"Roam" by Jason Kotecki. 30 x 24 Oil on canvas. Original is SOLD. Prints and canvas reproductions available here. Starting at younger and younger ages, kids are expected to begin thinking about what they want to do with their lives. I feel bad for them, because between increasing homework loads and more demanding extra-curricular commitments, they are given less and less free to time to figure out who they are, and what lights them up. No matter how old you are, a little space to roam can make a big difference. After three grueling years producing his show Sam and Friends, Jim …
You & Improved
Lessons in Adultitis Fighting from the Revolutionary War
"War Games" by Jason Kotecki. Digital. Prints and canvas reproductions available here. I was thinking about the American Revolutionary War the other day (because I like keeping up on current events), and a few things struck me. I imagine it would have been easy for the American colonists to look at all the advantages held by the British and wallow in the land of “Must Be Nice”... They have the most powerful navy in the whole world...must be nice. They have way more professionally trained soldiers than we do...must be nice. They have a ton of money to buy food, supplies, and …
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Fighting Adultitis is Like Playing Space Invaders
"Space Invaders" by Jason Kotecki. 12" x 12" Oil on canvas. Original is AVAILABLE. Prints and canvas reproductions available here. Some of you are old enough to remember the Atari video game system. A far cry from the advanced graphics we see in games today. And only one button! One of the most popular games was called Space Invaders, which I have featured prominently in this painting. It was a simple concept: you try to shoot as many aliens as you can as they descend down your screen. As the game continues, the aliens descend at an ever-increasing speed. If they reach the bottom, the …
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Live Life in Technicolor
"This Ain't Kansas" by Jason Kotecki. 20 x 20 Oil on canvas. Original is SOLD. Prints and canvas reproductions available here. As dissimilar as they may appear on the surface, rural Midwestern farmers and rural Asian farmers have some things in common. One is a deep respect for tradition. This is an important value that can provide a sense of stability and help pass on hard-earned wisdom to future generations. But I believe we must also have an openness to new things. Not so that we will abandon our ideals, but so that we can experience a much richer life. It's like the difference …
Life’s A Wave
"Life's A Wave" by Jason Kotecki. 24 x 30 Oil on canvas. Original is SOLD. Prints and canvas reproductions available here. The familiar pit formed at the bottom of my stomach like a butterfly battle royal on pay per view. It developed after my mom answered the phone and told me it was for me. When I was younger, I was afraid of just about everything. New situations always brought an enormous level of anxiety, and phone calls delivered a special level of dread. It was a classmate on the other end, asking if I wanted to come over to play. For most people this would be great news, …
Keep Your Eyes On Your Own Work
Remember back in school, when your class was taking a test, and the teacher would exhort, “Eyes on your own work!” Of course, as I was an amazing student (and because my parents might be reading this), I knew this rebuke was never aimed at me. But you know what? I kind of wish that I had someone like this in my life now, periodically reminding me to keep my eyes on my own work. You see, my ability to keep my eyes on my own work seems to be in direct relation to my level of happiness. I think it could be useful to have someone around to slap my knuckles with a ruler anytime I got …
Be The Light
"Let There Be Light" by Jason Kotecki. 24 x 30 Oil on canvas. Original is SOLD. Prints and canvas reproductions available here. When we were children, creativity was a regular part of life, whether it led to building a fort out of blocks, fashioning a fantasy world with our imagination, or coloring made-up creatures with our crayons. We are all still creative. Sometimes we don’t think we are, and sometimes we don’t use our creativity as much as we could. But our creativity is a gift from our Creator, and it might be my favorite. Not only is it amazingly practical, allowing us to solve …
A Better Alternative to New Year’s Resolutions?
New Year's resolutions are okay, but I like tinkering better. A resolution feels like a stern, rigid taskmaster who shames you when you fall down. But tinkering is a curious friend, nudging you into new adventures in which you uncover things you didn’t know about yourself. With a resolution we say, “I’m going to immediately change forever.” When we tinker, we say, “I wonder what would happen if I tried this for a little bit…” Instead of committing to a resolution, I recommend starting a Tinker Project. A Tinker Project as a playful endeavor of any size or scope that gives you …
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Believing in Miracles
"Cupcakes Are Miracles" by Jason Kotecki. Oil on canvas. Original is SOLD. Prints and canvas reproductions available here. I’ve wanted to be an artist for as long as I can remember. Especially after I found out that the roles of being George Lucas or Superman were already taken. Like most artists, I started out making “copies." I drew Simpsons characters and portraits of athletes and celebrities. It was how I learned my craft. As Elizabeth Gilbert wrote, "Everybody imitates before they can innovate. My first real attempt at saying something original was through comics. First a …
Stuff vs. Experiences
This past January, as the ho ho hos of the holiday season abruptly transitioned to the ho ho hums of winter, I came across this abandoned television on a walk around the neighborhood. (Sad face added by me.) No doubt this technological marvel was the highlight of some Christmas past, but there it sat on the side of the road, amidst dirty piles of old snow, valueless. Here’s a what I wrote then: The beauty of the light from a hundred candles in a darkened church on Christmas Eve, the afternoon spent together covered in flour while baking snickerdoodles, tucking some deliriously excited …