A Painting Artist

This story made me smile. My husband showed me the article in the London Evening Standard about Baby Archie – is he the new Jamie Oliver? Archie’s dad, Nick, was made redundant, and became a stay-at-home Dad, and started cooking with Archie, his son and creating a video blog. The blog gets over 1,000 hits per day, and a book deal is in the works!

Now, they cook every day together, and Archie loves his food. Given the ‘fussy eaters’ children can be, Nick’s approach is proving to be a huge inspiration for parents, and not just parents – I watched the video on Plum Clafoutis, something I have always resisted making, much to my husband’s chagrin – having seen how easy it is, I’m making it!

This guy is going to rock the foodie world with his approach, and so watch out Annabel Kiemel … Nick doesn’t hide his carrots, make them into eyebrows so Archie won’t notice. Oh no. Nick has followed a ‘baby led weaning’ approach, so Archie doesn’t think carrots are eyebrows, he knows they are carrots, and eats them!

The other thing I like about Nick’s approach is the little aside stories he includes on his blog, like the one in this video about the Mum who lost her daughter. Yes, life is precarious, and it’s also precious, and cooking together, sticky fingers and all, makes you stop and appreciate one another.

He didn’t set out to ‘make money’ from his idea, he just used this as a creative outlet, and a way to interact with other parents online. The irony is, of course, that he will probably end up being a squillionaire!!

Good luck Nick – and Archie!

Mark Rothko said: ‘anyone who eats food at these prices, won’t look at my paintings.’ It was this statement which preceded him giving the money back – returning the $35,000 paycheck he received to paint four canvases which were to hang in the Four Seasons Restaurant in the Seagram building in Manhattan.

This moment forms the basis of John Logan’s outstanding new play, RED which opened at The Donmar Warehouse in London on Dec 2. I saw the play on New Year’s Eve, which felt like a fitting way to end the last year of the decade. “What do you see?” Rothko repeatedly asks his assistant. Indeed, what does one see? It’s a searching question as I reflect on the last decade, which has seen a full quota of red …

As Rothko said, knowing what has gone before us, what our cultural ancestors did, who they were, and what they aimed to teach us in literature, art, music, history, anthropology … gives us a presence of mind and a context to live within, to redefine ourselves by. History informs the present, and those lessons we learn from it enable us to take the next step.

I am celebrating tonight and honouring my mentor and friend Bob Yeager. Bob is a person who truly deserves (but doesn’t seek) the title ‘internet guru’. He has taught me a crucial lesson about internet marketing through his WEST programme: it works most successfully when it is combined with authenticity.

As artists we express our authenticity through story, in paint, in words, in music, whatever our medium is. Then when we combine that voice with all the technical knowledge, bingo, we start to manifest real wealth.

Having learned the hard lesson of ‘finding my voice’, I recognise this teaching as absolutely ‘on the money’. This applies to whatever business you have and whatever artistic medium you are in.

When we say ‘show me the money’, we don’t always want to be taught the back office lessons of personal development, but I have discovered these are equally important to receive the money!

Don’t just take my word for it, listen to the testimonials of Bob’s other students in WEST that were recorded for this online party taking place tonight.

I wish you could listen in and join us, and maybe you will another time.

How did you discover your voice?

As always, leave me your comments – I enjoy reading these stories.

To your journey!

Amanda