We Bought A Basketball Hoop

  

Earlier last week we bought a basketball hoop, not a zoo because I watched the movie and a hoop is couple dimes cheaper. One thing I can say is that it feels good to play, either seriously or just for fun. I love watching my kids play and try

hard to make a bucket. I love the focus, energy and flow of the sport. Watching the Cavaliers win the championship only inspired my early days of watching the Jordan era and really motivated me to play again.Of coarse I’m not planning to join the NBA, but putting basketball back in my life has boosted my soul creatively and whole as a father and husband playing with my wife and kids. 

  Watching LeBron finally achieve his dream really inspired me to keep following mine, and whether you love him or hate him (I love him, don’t care) you have to look at his career and effort. When you work hard and want to achieve something, you’re going to polarize people and I’m sure he doesn’t even listen to the haters. He’s beyond that and I think that he’s taught an important message in today’s world and that is without hard work, determination, failure, vulnerability, mistakes, risk and focus nothing comes your way and it’s not always going to come the way you think.

  Yes, he came into the game at an early age with great skills but it didn’t end there, he had to grow with the game and realize this is not won overnight. Single games are short, but your whole career as basketball player is a long game and that’s what it takes to win. I’m not going into the hate debate deep, but I will say this just once, look at yourself, LeBron won because who else was pushing as hard, who else continued to find ways around, it wasn’t just talent, it was pure hard work and determination. I’m sure if he didn’t win this year he’d try again and again and it took 13 years to do it.

  

 

Again, I’m not going deep in his story, however his achievement is an inspiring one. That if we all keep believing, work hard, stay humble and give ourselves to others, only great things can come. Great things are hard to achieve, it’s scary and risky, think about his pressure, just a kid from Akron. We’re all just a kid from somewhere, so where do you plan to go today?

Summer 2016 Card Series - Card#2 - Birthday Card "Another Year Going Up"

You Are Awesome Sauce!

This is my first in a series of thank you cards I'm making right now. This is why I love making art! There are always ways for us to give back through making things, and that is for people!

Don't Be Scared Just Be Prepared

  There's a few projects that I'm working on currently that I'm super hyped about. They pose new challenges that for the most part I'm ready to face. For some people this can cause them to run away because they feel threatened by fear they're not good enough.
  The best way I faced challenges in the past was to keep learning and stay sharp even if time is not on your side. Everyday set apart some time to focus on your work, whether that is personal projects, learning new tools, or practice that applies to your work. For example, if you are hoping to get work for t-shirts, in your own time just test some designs, learn ways of printing those shirts and so on. It's the best time to make mistakes before the real work comes along that you aren't prepared for.
  Years ago, I was asked to paint a mural in a dining hall of a nursing home. I accepted the offer before really knowing anything about my style or mural work. I got overwhelmed, I did't know what I wanted and I'm sure the client didn't feel confident in me. I was honest to my client about the work and dropped the offer. Now as time has passed and I've practiced and built a style I feel confident in. I can say I could've challenged that project today, but only because I've prepared myself the challenges before it's really time to face them.

Designed this card for my wife for our 9th anniversary.

My wife loves adult coloring, so as a gift for Mother's Day this past weekend I created a piece for her inspired by the ocean and other things that are part of that environment. My wife and kids really loved it and I got some really great feedback from other family and friends. If adult coloring is to be therapeutic or meditative, making this work has the same effect. The challenge and process was awesomely fun. I will be revisiting this type of work and will post more again. Until then, have fun with this one.

Restaurant and kitchen logo design for House 85. Developing a full menu with other content with consistent style. I'm definitely feeling good vibes from this project and see many uses for this concept. I'll be posting further progress in the coming weeks.

Never Forget Who You Are

It's kind of easier said than done, but kind of important to remember. Maybe even better it's always important to remember who we ought to be and practice good habits in life. Don't forget to be good person. I created this illustration for someone in a home for the elderly and this person had always aspired to become a writer. So as an awesome way to keep this person inspired I printed them a poster of my illustration as a gift.

My story, my fight and connecting the dots

My name is John Lightle. I have been making things since I was a young whipper-snapper and now an even much older young whipper-snapper. Things like drawing, designing, story-telling and so much more.

It all started with drawing some characters I grew up with like Ninja Turtles, Batman, Ghostbusters, Sonic the Hedgehog and the list goes on. Drawing comics, making movie covers on empty VHS boxes.

In middle school I loved playing and watching basketball. I lived in the Michael Jordan era and was inspired by shoe designs, NBA logos and jersey designs. Doodling the Charlotte Hornets logo on my notebooks and book covers got me through my school days.

I would read the Far-Side, Garfield and Dilbert on library days and made my own comic-strip. My classmates loved it so much they requested I make a new one every week. Great time to master deadlines before the real world I suppose.

Going into my teenage years, my brother Josh, our friend Justin (I'd consider him like another brother) and I designed our video-game fan-zine. Drawing a comic-strip joke about video game characters, adding graphics, writing articles and game reviews.

In high school, I was inspired by alternative and punk rock music and started my own thing in music. Designing album covers, stickers, posters and t-shirts. And to make this much shorter and fast forward a bit I got into film school and got a degree in fine art too.

Film didn't stay with me because it was too collaborative and largely big budget. Fine art worked well for a bit. I started teaching a painting workshop at a local art supply store, but eventually no one had interest in signing up so that fell apart.

Why this timeline? Did you notice it stopped.

Being creative has been my whole life. And as we get older and the world starts telling us you need to make something of yourself. It gets harder. The light gets dimmer and all at once our creative being is destroyed.

There was a time in my life it all stopped. I was doing too much and during that time things got really quiet. During this time, I thought long and hard about my purpose. Now I didn't have aha moment over night but this quiet time was a long time lasting more than a couple years.

Something interesting happens in silence. For the first time you can hear yourself think. And slowly but surely you see the fog clear and visually take notice.

I was working late at job where I cared for elderly. I had this job because I was not a point where my creativity could pay the bills nor could I just walk into any creative job and expect to be hired. This had to be it for now and this night I worked late into the morning was hard.

I had a book with me I purchased from the book store, "Show Your Work!" by Austin Kleon. This book changed my life forever. I read this start to finish until the end of my shift. It was a game-changer.

I would always read magazines at work when no one else was reading them and suddenly I took notice at the illustrations featured. I would search the artists and look at their work. I was mind-blown. This way of putting your creativity out there was the very thing I wanted in the first place.

The foundation was underneath me all along. Being a fine artist was not the only way to be a serious artist. Drawing, creating graphic illustrations and design was a serious way too. But it was the way that made sense for me and that was revolutionary.

I didn't dream of being a doctor, an engineer or scientist. Those are all good professions and a huge thank you to those in non-creative work and to those who still trying to find something they love. It's not easy and wasn't meant to be.

The massive take away was that I had to learn to fight for my dreams. Even working a job that offered me no stepping stone to my creative endeavor. I continued to learn and trace new steps. Silence allows yourself to hear yourself.

I did this for my wife, my kids and myself. And now that I see myself, I can by myself. Because I found myself creatively it has strengthened me in every facet of my life. Embrace and learn from struggle. That's what it there for and anything worth having for in life is worth fighting for.