76. True
How we want to remain. Tailspin-inducing conversations, inking an animated sequence, flowers for lunch. Leaning in.
This issue is, exceptionally, behind a paywall for Members 🙏
Free subscribers, you’re still receiving it in case you’d like to opt-in. I appreciate you, and hope the amount I regularly share with you above the paywall, on the whole, feels meaningful.
You’re always welcome to a free trial. But if you’re looking for short-term utility or are primarily seeking practical applications, let me save you the trouble, because I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed.
An overdue refresh: these issues document a (very slow) process in an art studio, itself in the context of a life in NYC. TLB is a very visual newsletter about the long game, local gems, what goes on behind-the-scenes. Each issue is bookended by micro essays that seek to provoke, and resonate with, you. I believe a fulfilling creative life extends beyond the studio—into the kitchen, dining room, theatre—and that everything we take in eventually shows up in our work.
Speaking of work, I’ve been producing an animated short film every year, year and a half. All of them have been curated and/or been officially selected for festivals. The latest, 엄마 나라 | MOTHER LAND (trailer), had its world premiere at Brooklyn Film Festival last month. Financial support helps pay for studio equipment, software subscriptions, music licenses, and festival entry fees; annually.
Members, read on for thoughts about success, excellence, and integrity. I also share process @20x; plus, a micro essay on leaning into inclement weather.
“The great thing about Cormac is that he's in no rush,” [director Richard] Pearce says. “He is absolutely at peace with his own rhythms and has complete confidence in his own powers.”
—Richard B. Woodward, in “Cormac McCarthy’s Venomous Fiction”
In a recent conversation with an established artist, I was struck by how they shrugged off what most would consider major life accomplishments.