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Lorin Labardee

It's dark out there. I make fun
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You Don’t Need Art School, Coaches and Mentors Rock Success

July 22, 2024

What if you don’t need art school? It’s expensive (an MFA can  cost as much as $70k/yr). It may not come with a big payoff but your loans could total as much as $65k.  Could coaches and mentors suffice? I never went to art school for a degree so maybe ignore this whole post. Or maybe coaches and mentors rock success like nobody’s business-I’ll use my remaining years to find out.

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In success, famous artists Tags talent, art coach, mentor
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Dad's snapshots unchained to become a crown of slides for the artists

Dad's Snapshots Unchained: Can Baby Boomers Embrace Their Fine Artist?

May 25, 2024

Baby boomers embrace their fine artist when they recognize the parallel between family snapshots and the work of some very famous photographers.  The masters and their curators find brilliance in the snapshot aesthetic.  

Check  in your attic, your closet, your shed or behind those five boxes of tax returns and check registers (remember them?).  There’s a dusty box with the packing tape peeling off and it’s filled with possibilities.  Dad’s snapshots want to be unchained, so baby boomers-embrace your fine artist self.

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In success, upcycle Tags snapshots, fine art, creativity, experimentation
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Luck, Talent and Attraction Affirmations

March 27, 2024

Imagine you're baking a three layer cake of creative success. Should luck, talent and attraction affirmations be your first choice of ingredients for a yummy career as a artist these days? Some experts say so.

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In creative self esteem, success Tags luck, talent, attraction affirmations
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Latest Posts

Featured
Your Best Imagination May Be Just Enough to Save the World
Oct 28, 2025
Your Best Imagination May Be Just Enough to Save the World
Oct 28, 2025

“We need your art, stop messing around and make something,” says Amie McNee. I almost didn’t buy it. YOU need MY art? Ha! I checked the research.

Oct 28, 2025
Gritty, Coarse, Rough and Sweet, Wabi Sabi is Your Perfect Look
Sep 28, 2025
Gritty, Coarse, Rough and Sweet, Wabi Sabi is Your Perfect Look
Sep 28, 2025

One scholar defines wabi sabi as, “...(seeking)  beauty in the imperfections found as all things in a constant state of flux, evolve from nothing and devolve back to nothing.” Which leads me to wonder if artists especially are naturally drawn to a wabi sabi simply as a result of our process.  Work that’s constantly evolving, becoming, changing, eclipsing and sometimes revealing cracks, fissures and other measures of brokenness, intended or not. Gritty, coarse, rough and sweet.

Sep 28, 2025
Astounding Talent or a Total Bore? Check Your Childhood Sketchbook
Aug 30, 2025
Astounding Talent or a Total Bore? Check Your Childhood Sketchbook
Aug 30, 2025

What to make of those kindergarten drawings my mother saved for my 74 year-old self to find? Better yet, what does Luc Tuymans think of his very earliest efforts? Are they evidence of astounding talent to come or a total bore. Check your work. See for yourself.

Aug 30, 2025