We were pulling together some tax stuff and doing Q1 planning recently. Very corporate, I know. While reviewing the numbers, something jumped out at me: Over 75% of last year's revenue came from returning clients. In a creative services industry where most engagements often are one-off projects, that number stood out to me. Coming back for visual work month after month and year after year isn’t typically where businesses see themselves early on. But as it turns out, it's really about what...
23 days ago • 2 min read
Every morning when I’m not in a workshop, I draw a quote, illustrated on a post-it note. Then, I take a picture of it and text it to about 250 people. One-by-one. One phone number after another until I get through my list. This isn’t through a bulk SMS service, and it’s definitely not automated. Just going into my contacts and hitting send. Takes about an hour to draw and edit the image. Another 20-30 minutes to send them all out. Going on 5 years now. Megan’s oft-asked question is some...
30 days ago • 3 min read
On video calls, I’m always looking down. Is it because I’m distracted? Checking my phone?! Gasp… bored?!?! Nope, nope, and definitely nope, uh-uh, no way. You see the top of my head on a call because I’m leaning down and drawing what you’re saying in real time. There’s a small notebook right in front of me, like always. Pen is in hand. While we talk, I’m making visual notes of the conversation. Maybe what you need, or think you need. What clearly matters to you. The problems you or your team...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
I’ve got to come clean about something. If you walked into my home office, you'd see a mess. A clean working mess (not talking garbage here). But a bit scattered nonetheless. Papers on the floor and the desk and side table. Sketches pinned to walls. Supplies in corners. Pens scattered everywhere. Books books books. My family walks past this room regularly. Bless them. They see the chaos. I'm can’t even pretend it looks good. Some artists keep everything perfectly organized. Good for you. My...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Megan and I love watching The Great British Bake Off. Our teenage sons even enjoy it, too. If you haven’t seen it, the title is pretty self-explanatory. It’s a competition series where bakers compete under time pressure, trying to bake the hell out of something with all the technical skill and creative interpretation in order to impress the judges. And they have Alison and Noel to lightheartedly manage the stress level in the tent. Contestants get challenges like “bake a Charlotte Russe” or...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
I “got out” of standing for hymns during church. In fact, I’m not even singing them anymore. Why? Because I draw during services and I hold my pens in my mouth half the time while I’m doing it (hence the no singing thing, but I do hum). People love sitting behind me now. I’ve been doing this for three and a half years at this church. And for at least 5 years before that. You can find me, third row, most every Sunday, capturing what happens. Sermons, songs, baptisms, prayers. The whole...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
That subject line might be my boldest claim yet. Among graphic artists and live sketch artists, this is about as close to hubris as you can get. The reality is different. It’s really not about drawing ability. It’s more a guarantee of process. Every team and room brings something to a session. Uncertainty, frustration, pride, questions, hope, momentum. Something. Those are the raw materials. The job is making them visible so teams can actually work with them. Why This Works Every Time A...
2 months ago • 2 min read
I got uninvited from a team meeting. It was my own two-person family team. And I have to tell you, I was relieved. In the fall of 2024, Megan and I were working on merch decisions for the Draw for Hope store. Looking at inventory, products, what to offer, how to set things up. I kept asking questions. Waaay too many questions. And then from those questions, branching into possibilities instead of moving toward decisions. What about these options? Should we do this format or that format? Have...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Every Monday at 11am, I get on a call with Doug. I'm usually holding coffee. Sketchbook open. Pen in hand. Often Megan joins us, occasionally its just me. We talk about the business, about clients, about whatever's been rattling around in my head that week. And while we talk, I draw. The same thing I do for clients, Doug does for me. He listens. He asks questions. He catches the thing I said in passing that I didn't realize mattered. I sketch what's coming out of these talks. I’ve spent years...
3 months ago • 3 min read
