—
But why have I chosen to spend a considerable chunk of my time this year doing all these portraits?
It’s not because I finally had the right space (that helped, but it also hurt as I wrote about last week). It wasn’t because I set some goal or scheduled creative time.
I made them because of the people I made them for.
This year has been full of friendships – new ones, old ones, and a lot of reflection on how much they matter to me. Drawing felt like a way of saying thank you. Of honoring who people are.
Not portfolio pieces, not content for social media, not inventory, not some marketing strategy.
Just gifts.
Made for specific people. By hand, and because I care.
That’s the reason I’ve done it, and why I plan to continue devoting a considerable chunk of time making more. There’s no joy like making other people feel joy. It’s addicting.
—
I’ve been thinking a lot about “doing less, but better.” About doing things that don’t scale.
In a world that worships efficiency and automation, there’s something deeply fulfilling about making one thing, for one person, that can never be replicated.
A portrait takes me hours, sometimes days. I can’t just crank them out. That makes no sense for me from a productivity standpoint. And that’s exactly why they matter.
People feel that.
But perhaps there are ways we can show this kind of care in business too. Carefully. This is what true hospitality is all about. One small example I’ve shared before from Live Oak Lake: the welcome gift.
Each guest arrived to a handwritten note and a small brown paper package of fresh homemade chocolate chip cookies. Nothing fancy, nothing automated-looking.
The system behind it was light enough that it hardly felt like a system at all. And that matters. Because the moment the card becomes just another box to check on the cleaning checklist, it dies. It stops being a gift and becomes a transaction.
We can all feel the difference.
(Will Guidara writes about all of this beautifully in Unreasonable Hospitality. He also shares ongoing real-world examples in his excellent newsletter: Pre-Meal. I highly recommend both.)
