A conversation about resilience, authenticity, curiosity, creative range, contemporary fine art, filmmaking and becoming fully realized.
THE CREATIVE IDENTITY
Resilience & Purpose
Michael, we're thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
I think several things have been reinforcements that give me resilience: belief in my creative identity, years of continuing to produce work, learning to tolerate uncertainty, this has allowed me to accumulate evidence that persistence can eventually lead somewhere. Each completed painting, exhibition, collector relationship, interview, and career milestone becomes evidence that I draw from the next time that I may face rejection or uncertainty.
“Each completed painting, exhibition, collector relationship, interview, and career milestone becomes evidence.”
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I consider myself a visual storyteller. Whether I'm standing in front of a blank canvas or behind a camera, my purpose is essentially the same: to create something that makes people feel.
As a visual artist, director, and filmmaker, I work through different mediums, but they all come from the same creative instinct. Painting allows me to communicate through color, movement, texture, and energy. Filmmaking allows me to bring those same instincts into motion through performance, light, composition, sound, and story.
I've never believed creativity should be confined to one form. A canvas can tell a story without words, and a film can feel like a moving painting. For me, the medium may change, but the intention never does.
I want to create work that has an emotional frequency - something that reaches beyond what people simply see and connects with what they feel.
Ultimately, I don't define myself by the tool in my hand. Whether it's a paintbrush or a camera, I'm doing the same thing: turning imagination into emotion, and emotion into something people can experience.
THE INNER FRAMEWORK
Resilience. Authenticity. Curiosity.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Looking back, I would say the three qualities that have had the greatest impact on my journey are resilience, authenticity, and curiosity.
Resilience has probably been the most important. A creative career is rarely a straight line. There are going to be moments when people don't understand your vision, opportunities don't happen when you think they should, and doors close that you were certain were meant to open. I learned not to allow those moments to define me. Rejection can either become a reason to stop or fuel to keep moving. My advice to anyone early in their journey is to develop a relationship with adversity. Don't run from it. Learn from it. Every setback can strengthen you if you refuse to let it diminish your belief in yourself.
The second quality is authenticity. I believe the most powerful thing you can bring to any creative field is something nobody else can bring - yourself. Early in our careers, there can be a temptation to look at what is successful and imitate it. Inspiration is important, but eventually you have to discover your own voice. Ask yourself what you genuinely want to say and what you want people to feel when they experience your work. Your individuality is not something you need to overcome; it is your greatest creative advantage.
CURIOSITY & CONSISTENCY
The Work Keeps Expanding
The third is curiosity. I've never wanted to put creativity into a box. Being an artist, director, and filmmaker has taught me that one discipline can constantly feed another. Painting has influenced the way I think about composition, color, movement, and emotion as a director, while filmmaking has influenced the way I think about storytelling within my art. I would encourage young creatives to remain students throughout their lives. Read. Study people. Study art, film, music, business, history, and anything else that fascinates you. Explore things outside of your chosen profession because sometimes your greatest inspiration comes from somewhere you weren't looking for it.
And perhaps the lesson connecting all three is consistency. Talent can open a door, but continuing to show up is what allows you to build a life around that talent. You have to keep creating when nobody is applauding, keep learning when you think you already know enough, and keep believing before there is external evidence that you should.
I've come to believe that a creative career isn't built from one great opportunity. It's built from hundreds of small decisions to continue.
Keep creating. Keep evolving. Keep showing up.Eventually, the journey itself becomes the evidence that you were right not to quit.
STRENGTHS & RANGE
Go All In on What Is Uniquely Yours
What would you advise - going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren't as strong to be more well-rounded?
I believe you should go all in on your strengths, while becoming knowledgeable enough in your weaker areas that they never limit your potential.
There is something powerful about recognizing what you naturally do well and having the courage to develop it at the highest possible level. I don't believe we are all meant to be equally great at everything. Some of the most extraordinary people become extraordinary because they discover what is uniquely theirs and devote themselves to it.
At the same time, I think being well rounded makes your strengths even more powerful.
My own journey has taught me that. I've worked as a visual artist, director, filmmaker, actor, writer, and speaker. On the surface, those might look like different disciplines, but I've come to realize that they are all connected by one of my greatest strengths: visual and emotional storytelling.
A CREATIVE VOCABULARY
One Strength. Many Forms.
Painting taught me about color, composition, movement, instinct, and emotion. Directing taught me how to take those visual instincts and combine them with performance, storytelling, music, pacing, and collaboration. Acting gave me a deeper understanding of what performers experience in front of the camera. Writing taught me to communicate an idea before anyone ever sees the finished image. And speaking has challenged me to take experiences I've lived and turn them into ideas that might help someone else.
I didn't pursue those different areas simply because I wanted to be good at everything. I pursued them because each one expanded the vocabulary of what I was already trying to say creatively.
That distinction is important.
I would tell someone early in their journey: Don't spend your entire life trying to turn every weakness into a strength. Identify what you have the potential to be exceptional at and invest heavily in it. Then strengthen the areas around it that will help that gift travel farther.
You also have to be honest enough with yourself to know the difference between a weakness that doesn't matter and one that is holding you back. If something is preventing you from communicating, collaborating, understanding the business side of your career, or taking advantage of opportunities, improve it. You don't necessarily have to become exceptional at it, but you shouldn't allow it to become a ceiling.
THE FULLY REALIZED CREATIVE LIFE
The Goal Is to Become Fully Realized.
“Ultimately, I think the goal isn't to become perfectly well rounded. The goal is to become fully realized.”