to the kind hearted reality of the Saigon alley. Little taste of everything Saigon has to offer, literally.
Well, two nights ago I at dog. In a back alley. Serious. I don't know if it was Cocker spaniel, or Shitzu but it was dog! ahah. So, with that being said, maybe I should fill in the details, how does someone end up in a back alley of Saigon eating dog?
My friend Quinn and I finished dinner pretty late, on our walk home we stopped to check out this disco that is near our hostel, it was always pretty busy and super tacky, we were always joking about partying there so we actually went in. It was actually fun, good times were had so we stayed for a while. After leaving the disco we returned to our hostel and the place was closed, but not closed like door shut closed, but closed like Alcatraz closed, bars across the front and sheet metal behind the bars. After banging on the entrance for a while we give up. No hope. We should walk around back and maybe if we pound on the back door they'll wake up!
We hit the back alley, here we met our new friends, three Vietnamese guys had a wicker mat rolled out in the alley, seated in a circle they had a burner in the middle and were cooking up food and drinking rice whisky out of re-used water bottles. As soon as we round the corner they spot us, yelling indecipherable phrases in Vietnamese/English they motion us over, make room for us and begin to feed us shots. Its good times, they're celebrating one of their birthdays. Vietnamese people are so welcoming, and were super happy to have us as part of their party, sharing and laughing together. After drinking a couple shots they want to share food to.
'I'm sorry it's Dwaakgg' says on of them,
'Ah, Duck I say, cool' as the other holds a piece of meat toward me with his chopsticks,
'Noo, Dwaaaggg, rooof, rooof, yooou knooaaww' says one of the others while posturing like a small dog begging.
'Dog' I say laughing!
So, that's how you end up eating dog. Good times and new friends. And you know what, dog doesn't taste that bad, like chewy pork. Same taste. We stayed there for a while longer, eating dog and drinking whiskey! a memorable night. From the well to do's of the Saigon disco to the kind hearted reality of the Saigon alley. Little taste of everything Saigon has to offer, literally.
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I found a way get photos on the blog! i'll continue to have more text based updates as they're a lot less time consuming, and to be honest, sitting behind a computer isn't the highest item on my priority list these days...
Hope you enjoyed Vietnam through my eyes...
Hope you enjoyed Vietnam through my eyes...
Boats docked at the Cambodia/Vietnam border. I travelled to Vietnam by boat... from Phnom Phen, the capital of Cambodia I travelled to Chau Doc, Vietnam, a town in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam.
More boats at the Cambodia/Vietnam border. That's the boat we cruised in on the left.
View from my room in Chau Doc.
More hotel window views...
Pretty typical asian market, this one is in Chau Doc.
Night on the river.
View of the Mekong Delta, it's rainy season right now so I've been told that there is a lot of water. Most of the water you see would typically be rice crops. It's fun travelling by boat at this time of the year because there are tons of short cuts resulting from the water being so high, on our way to Chau Doc we drove through some really interesting spots. It's too bad i'm so shitty at photography or i'd have some better shots of Vietnamese life...
Ferry crossing we did today on our bus travel from Chau Doc to Saigon.
I'm in Saigon now... tonight.
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