Gary Taxali is an award-winning muli-media artist from Canada who draws inspiration from vintage comics and advertising, producing an assortment of graphic design, fine art, and street art, all rolled into one.  His work has been seen not just in print and in museums throughout North America and Europe, but on toys, wine labels, coins for the Canadian Mint and clothing.

In this episode, Gary discusses:

-The experience of designing coins for the Canadian Mint.

-A very serendipitous story relating to coins and his ancestry.

-The relaxation that can come from being aware of the serendipitous nature of existence.

-His experience with clients wanting to control his creativity and how he dealt with it.

-His process of creating a design for the marriage-themed coin.

-How he gets through the creative struggle of not being able to pin down the perfect iteration of an idea.

-His advice for people who have a difficult time “going for a ride” with their art as opposed to being in complete control.

-What we can learn from an obsessive love of doodling.

Gary’s Final Push will make you see how AWESOME you are!

Quotes:

“I really believe that serendipity exists all around us.  You just have to open your eyes and just stop and take a look at it.  Because it’s rampant, it’s everywhere, it’s in our lives on big levels and on little levels.  It’s really refreshing to know that when you are aware of it, how much more relaxing, I think, life can be in terms of submitting to the process of just what life is.”

“Drawing pictures in boxes is pretty easy compared to circles.”

“I like to do something that has a bit more dynamic energy.”

“Our mind likes to remind us of why we shouldn’t do things.”

“I think creativity is just a settling with, honoring, and embracing your idiosyncrasies.”

“Don’t ever let your art be something that you think is a measure of who you are.  It’s not.  The measure of who you are is your awesomeness, and you’ve already won the game.”

Connect with Gary:

Website / Facebook / Instagram