https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog daily 1.0 2026-03-18 https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/the-fragmented-process monthly 0.5 2026-03-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/b95f9962-028c-4677-b158-e24357b07f3c/fragmented+process.jpg Blog - The Fragmented Process - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/divided-for-profit monthly 0.5 2026-02-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/d7cb313d-4de2-4aa5-afa3-6b7934598de3/data-analytics-fear.jpg Blog - Manufacturing Fear: How Data Became the Most Powerful Political Weapon - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/the-end-of-social-media monthly 0.5 2026-02-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/fb692ca9-f4c0-4001-8202-0bbf46f8c6ce/_DJS5615.jpg Blog - The End of Social Media - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/a-place-to-fall-down monthly 0.5 2026-02-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/964cb771-5a43-4250-ac6c-9afb21fa9136/Clifton+Collins+Jr.+-+A+Place+to+Fall+Down.jpg Blog - A Place to Fall Down - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/metric-risk-official-music-video monthly 0.5 2026-02-11 https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/the-smith-society-podcast monthly 0.5 2026-02-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1613259587126-BNWHWW7HAX9L38IGCFDJ/the-smith-society-podcast.jpg Blog - The Smith Society Podcast — Conversations About Storytelling https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/john-august-interview monthly 0.5 2026-02-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593551276701-GLON4GX1MKF4SVXTDXJR/john-august.jpg Blog - John August, Screenwriter and Director What’s most impressive about John August is not his incredible body of work (although it is impressive), it’s his willingness to share his knowledge with anyone who seeks it. In a world where people don’t often offer helping hands to those in their shared field, August is a bastion of kindness and a seemingly bottomless pit of insight and wisdom into filmmaking. His wildly successful podcast, Scriptnotes, which is co-hosted by Craig Mazin, is a weekly mini-course into the behind-the-scenes process of entertainment. And sometimes grammar. At the risk of discussing his actual writing credits last, his work on the technological side of screenwriting has changed not only the way writers share their work, but also the way they create it. And, I guess lastly, he has written many great movies, television shows and a Broadway play. He’s been nominated for awards many times over. John August is, to put it mildly, a jack of all trades. What did you want to be when you were a kid? Did you always want to be a screenwriter? I wanted to be a writer. I didn’t really understand that screenwriting was a thing. I knew that there were movies, I knew there were plays, but I didn’t ever make the leap that movies were written the way the plays were written. It wasn’t until I watched War of the Roses — Danny DeVito’s The War of the Roses — and I went back and rewound the tape and started writing down everything in it and realized like, everything here was written. It sounds really naive now, but this was before the Internet. There wasn’t the sort of popular coverage of how movies got made. I realized there must be like a play behind this, a little light bulb went off and I started looking for examples of that. The first screenplay I was able to read was Steven Soderbergh’s Sex, Lies and Videotape. I read that and loved it, and saw that, wow… It’s actually what the movie is like before it’s a movie, and figured out I wanted to learn how to do that. What do you love? I love when someone does something unexpectedly amazing. A lot of times you can be very, very jaded. I love when something surprises me in a good way, where I thought I knew where something was going and then it surprises me and exceeds my expectations. I think a lot of writing and a lot of creating art is how to handle the expectations of who is going to be viewing what you’re making. Everyone is going to approach whatever you’re trying to do with set expectations about the genre, about who you are as an artist, about what they think this work is supposed to be. A lot of your job is to anticipate those expectations, meet them most of the time and then exceed them in ways you didn’t expect. I love when I see something that blows me away because it wasn’t even doing what I thought it would do. Do you think there is a specific genre that you see that more? Do you see it in plays or television? This may be the golden age of television, and I think 10 or 20 years from now we will look back and say, “Wow, that was really an amazing time when things suddenly changed in remarkable ways.” We have shows as complicated as Game of Thrones doing so well, and things as honest and simple as New Girl or Girls dealing with sort of the everyday issues of people you don’t usually see on TV. I think you see expectation-busting happening in television a lot. There are movies that certainly do that, and I think we still have our indies that do that. We have occasional big movies that break out that way, but the innovation seems to be happening on television or the newer television/web formats. What’s your process like? How do you make creative happen? I think creative happens because you continually ask questions and challenge the assumptions about how things are supposed to be. The last few years I’ve been making a lot of apps for Mac and for iOS, and where I think I’ve succeeded in doing that has been in looking at sort of what the status quo was in the industry and saying, “Well, why does it have to be that way? And why can’t I actually make a better version of that or why can’t I solve that problem?” One of the first apps I made was called Bronson Watermarker which was literally just because I need to watermark these 45 scripts with different names on it and there was no good tool for me to do that, so I said, “Well, someone needs to start that tool and that should be me.” I got frustrated looking at 12 pt Courier and I wanted a better 12 pt Courier, so I worked with a talented font designer, Alan Dague-Greene, to make a better Courier, and called it Courier Prime. I think it’s recognizing that the current situation can change, and using those that are available to make that change happen. What is something you had to learn the hard way? Everything takes much longer than you think it will take. There have been so many projects that I’ve started out at a sprint, and then eight months later I’m still in the service log. I’ve had to come to accept that things will never happen as quickly as you would like to see them happen. You need to anticipate that from the outset and make sure you’re not basing all your self esteem around the success of one project that may be years off in the horizon or may never happen. The amount of work you do outside of screenwriting, with things like your podcast, it’s clear you want to help people in this industry. I can’t imagine you have a lot of free time, so why is it so important to you to help others? I think that’s something you can say about artists in general, that they want to bend the universe a little bit in their direction and the direction they liked to go. In helping people on the podcast or the website, I just wish the state of screenwriting was a little bit better. I wish the state of writing was a little bit better. If I can do something to help nudge it in that direction, I will do that. I’m also tremendously grateful for everything that other people have done before me and simultaneously with me without knowing I needed their help. When I need to do research and find out about cowboy hats of the 1870s, someone has a whole website about cowboy hats in the 1870s. If they are willing to be that resource for me, I should be that resource for somebody else. If everybody took the time to really document what they knew, the world would improve measurably. If you could go back in time, say ten years, and give yourself some advice, what would that advice be? I would probably pick projects more based on the collaborators and less on how much they excited me. One of the things I’ve recognized over the last decade is that it can be the best idea in the world for a movie but if you don’t believe that those are the people who can carry that movie across the finish line, you’re kind of spinning your wheels. Sometimes I’ve been attracted to the bright and shiny objects… I have written other people’s movies that they weren’t able to make. I should have spent more time writing the movies that I could make. Who are some of your influences? As a writer and as a filmmaker, I mean certainly James Cameron’s ability to marry his storytelling with his technical prowess is remarkable and it’s that nothing-can-stop-him quality that’s inspirational. I’m a frequent adviser to the Sundance Filmmakers Lab, and every year there’s a batch of new filmmakers who inspire me by their singularity of vision. They’re not trying to make somebody else’s movie, they’re trying to make their movie and that’s a good reminder because so often my function is to be the craftsman who’s there to help make this product better, and not necessarily more unique. What is one thing people would be surprised to learn about you? I’m a pretty good baker. I really like the sort of the weird, artisanal magic baking involves and then you don’t necessarily know how stuff is going to turn out until you spent two hours trying to make it. You can have some anticipation about how these flavors should combine, but you don’t know if the cake is going to rise, or if the cake is going to fall. I don’t bake as much as I would like to, but it’s actually one of the things I enjoy doing when I get the chance. How do you define success? I think you define success at being able to do what you want, when you want, and make enough of a living at it that you’re not kicking yourself. I think too often people define success based on other people’s opinions of them, and the problem with that is ultimately when you put your self esteem in someone else’s hands you risk your self-esteem being destroyed. It’s the same reason why I don’t read reviews anymore. Reviews can be a meaningful part of the cultural discussion, but I think reviews can also can be very destructive to the actual person who created the work. For that reason, I don’t read reviews of my own stuff anymore. What makes a good script? I’ll sit back and talk about what makes a movie a movie. Because most of what I work on are movies. Movies are a strange thing in that they’re a story that should only be able to happen once. It’s a unique set of circumstances with this character and this world and this incident that it begins a story that can only happen one way, with this character, in the situation. A good script has an interesting character facing interesting and seemingly insurmountable problems that through their own efforts they’re able to solve. That’s a very, very generic sort of baseline description, though. I think a lot of movies that don’t work don’t meet that test. Movies are never really about the plot. Movies are about those characters you are fascinated by, creating a plot in front of you. How was the transition from writing to directing? The luxury a writer has is I can sit in front of my computer and just take as long as I need to get it right, and I have absolutely 100 percent control over those words on the page, and those words are exactly the words I want them to be. Directing is honestly a process of surrendering some control, because ultimately you cannot make the actors be exactly the puppets you would like them to be. You can’t control every bit of light. You can’t control every bit of costume. Directing is ultimately a collaborative process. You have to be the leader of the team but you still have to rely on the team. Part of the process of learning how to become a director is learning how to trust the people you’ve brought on to your team. How to talk to them in ways that stimulate them to be doing their best work without limiting them to your small vision. I know a fair amount about lighting, but I wouldn’t know how to light that scene as well as a qualified DP would. I know a lot about music, but I cannot create music the way a great composer can create music. It’s been a process of learning how to surrender some control. What’s the best advice you have for someone just out of college? I would say embrace what makes you unique and embrace your vision. If you don’t know what your vision is, spend some time figuring out what you love and what movie you would more than anything in the world want to see, and figure out how to make some version of that movie. I think too often you become obsessed with trying to create something for somebody else, something they will like, and not focusing enough on creating the thing that is uniquely you that you could put out there into the world. I think my process of getting more comfortable with speaking in front of crowds. My online persona has been just sort of learning to embrace the things that are weird about myself and take them as strengths rather than weaknesses. What personality trait do you think is most important to a screen writer? Perseverance and screenwriting is kind of a marathon activity. Anyone can sprint and get through small bits of writing, but a screenplay is a pretty big document. It’s 120 pages. You keep going back through it and revise it again and again and again and again. The ability to look at something for the 15th time and yet also look at it like it’s the first time is a uniquely difficult thing for screenwriters. I think the novelist may pass through her words a couple times along the way, but a screenwriter is going back again and again, and it has to be able to be both the writer who’s in control of the scene and the audience who has no idea what’s happening next. Being able to shift back and forth between those perspectives is a tough skill to learn. How do you think we can make Hollywood a better place? I think Hollywood will always be broken and that’s because we’re trying to do a really difficult and impossible thing, which is make movies that are specific and interesting and terrific and yet will appeal to everyone on the planet. Those are not necessarily compatible goals. I would venture beyond Hollywood to say, how can we make cinema better, and I think that’s by being honest about the kind of movies we want to make, honest about the kind of movies we want to see. Supporting unique and individual voices and not settling. I think right now television has risen and become a much more interesting place than our movies are. I think Hollywood — and filmmakers overall — can learn a lot of lessons from what’s going so well in television and make better movies. How do you think we can make the world a better place? It starts with taking personal responsibility for the things you can control. I think before you can fix other people’s situations, you have to make sure your own situations are fixed. The small things you can do in terms of not ruining the planet are the things you should do. Once those are in control, you can tackle the bigger issues. You need to look at what citizenship means. Citizenship, we often think, means we have a civic duty for voting and being patriotic. Citizenship is really just recognizing that you are one of a group, locally and state-wise and nationally and globally, and recognizing there are difficult choices we make at every level. Make sure the people who you’re putting in power to make those decisions are the right people, and try to understand things that are beyond your own limited scope. John August: www.johnaugust.com John August Instagram: instagram.com/johnaugust John August IMDb: www.imdb.com/name/johnaugust WRITER EMERGENCY PACK Helping writers get unstuck https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593551376792-S0YMN4AM7NK6VUDOSEQ3/kickstarter-john-august-1.png Blog - John August, Screenwriter and Director John August’s kickstarter campaign: Writer Emergency Pack is a deck full of useful ideas to help get your story back on track. Writing is hard. You’re constantly trying to figure out what word comes next. Creative writing is even harder. When you’re working on a story, you’re not just trying to decide what word comes next, but what idea comes next. It’s easy to get stuck. I know what that’s like because I’m a screenwriter. I’m lucky to have had ten movies produced, from GO to BIG FISH to FRANKENWEENIE. I also host a popular podcast about film and television called Scriptnotes. Over the years, I’ve had conversations with hundreds of writers, both on the podcast and around the lunch table. No matter what genre or medium, all writers face story problems. Plots that plod. Characters that don’t connect. Every writer has her own techniques for pushing past these problems — little nudges and prompts to help get the story clicking. Writer Emergency Pack is a curated collection of some of the most useful suggestions I’ve encountered. It’s by writers, for writers. Learn more about Writer Emergency Pack: http://kck.st/1obEMOQ SCRIPTNOTES PODCAST Each week, screenwriters John August and Craig Mazin discuss screenwriting and things that are interesting to screenwriters, everything from the craft to the business to the best ways to actually get yourself writing. www.johnaugust.com/scriptnotes Highland [App]: quoteunquoteapps.com/highland *The better way to write a screenplay. Bronson Watermarker [App]: quoteunquoteapps.com/bronson Weekend Read [App]: itunes.apple.com/us/app/weekend-read Writer Emergency: www.writeremergency.com Courier Prime: www.johnaugust.com/2013/introducing-courier-prime Special thanks to Stuart Friedel for orchestrating everything. https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/sophia-chang-interview monthly 0.5 2026-02-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593549281834-8CHVL48QV7TXDNBFX6JM/sophia-chang-esymai-interview-1050x700.jpg Blog - Sophia Chang, ESYMAI – Interview Hailing from Queens with an avid spirit for the arts, Sophia is a true product of her environment finding everyday excellence quite comfortable. She received her BFA degree in Illustration from Parsons School of Design in 2010. Since then, she has been an active member of the global creative community. From her student years to the present, Chang has immersed herself in a variety of creative fields from printmaking, graphic design, web design, illustration, marketing, event hosting, art curation and more. Sophia as the poised business beast that she truly is beyond hype. As of last year she has founded her own creative agency titled, ESYMAI. Some of her most notable clients include the NBA, Samsung, Anthony Bourdain, Urban Outfitters, Nike, Red Bull, Proenza Schouler and Puma. On her spare time she enjoys frolicking through the park with her dog Jonah and giving him unconditional love. What did you want to be when you were a kid? I’ve always wanted to be involved in the artistic field and I originally wanted to be a fashion designer, but when I got to school and saw everyone in school I realized I hated everyone. What do you LOVE? Sleep. Food. My dog. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593549463045-ZSMZX0ATK6Y4SZE5I7RA/sophiachang_stevemadden_illustration_1_700.jpg Blog - Sophia Chang, ESYMAI – Interview https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593549484914-LZTGNGA12GWS38NDNN02/sophia-chang_esymai_intertrend_tenugui2.jpg Blog - Sophia Chang, ESYMAI – Interview https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593549505211-KAJTTSKV5CMHNZZTKFT4/sophia-chang-poster_art_o.jpg Blog - Sophia Chang, ESYMAI – Interview What is your process like? I usually am a late sleeper. I think better creatively like that. So if I get a project I usually do some research depending on what the client is. So what type of style, what type of medium I want to go for what type of color palette. What is something you had to learn the hard way? Everything professional in my career. I’ve made a lot of mistakes and I continue to do so. That’s how you live and learn. What is one thing most people would be surprised to learn about you? On my free time I foster rescue dogs and I work with an organization to financially raise a child in Rwanda. How did you get to where you are? I was drawing ever since I was little — whether in a little notebook or on a random piece of paper. With that passion in mind, I attended Parsons where I initially entered with a focus on Fashion Design and soon switched to illustration. I was following my dreams. Most individuals are scared to take that leap, but you have to do it. To get to where I am, I put in a lot of hard work. Whatever opportunity I saw, I took. It is integral to take those chances and to capitalize on it. Also, if you are not taking full advantage of your own capabilities, there is little room for growth. If you are struggling to make the switch over, remember, at the end of the day, it is about doing what you love. No amount of money can take away the sense of gratification. Just do it. What are you grateful for? I am grateful for good health, this great city for my gifts and talents, and the opportunities that have been given to me so that I can do what I want. How do you define success? I don’t know because I haven’t achieved it yet. What’s the most bizarre thing that has ever happened to you? I was watching tv on my couch once checking my email and a stranger sent an email with an attachment and the attachment was an image of a tattoo he had gotten. It was an illustration of mine. What advice do you have for emerging designers? My biggest piece of advice is, like any other profession, to submerge yourself into what you do. Have a goal in mind because after that what it comes down to is hard work. Get an internship, freelance, work a part time job, do whatever it is that you can to get you to where you want to be. Remember that nothing is handed to you; you have to work for it. How do you think we can make the world a better place? We have to teach the next generation what we know to help foster a better future. In order to make the world a better place it starts with us. It’s all about paying it forward. MORE SOPHIA CHANG, ESYMAI Instagram: @esymai Website: www.esymai.com Featured photograph by: Ja Tecson www.jatecson.com https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/erika-christensen-interview monthly 0.5 2026-02-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593627785708-XQA37XDL6UK1E29OGKBB/Erika-Christensen.jpg Blog - Erika Christensen, Actor https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/aaron-draplin-interview monthly 0.5 2026-02-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593550608524-OGU7Z1FW3UVKRIQNPHFH/Aaron-Draplin.jpg Blog - Aaron James Draplin, Graphic Artist If you go to the Draplin Design Co. “About” page, you will find a beautifully written recap of Aaron Draplin’s career thus far. It’s so well done, I decided to share some of it with you here; there is absolutely no way I could introduce him better: “Bred from the loins of the proud Midwest, this little fucker was squeezed out in Detroit, in the year 1973 to the proud parents of Jim and Lauren Draplin. Growing up on a steady stream of Legos, Star Wars, family trips, little sisters, summer beach fun, stitches, fall foliage, drawing, skateboarding and snowboarding, at 19 he moved west to Bend, Oregon to hit jumps “Out West.” His career started with a snowboard graphic for Solid snowboards and took off like wildfire soon after. Everything from lettering cafe signs to drawing up logos to thinking up local advertising campaigns were manhandled under the ruse of the newly formed-and gigantically reckless-Draplindustries Design Co.” Aaron has proved to be an exceptional designer, creating iconic designs which are both exceptionally clean and timeless. Aaron has worked with great brands like Nike, Ride Snowboards, Forum Snowboards, Grenade Gloves, Field Notes memo books, Burton Snowboards, K2 Snowboards, Bonfire, Snowboarder Magazine as well as all sorts of one-off logos, t-shirt graphics and whatnot. But what I admire most about Aaron’s work is his thoughtful approach to any project. What makes his work unparalleled is the application and functionality of the design. You can tell each project in which Aaron participates truly becomes a part of who he is. WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU WERE A KID? A Lego set designer! I remember that being my first love. Of all the cool shit I had as a kid, from Star Wars toys to G.I. Joe guys, I kept all my Legos. I have a monster collection of them. Plus, I grew up drawing and sketching and making stuff, so I think I always took kindly to the idea of being an artist. When I got out of college, I could have gone down a fine art road. I know I could have made it. That sounds pretty boast-y, but hell, if you put yer mind to something, you can figure it out. There was just something pragmatic and beautiful about graphic design. Like, you could actually make a good living on it, instead of suffering away with all the artistic pitfalls. I liked the “learning a trade” quality of design from the get go. HOW DID YOU GET TO WHERE YOU ARE TODAY? A 2011 Volvo XC70 Supercruiser Station Wagon. That’s the technical answer. The long-winded one goes like this: I worked my ass off, didn’t take “no” for an answer and did whatever the hell it took to learn to love this stuff like I do. It’s been a wild road. I knew what I wanted to do all along. In the mid 1990s, I was held down by that persnickety shit called “money.” I didn’t have a pot to piss in, but did have a season pass to Mt. Bachelor. And pens and pencils. And a house full of rotgut buddies who had my back. I had to fight, claw and save my loot to get my first computer. I saw friends getting big machines and cameras and shit, and I had to wait. That sucked. I snuck into a community college to make my little business cards and stuff. Then in the summer of 1996 I went to Alaska and washed dishes for five months and saved $10,000 over the course of the summer, and promptly spent ALL of it on my first Apple. And man, that’s when shit took off. I had the tools I needed, and no one was gonna hold me down! WHAT IS YOUR PROCESS LIKE? It can start with a sketch or a couple shapes in Illustrator. I usually start with broad ideas in my Field Notes, and outline different directions, strategies or make list of shit I don’t want the thing to do. And hell, that shit’ll come to me while sitting in traffic or on the pot. Weird times. But you gotta act on it and write the shit down. My Field Notes are ALWAYS close. So is a pencil. Required gear. Once I have some sketches, I’ll start digitizing the stuff, and then will push those. I keep track of everything I make, and dupe each variation, refining as I go. I like seeing where I started and what I invented along the way, or, blindly stumbled into. That’s kinda magical. And hell, some elbow grease is always applied. Both when I’m on the clock for the folks in the big leagues, or for my buddies in some stinky rock band. I love both ends of the spectrum and fight hard to make cool shit, always. Plus, I like to get the client involved. Fuck all the standoff-ish, “This is my creative endeavor and you better pick one” stuff. Work with people. Let them guide you as much as you guide them. That makes for ownership from all sides, you know? Designers are so good at bitching about changes, and how many hours they had to work, and all that shit. Whatever. Spend a summer trimming trees for a rural electricity company, and you’ll never lament another client change, ever. I don’t miss those bald-faced hornets that use to come after me. DO YOU EVER HAVE A PROBLEM WITH CREATIVITY AND NOT BEING ABLE TO TURN IT OFF. FOR EXAMPLE, NOT BEING ABLE TO FALL ASLEEP BECAUSE THE IDEAS ARE STREAMING? I KEEP SHARPENED PENCILS CLOSE BY THE BEDSIDE, AND BRING MY LATEST FIELD NOTES UP WITH ME WHEN I CRASH. IT’S PRETTY COMMONPLACE FOR ME TO BE DOZING OFF, GET TO THINKIN’ ABOUT SOMETHING AND THEN FEEL THIS WEIRD ITCH TO WRITE IT DOWN. SO I’VE TRAINED MYSELF TO ACT ON IT. SOMETIMES, IT’S MY BEST SHIT. KINDA WEIRD HOW THAT WORKS. THERE’S LIKE, THIS WEIRD VULNERABILITY LIFTED WHEN YOU ARE FALLING ASLEEP. ALL THE GUARDS ARE DOWN. THAT’S A COOL THING. PLUS, I DO THAT “FLINCH” THING, DREAMING ABOUT WALKING OFF CURBS OR SLIPPING OR WHATEVER. SLEEP IS A WEIRD FUCKING THING. WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU HAD TO LEARN THE HARD WAY? It’s a pretty long list! Don’t let your driver’s license expire. Especially in New Hampshire, those dicks! Don’t speed in Wyoming. Those fucks make you pay on the spot. The bigger the client, not necessarily better. Sometimes a budget of “$0.00” is the way to go! Always check yer “Overprinting” attributes. It’s easy to lose stuff that way. It takes cash to make some of the dreams come true. Don’t do a bad job. That’s bad advertising. Say “yes” a little more than “no.” WHAT IS ONE THING MOST PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED TO LEARN ABOUT YOU? I’d like to think it’s something simple like, “The guy second guesses himself a lot.” I do. I’m always questioning if I am making the right decision on something. I like to think that helps me make the best, most-informed decision. But I can drive myself nuts in the process. This is a scary question. I mean, who knows what people really think, you know? And hell, who cares. You just gotta keep going. Stay away from “Comment” sections on blogs. That shit’ll wreck you. Ha! WORDS TO LIVE BY? Syrup on shit doesn’t make it a pancake. HOW DO YOU THINK WE CAN MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE? Donate some money to a homeless charity. Make sure your parents are comfortable. Help people. Talk to yer neighbor. Share stuff. Don’t be afraid to go out of the way for someone. Don’t be a dick, but know when to be one. https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/rachel-antonoff-interview monthly 0.5 2026-02-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593619836356-WQEPZCXRUS3OC84Q9XFL/rachel-antonoff.jpg Blog - Rachel Antonoff, Fashion Designer Rachel Antonoff is a New York-based designer whose aesthetic is girly, functional, beautiful, comfortable, colorful and basically everything you could ever want from fashion. Her collaboration with Bass is absolutely swoon worthy, and is a favorite among fashionistas and every day girls alike. The first thing you notice about Rachel is how incredibly delicate she is. Tiny, even, and stunningly beautiful. Almost immediately after, you’ll be hit with her contagious enthusiasm. She’s full of smiles, hilarious jokes and is warm and kind and just plain fun to be around. She invited us into her space with open arms and was more than happy to share all of her unique and colorful odds and ends that she holds dear. First of all, how would you describe your personal style? My personal style revolves entirely around comfort. I LOVE COMFORT. As I type this I am working from home in cinch bottom sweatpants and my Birdie sweatshirt. I’m not saying I think everyone should run around in sweats, I just think comfy people are significantly more attractive (not to mention happier) than people who are clearly sacrificing comfort for fashion. I love dressing up, but most days I will be found in my very soft J Brand jeans and a collared shirt with a sweatshirt or sweater over it. Two of my favorite things from the shoot were: A. Girl Scout Handbook – tell me all about it, where is it from and what does it mean to you? I found at a thrift store in Phoenix and loved it immediately. I have always wanted to do a scout-inspired collection. I love the classic Americana and Troop Beverly Hills implication! I also just thought the book was beautiful and I’m a sucker for pretty hardcover books. B. Bunny headband, it’s awfully cute. Where did you get it? What’s your favorite memory wearing it? So glad you liked it! The bunny headband actually means a lot to me. It was made by and belonged to my sister who passed away. Sorry to be a big bummer. I found it years ago and LOVED that she had made it. I’ve had it in the office for years and it feels really special to have it in there. I love this Steel Train artwork, tell me about this photograph, when was it, where was it, what was it for? Is that you? Please tell me you still have those Docs?! Do you remember what you were thinking about? If not – take a guess. I still have the Docs! I need to resurface those. I really love this art, too. It was for the cover of their last record, Steel Train. I was so honored to be a part of it. It was a really special shoot because we did it in my brother Jack’s childhood bedroom. All of that crap is actually his and was already in there! His room is like a museum of old, weird stuff. Our friend and great photographer Lindsey Byrnes took it. She also shot a lookbook of mine that we did in that same room. I actually do remember what I was thinking because it was fashion week and was the day after my show so I was completely exhausted. I was just thrilled the shoot involved me laying down. You were using a pumpkin as a pin cushion, which is pretty neat. How did this start? Who gave you the porcupine pin? why? My mom gave me the pumpkin, something she does every fall. I think someone just stuck a few pins in there during a fitting and it became a thing. Let’s chat about your cheerleading trophy, what does it say on it? And, what’s your favorite cheerleading memory? I am so proud of that thing even though everyone on the squad got one. It was basically a participation trophy. I think I love it so much because it is representative of a high school experience I actually didn’t have. I really sensationalize it. On a somewhat-related note, how many times have you seen the movie Bring It On*? *I’ve probably seen it 150 times. Too many times. Too many. How do you define success? I define success in terms of happiness and personal comfort (not financial comfort). Words to live by? “When someone tells you who they are, believe them.” – Maya Angelou RACHEL ANTONOFF ON SOCIAL twitter: @RachelAntonoff You should also check out The Ally Coalition, which she started with the band Fun. with the purpose of inspiring people to take action for LGBTQ equality. https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/blanda-artist-interview monthly 0.5 2026-02-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593543721714-A4XWBXF0MF686Z0JR8C2/blanda_interview-photo-kaja_eggenschwiler_dhf-1050x647.jpg Blog - Blanda, Artist https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593543949792-3NG2ZZH0B8I1IHBQ7VDP/blanda-sketch-book.jpg Blog - Blanda, Artist What do you love? Here is a small selection of things I love: Finding simple solutions to complicated things. The smell of coffee. Books. Boys with blue or green eyes. Large sweaters. Feeling sun on my skin. The color blue. Things that are hand made. Petrichor. This one beach in Greece. Waking up hungry. Forgetting time. Going to museums alone. The shape of hands. Where do you find inspiration? It usually finds me. That’s the whole thing with inspiration, it can’t be forced. It flows when it flows and sometimes it doesn’t. But exposing myself to creativity, and being part of a social environment that provides creative input obviously nurtures inspiration. What’s your creative process like? It varies from project to project. When I work on my own projects and art I try to be as close to myself as possible and minimize rational thought. When I work on a commercial project or a more graphic design based job I usually start in an intellectual place and do a ton of research. After I have absorbed enough information I throw it all out and start making stuff and see what happens. It’s usually quite interesting what comes out of subconscious memory. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593544062560-FE8JD6BZED7YBGTNEI7T/blanda-art-train-of-thought.jpeg Blog - Blanda, Artist What is something you had to learn the hard way? Most things in our life are not within our control. I used to really make myself crazy over things I had no impact on whatsoever. Until I realized that I do have the power to change how I react to things that happen to me. Learning that has made me a lot more relaxed. What is one thing most people would be surprised to learn about you? My second major in art school was Physics (I was especially into Astro, Nuclear and Quantum Physics). How do you define success? Success for me is to be able to do what I love and feel entirely fulfilled and happy by that. Commercial success can be a desirable consequence of that but isn’t a necessity for me. Financial stability is a factor but only to cover my basic needs without having to stress out over it. Anything beyond that point is just one more cherry on top. That is not to say, that I don’t have high standards (I do!) but I will choose the life of a happy painter in the Provence over the one of a famous depressed artist any day of the week! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593544456076-XA0UOVD5HJJ2SSWXK2EO/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Blanda, Artist What’s the best advice you have for aspiring artists? Accept and develop your style. Don’t try to change your natural hand, don’t paint like someone else but practice your very own individual style instead. Being inspired by other artists is obviously part of it but learn how to love your individual and intuitive creative expression. This has a lot to do with self-acceptance by the way. Possibly the hardest and most important lesson to learn. How would you describe your art to someone who couldn’t see? Well, that’s tricky because I would have to refrain from any visual reference. I would say that I paint and draw what I feel and that I want that feeling to transcend and translate into my work and from there to the viewer. I want it to be the equivalent to a really beautiful song or written passage. Something that evokes melancholy and longing in the most beautiful way possible. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593544510847-QKAM32W8CSHAVNB718DZ/blanda-connected-dots.jpg Blog - Blanda, Artist How do you think we can make the world a better place? By becoming more connected. To ourselves and to each other. We are in the midst of some kind of digital apocalypse, a rational and intellect-based crisis that demands an analogue counter movement. Not to go too esoteric on you here but we need to learn to put kindness first and not competition, to be compassionate and humanistic and recognize that separation is an illusion. Blanda has worked with: OBEY, Kiehl’s, Volvo and DC Shoes, Elena Ghisellini, TopShop and Barbara Bui have commissioned Blanda for art-driven collaborations. Her work has been featured in media outlets such as Vogue, New York Magazine, Vice, WWD, Glamour Magazine, Elle and Rolling Stone have covered her work. Find more Blanda: Website: www.blandablanda.com Instagram: @blahblahblanda https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/left-field-project monthly 0.5 2026-02-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/0f153ecc-b82c-4766-b3bb-119f43832b15/Left-Field-Project-duane-fernandez.png Blog - Left Field Project - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/eric-nakamura-giantrobot-interview monthly 0.5 2026-02-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593622101043-4G2LFH0KRZVT6GEBRIF9/Eric-Nakamura-giant-robot.jpg Blog - Eric Nakamura, Giant Robot Eric Nakamura just might be the hardest working guy in Los Angeles. If you’re familiar with the Giant Robot brand, you’re well aware of its legacy and dedication to featuring Asian and Asian-American pop culture. Giant Robot covers everything from art, design and entertainment to toys, history and music. My first interaction with the Giant Robot brand was over 14 years ago in Tucson, Arizona, in the magazine section of a Border’s bookstore. There it was, just sitting there waiting to deconstruct every preconceived notion I had of what a magazine should be. That moment would impact my life forever; I’d never look at media the same way again. Over the years, Giant Robot would continue to have this impact on my life, and its ability to continually evolve and reinvent the way it interacts with its users has been inspiring. This organic environment that Giant Robot has developed works because it comes from an honest place and it starts with Eric. Eric is on a journey to collaborate with the world and curate experiences for each of us. It’s authentic and it’s contagious. Spend just a few minutes with Eric and you get it, you see the passion behind Giant Robot, you hear the curiosity in his voice and you are instantly sucked into his world. Giant Robot is an experience, a world curated by Eric filled with interesting figurines, beautiful art and unique adventures. Giant Robot currently exists as an art gallery and store in the Little Osaka district of Los Angeles. What did you want to be when you were a kid? I wanted to be a world champion pro tennis player with the style of Bjorn Borg and the heart of John McEnroe. Why did you start Giant Robot? Tennis wasn’t going as well as I hoped, but making zines and putting projects together is something I’ve always been into doing. There were no magazines I was interested in, so GR was sort of everything I’d want in a magazine. Art, design, history, culture, travel, idiots, and more. Giant Robot also opened stores and galleries and that provided a great experience for me and others. We’re not publishing in print now, but we are still delivering culture and art better than ever. Where do you find inspiration? Everyday, everywhere, all the time. Sitting in my room, office, car, watching TV, traveling, walking down the street, meeting people. A lot of people I know say it’s music, but that doesn’t do it for me. I feel bad for the folks who can’t get inspired by anything. That’s sad. 5 people or things that influence you? Barry McGee Takashi Murakami Max Fisher from Rushmore Tokyo Mom and Dad How do you define success? I define success as being satisfied with oneself. For others it’s probably about money, girls, bling, and fame. All of that’s cool, but it’s all temporary. Then again, being satisfied with myself is temporary too, there’s always more that I want to do. What did you have to learn the hard way? Everything takes great care and there’s levels upon levels to all things that you’d never think about. There’s always something more, and you have to figure out what fits you best. There are other lessons. The idea is to not act like you have the answers to this question, but to just keep going forward with them. Best part of your job? The best part is my job enables me to do almost anything I want. If I think it, I can try and do it. Favorite Color? Blue You win the Lottery, two million dollars right in your lap, but you have to spend it all within the next two weeks. What do you do with it? Well, two million dollars sounds great. I’d upgrade everything to help out the experience at Giant Robot. The weird thing is, with little funds, we get a lot done. Perhaps I’d start something new with it and have that extend our reach. What’s the worst interview question you have ever been asked? In the end, it wasn’t worth remembering. There’s been plenty but in the end, it’s all OK. Some people just ask questions without thinking for many reasons. That’s OK too. Years ago, people would ask for some odd reason if we were associated or owned by the Beastie Boys. It was offensive then. Maybe it’s because we were doing something new, did it on our own, and then hearing that people thought we were owned by a band was a big let down. Asian American students have asked, “How much money do you make?” It’s an honest question, and not a bad one, but why are they always Asian American? The most tiring question is, “Why are you called Giant Robot?” The answer in my head is, “I forgot.” Giant Robot is an incredible platform and advocate for emerging artists. What advice do you have for people who want to make art a career? Thanks for the compliments. We like the work. Emerging is a fun word. I suppose I’d rather not help the emerging, since in the end once they emerge, they leave. To start an art career, there seems to be a few factors that are a baseline – at least from where I stand. 1) Learn your craft. 2) Learn from criticisms along the way. 3) Be fair. 4) Be willing to work hard. 5) Think both short and long term. How can we make the world a better place? I think many are trying and it’s not working. In the short term, we can only make ourselves and a few others feel better by the little things we do, but most don’t do that. Perhaps a way to start is 1-5 above. More Eric Nakamura: Instagram: @giantrobot Giant Robot: www.giantrobot.com https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/gema-obrien-interview monthly 0.5 2026-02-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593541112942-2OY3RE5KNQ4LG0XA6WL9/gemmaobrien_72-1050x591.jpg Blog - Gemma O’Brien, Artist https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593541262954-8C3QBBRLP04LDKT7TQB6/gemma-obrien-oneofakind.jpg Blog - Gemma O’Brien, Artist https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593541319893-1Q183K81AVVIFVQN3T4I/gemma-obrien_joy_interview.jpg Blog - Gemma O’Brien, Artist https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593541376320-56SYLAXAGX8NYS1Y2LTQ/gemma-obrien-love.jpg Blog - Gemma O’Brien, Artist https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593541634335-04M0SNME4YDNIGQHPQ6X/gemma-obrien-artist-interview-1.jpg Blog - Gemma O’Brien, Artist https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593541653034-TJO75U6ME0U0SEQUB0FR/gemma-obrien-instagram.jpg Blog - Gemma O’Brien, Artist https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593541680007-KHHXR10KQUNB0PVUJ7WI/gemma-obrien-laguna_room.jpg Blog - Gemma O’Brien, Artist https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593541761270-YY7T9LXWP84LP3SSRRFH/gemma-obrien-paint.gif Blog - Gemma O’Brien, Artist https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593541854251-8QZSCV4Z8RMVF1D638I5/gemma-obrien-artisti.jpg Blog - Gemma O’Brien, Artist https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593541870922-Y4PE7SX52NAGQHBFZB49/gemmaobrien163_gemma_obrien_01140217-768x576.jpg Blog - Gemma O’Brien, Artist https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/mario-caldato-jr-interview monthly 0.5 2026-02-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593637136441-W5FYNDUDQAZBECXVJJU1/Mario-Caldato-Jr..jpg Blog - Mario Caldato Jr., Producer https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/doug-menuez-interview monthly 0.5 2026-02-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593548844860-7LB804JV0Z0I9CUFA7GJ/doug-menuez-interview-photographer-1050x698.jpg Blog - Doug Menuez, Photographer Doug Menuez is an award-winning photographer whose career over 30 years has ranged from photo journalism to documentary film. He gained exclusive, unprecedented access to record the rise of Silicon Valley from 1985-2000 and documented the lives of its most brilliant innovators, including three years with Steve Jobs, as well as covering Bill Gates, John Warnock (Co-founder of Adobe Systems Inc.), Carol Bartz (former president and CEO of Yahoo!, and former chairman, president, and CEO of Autodesk), Andy Grove (Co-founder and the CEO of Intel Corporation), John Sculley (CEO of Apple Inc.) and Bill Joy (Co-founder of Sun Microsystems) during an era when more jobs and wealth were created than at any time in human history. The driving concern of all his work is to explore and reflect the realities of the human condition. After launching his career as a photojournalist in 1981 at The Washington Post, he became a regular assignment photographer for Time, Newsweek, LIFE, USA Today, Fortune, and many other publications worldwide. Who are you? It appears that I’m sort of a messenger and a witness. What did you want to be when you were a kid? An artist. What do you love? Driving fast, Chicago blues, Brazilian drumming, solitude. Because those things restore me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593548914733-W3R795H33QMICML7HM6U/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Doug Menuez, Photographer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593548925169-91EBOUC0XKMOSCWQ7KK5/doug-menuez-photography-interview-2.jpg Blog - Doug Menuez, Photographer Where do you find inspiration? It can come from anywhere. Usually it’s from a great film or the work of a painter or photographer whose work I had not seen before. So many talents. What’s your creative process? The core of my process is not so much a process as a practice. When I’m shooting ideally I’m able to create a space for myself to disappear into a zen-like state of hyper awareness. I am watching and waiting and if I’m doing it right I get into a zone and moments happen right in front of me. Boom. This starts with humility and being open to my subjects and recognizing that I know nothing really, past experience gets you so far but today can be very different. And every photo that means something to me costs something, maybe a conversation, respect for your subject, or maybe your life. I approach every project or assignment first through research and reading, talking to everyone I can who has been there or knows the subject. What is something you had to learn the hard way? The power of saying no to things that you don’t want to do. Favorite camera? Leica M9 What is one thing most people would be surprised to learn about you? That I’m pretty introverted. I’m an extroverted Introvert or something like that. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593548957726-AH9HWBS84ISCS4B3MNBO/doug-menuez-photography-interview-3.jpg Blog - Doug Menuez, Photographer https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593548970026-G95F8LPWWUXLZG26XWA9/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Doug Menuez, Photographer How do you define success? Living your life with as much grace and kindness as possible while pursuing the thing that makes you the happiest to be doing. Pretty hard. If you find yourself in a state where your bills are paid and you are making images that you are proud of, then that’s pretty cool. What’s the best advice you have for aspiring photographers? Find out what really drives you — what got you interested in photography in the first place? Some call this finding your voice. This might take a lifetime, but start defining what you are passionate about and building a portfolio of the purest version of that. Then go and learn basic business and marketing skills, write a business plan with your mission statement defining your absolute perfect dream, capitalize the dream and go make it happen. Most young shooters start out taking any and all jobs to pay the bills and we all have to do that to some degree, but that’s a mindless panic driven approach. Recognize that early success doing something you actually hate is a deadly trap that will be hard to leave. And if you follow my advice you’ll probably fail. But if you want to be living the dream, you have to go through the process I’m advising at some point in your life, or marry well. What makes a great photo? No idea, but I know it when I see it. But if you go back and look at pictures that you remember, that are memorable, usually there are elements of powerful emotion, mystery, energy, unresolved conflict, some use of Aristotle’s golden mean… We live in a pretty complicated time, politically, environmentally, socially…how do you think we can make the world a better place? The hard thing is to develop a moral code, which is part of your character, and try to stick to that. Not easy at all to do. And you have to realize also that fanaticism in service of doing good often ends up as bad as it gets. Your good may not be my good. So as you go along with your own beliefs, be tolerant and compassionate as best you can. Also hard to do. In general, you can look at your own actions and see if you are contributing something positive to the world, or not. I do believe in karma, so as much as I might fuck up from time to time, I do try to give back what I can to the world. I’ve been given a lot. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593549044761-OVGUX9L9SDUQCPUAUL4T/doug-menuez-photography-interview-1.jpg Blog - Doug Menuez, Photographer Doug Menuez Notes: Menuez’ books include the bestseller, 15 Seconds: The Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1989, coproduced with David Elliott Cohen, which generated more than five hundred thousand dollars in relief money for earthquake victims, Defying Gravity: The Making of Newton , Beyond Words Publishing, 1993, Heaven, Earth, Tequila: Un Viaje al Corazón de México , Waterside Press, 2005 and Transcendent Spirit: The Orphans of Uganda , from Beaufort Books, NY, 2008, with an introduction by Dame Elizabeth Taylor, and has raised over one hundred thousand dollars to date for Ugandan AIDS orphans. Stanford University Library acquired his extensive archive of over 1 million photographs for their collection. His next project, Fearless Genius: The Digital Revolution 1985-2000 will be published in May 2014 by Simon & Schuster’s Atria imprint and is in production as a film, app, exhibit and non-profit education program. The first exhibition of Fearless Genius opened in Moscow at the Multimedia Arts Museum Photo biennale in March 2012 and continues to travel worldwide. Menuez is on the Advisory Board of Directors of the Woodstock Center for Photography and divides his time between New York City and the Hudson Valley. Doug Menuez online: instagram.com: @dmenuez www.menuez.com Fearless Genius: www.fearlessgenius.org Featured photo by ©Claire Yaffa Additional photos by ©Doug Menuez featured in his book Fearless Genius https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/kozyndan-interview monthly 0.5 2026-02-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593619128162-NZRB2BCC6WDFA0JHT0AC/kozyndan.jpg Blog - Kozyndan, Artists This interview took almost ten years to complete and it was totally worth it. I hope you find this incredibly sincere and wonderful, because it’s one of my favorites. kozyndan are husband-and-wife artists who work collaboratively to create highly detailed paintings and drawings for both illustration and fine art. They are obsessed with the ocean and being underwater and hope to someday come to rest at the bottom of the sea and be devoured by deep creatures over many years. How did kozyndan come to be? Kozy: Well I guess the first collaborating we did was in college. I was doing a long drawing of the inside of our apartment for an accordion book I was making for a class project. Dan liked the drawing and decided to scan it in and color it in Photoshop. I helped him finish the coloring and that printed piece became our first Panoramic. Dan: We liked how it turned out and decided to do another. When we made a little print edition (we just printed it on our little home Epson printer) we signed it “kozyndan.” Friends referred to us so often as a unit anyway, that it made sense. We started signing all our work that way after that. Our first art shows had pieces we each made individually (as our exhibitions still do today) but we still sign everything under that moniker. Tell me about your dynamic, what’s your creative process like? D: We have no set process. We are together a lot. We have similar interests. We are having a lot of shared experiences. Our work tends to just be a filtering of the interests and experiences we are having at the time, so there is a natural overlap, but we usually are thinking individually to start with. We are both just in our own heads and reflecting on these mostly shared experiences and we each kind of peek into the other’s process casually and steal from each other and refine and offer suggestions. We are by no means organized in any sort of process though. Sometimes one person feels strongly about an idea and will pursue on their own, sometimes we are mutually into an idea and work closely together, and other times one person takes on a production or support role to help the other if they are obviously very into an idea. Some work ends up to be even collaborations, while other works are conceived and executed entirely by just one of us. K: In truth our approaches and styles of drawing and painting are quite different. D: And some mediums interest just one of us a lot more than the other – I have not shown any of the weird ceramic pieces I have made, but kozy is very into working with clay lately and has been selling what she makes. I am more interested in photography than she is. The shared experiences that inform the content of those things is more important to us than the sharing the process of creating them (which can sometimes be smooth, but other times pretty contentious). What’s your secret? Communication in ANY relationship can be a difficult thing, especially in creative teams. How do you make it work? D: Yeaaahhh… we get asked about that a lot by friends, and by fans as well (who feel like they know us since we have in the past posted a lot about our life together) about how we “do it,” how we spend so much time together and work together. I don’t know if there is a secret to it all. It may just be that we are the right kind of personality to be in this type of relationship. It’s super tight, but at the same time we allow each other a lot of freedom. I think that balance, that freedom, is important to be in a long lasting relationship. K: Also, I think we just don’t have huge egos in some way. That is probably what helps us make art together and share credit for everything, and also allows us to stay together for the long term. We don’t always have to be the center of the other person’s attention, we are not both determined to get our way all the time. D: It’s not even about compromise in a way – it’s about loving the other person so much that you can just let them have their way sometimes, and understand deep down that they are doing the same for you at other times. We truly don’t cage one another in our marriage and that makes it possible for us to stay in love, and stay excited by one another and keeps things fresh. This dynamic in our marriage bleeds into our creative dynamic and directly affects it. When things are really going well between us it’s super easy to collaborate. We have been together 15 years though, and understand that there are ebbs and flows in a relationship. We don’t get freaked out anymore if we get tired of one another or if things aren’t clicking. We back off and do our own thing and interact with people on our own until we begin to miss being together again. It’s cyclical, and this probably goes back to our lack of ego (at least in regards to each other) and we are really aware of ourselves and how we feel about each other. We are able to step back and objectively see how we treat each other. Who knows if this is something anyone can do though, but it’s something we have noticed about ourselves and it makes it easier to navigate a long time, perhaps lifelong, relationship. Haha – I think I got off topic… What did you want to be when you were a kid? D: I wanted to be a marine biologist or draw the X-Men. K: I wanted to be a dentist when i was little! D: What?? Hahahaha! K: The dentist I went to as a little kid had all these cute figures made out of the same material they made the molds of your teeth from. I wanted to make those. I didn’t realize I had to stick my hand in people’s mouths! Once I did I figured I should just be an artist instead. Best advice you could give to someone who wants to become an artist? D: I am someone who is always at odds with myself, so I tell people if they love making art, don’t become an artist! That is not really good advice, but there is a kernel of truth that should be gleaned from it – I think I made art so much more effortlessly and boldly when I didn’t make a living from it. Being an artist brings so many concerns with it – financial pressure to sell work, wondering about how your audience perceives you or your work, dealing with dealers that convolute the process of exploration and discovery. Some people have the strength of will, the self esteem, or the ignorance perhaps, to not let these things affect the process. It’s something I deal with daily, though. I don’t think Kozy is like this at all. K: Nope – I am too ignorant – I make what I want to! D: Hah! For me though – for instance I have been doing underwater photography for several years now on the side. I love being underwater. I wish I could breathe underwater. I love the look of things underwater – the way light looks different, the effect of caustics from water surfaces, I love this sense of freedom and of being a sort of “child of nature” that comes with swimming naked in the ocean. I love trying to capture images of huge animals, creatures most people never come into contact with. I have been paid for some images, I have been hired to do jobs shooting underwater, but I am super resistant to seriously doing it, even resistant to investing a lot into personal art shoots underwater because I don’t want any pressure at all associated with this thing that is pure enjoyment to me. I want it to stay a pure love in a way that producing prints and paintings isn’t. Hopefully that process will help me remember how I should approach painting and drawing. If you weren’t artists what would you be? D: Scuba guide for a dive shop on some tropical island paradise. I wish I could be in warm clear tropical waters everyday and far away from huge urban environs. K: Oh so many things! I want to be anything hippie-ish: masseuse, yoga instructor, musician, chef, gardener, I want to be a stand-up comedian, too! Maybe do comedy massages – I think it would be a great combination. I also dream of opening this combination cafe/ laundromat/ bookstore/ burlesque club… My mind is general scattered. What is something you had to learn the hard way? D: How to not burn bridges. K: You are still trying to learn that. D: I am still trying to learn that the hard way. I have to learn everything the hard way. Kozy on the other hand knows inherently what is the right way to do everything!! K: Haha – not true. D: What is something you learned the hard way? K: Ummm…. D: Exactly. What makes great art? D: Great art for me is some magic synthesis of technical prowess, originality, and cleverness, that produces some visceral reaction, a bit of “woof” in your chest when you first see it. Something that really overwhelms you with its virtuosity. I think in art today there is a lot of good stuff out there that I like that is technically inspiring, or very clever, or really comes from a left field perspective on life, but it’s rare to find artists that can combine all those things. I know I have experienced that kind of art, but I couldn’t even think of an example of an artist that really embodies that. Who are some artists you admire? D: I don’t know that I “admire” any artists per say. I am not super into artists. I avoid art openings like the plague and don’t really avidly follow any particular artists. Some artists that fit my mood lately though are Kelsey Brookes, Brendan Monroe, Michael Page, Jen Stark, Mars-1, Judith Ann Braun, Katie McGwire, Makoto Aida, David Jien, Travis Millard, and Kiel Johnson. I think I am into to different artists for different reasons – not sure if there some common thread running through this group or creators when I think about it. What’s your favorite artistic tool? D: My Pentel brush pen. I am terrible at using it, but I like the challenge of it and because I know I won’t be doing anything sellable with it, it lets me just not worry about the end result and play with ideas. I doodle a lot with it. K: Mechanical pencil I guess? I like having a lot of control. I like rendering form and value precisely. Featured photo by: Duane Hansen Fernandez https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/5aofn78dp93umrz1o4uwueb642lj4z monthly 0.5 2026-02-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593637495312-C1A4B14AP0ZFTLBHOV9F/hense.jpg Blog - HENSE, Artist https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/how-and-nosm-interview monthly 0.5 2026-02-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593552558653-2Z46HCXL8M2NVTWRYQ51/how-and-nosm.jpg Blog - How and Nosm, Artists How and Nosm (Raoul and Davide Perre) are identical twins known for their large scale graffiti based murals that adorn city walls around the world. The red, black, and white-based imagery is instantly recognizable and commands attention through the impressive size and the intricate detail. Initially the color palette was limited for practicality but instead has become a distinct calling card and formal choice that has allowed these artists to push spray paint to a new level. What did you want to be when you were a kid? As every kid growing up we wanted to be many different things regarding a profession. Somehow that seems to be the way of preparing your kid for their future, having goals and dreams and strive for them. Your parents keep asking you what you want to be and you feel obligated to answer something. In our case we liked building things, so it was usually something like “architect” or “engineer.” But to be honest, we just wanted to have a functional and non-violent family so we could play in peace at home, and later on do our homework without our mother being drunk and fighting with her abusive boyfriends. What do you love? Why? We love our small family of five. Besides them we share the love with only a handful of close friends. That is all one needs in life, a few people that are really close and important to us. We do love our work and painting too, but that is a different kind of LOVE. What is your process like? Being born as twins, raised together and also sharing the passion for art, our connection and its dynamic is highly unique, hardly comparable to the standards of other duos working together. There is a mutual understanding in solving issues regarding a project without exchanging too many words. Our similar and shared life experiences demand little communication and since we can relate to them equally our ideas are naturally harmonic. Neither of us is the leading force, but instead our focus is on teamwork so that we both together can be successful in our daily work routine. The individual ego is set aside, which enables us to make the most professional decisions regarding our work and business. That is very important to us because, in the long run, the positive outcome of our work ethic will naturally benefit our personal lives and our family. So if we feel like a drawing or layout from one of us is stronger neither of us will take it personally or be offended by it. Accepting that certain drawings are simply better fitting for an outside mural or a painting guarantees the high level of quality that we always try to gain as a team. It is not like we always share the work 50/50, but more of a joint effort to help each other eliminate weaknesses. By teaching each other, we can evolve even faster. What is something you had to learn the hard way? Everything was hard for us as far as we remember, and we don’t want to sound like whinos. But we grew up with a very abusive father that wasn’t around much and never ever supported us or our mother. So when our parents finally got divorced, we had to move from our birthplace in Spain to Germany where my parents are from. We didn’t want to, but our father wasn’t paying any child support so we could only get welfare in our country of nationality. Even though we were born in Spain we were officially Germans because of our parents’ heritage. That is how the law works in Europe. So we grew up very poor and learned fast that when you live in a shitty neighborhood and live off welfare nobody cares about you, and nobody wants to have anything to do with you. You are labeled a bad influence. Long story short, we had to fight for every little thing we achieved. Nothing was given to us. Maybe that was the most important lesson: do it yourself or nobody will, and just keep on trying to get closer to your goal. What is one thing most people would be surprised to learn about you? That we are identical twins. What are you grateful for? That we and our family are healthy and that we are as successful with work as we are today. How do you define success? Doing what we love to do and being able to make a living of it means success to us. Monetary gains are important to support our families, but inner peace and happiness are so much more valuable and satisfying than that. We were never afraid of being poor because of the insecurity that an artist life brings with it. Most of our lives we have been poor, so we simply gave it a shot and eventually became professional artists. We always painted and loved the rewarding feeling we would get from completing a nice mural or painting even when it was without pay. Today we still feel the same way about it. How would you describe your art to someone who cannot see? We express with our paintings the way things are in life with its complexity, coldness and warmth, happiness and sadness. You hear us talk about our lives and once you get to know us you understand our paintings and can visualize the organized chaos and confusion within the intertwined imagery. What’s the most bizarre thing that has ever happened to you? Watching a UFO hovering over us for several minutes. https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/skypager-interview monthly 0.5 2026-02-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593638798062-D98LNSFSAWH8YJEAG7XL/skypage.jpg Blog - SKYPAGE, Artist https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/alex-bogusky-interview monthly 0.5 2026-02-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593621909800-N7268DJFTXQPTKGKLI0F/alex-bogusky.jpg Blog - Alex Bogusky Interview Alex Bogusky began his career over 20 years ago when he joined Crispin and Porter Advertising in 1989 as an art director. Alex became the creative director five years later, a partner in 1997, and co-chairman in 2008. Under Alex’s direction, Crispin Porter + Bogusky grew to more than 1,000 employees, with offices in Miami, Boulder, Los Angeles, London and Sweden, and with annual billings over $1Billion. During Alex’s leadership, CP+B became the world’s most awarded advertising agency. CP+B is the only agency to have won the Cannes Advertising Grand Prix in all five categories: Promo, Media, Cyber, Titanium, and Film. In 2008, Alex was inducted into the Art Director’s Club Hall of Fame. In 2010, Alex received the rare honor of being named “Creative Director of the Decade” by Adweek magazine. Alex has always been drawn to social responsibility. While at CP+B, Alex created groundbreaking cause initiatives like the “Truth Campaign,” the most successful youth-focused, anti-tobacco education initiative in US history. He also helped Al Gore debunk the notion of “Clean Coal,” with TV spots directed by the Coen Brothers of “Fargo” fame. With FearLessRevolution.com he has continued his work on Climate with Al Gore, rebranding Gore’s Climate Reality Project and launching 24 Hours of Reality last year – the highest-viewed streaming web event to date with 8 million viewers tuning in for an average of 58 minutes. With FearLess he also launched COMMON, the world’s first collaborative brand. COMMON is a creative community for rapidly prototyping social ventures, all done under the world’s first collaborative brand. Most recently, he helped launch MadeMovement, a new marketing agency in Boulder, Colorado, dedicated to the resurgence of American Manufacturing. I’m incredibly inspired by the evolution of Alex’s career and life- the way he has moved from advertiser to advocate- seeing a need for a higher sense of social responsibility and acting on it. What did you want to be when you were a kid? A lot of different things. Like a lot of kids, I remember I wanted to be a jet fighter pilot. I was really into World War II airplanes. I built models and carefully airbrushed the camouflage and the insignias from each of the theaters of the war, so I had a dogfight from the Pacific War hanging in my bedroom in one corner and the African and European theater in another. I think that was part of it, most boys like the idea of war, too. I raced bicycles and motorcycles, so I also like the idea of a certain amount of risk. It seemed cool, so my thought was, go into the Air Force and become a pilot, and then become a commercial pilot and that would be my career. But I met a guy who was a pilot, he was a friend of the family, and I was telling him about my plan. And he was like, “Oh you don’t want to do that, my job is terrible.. blah blah blah…” I was about 14 or 15 and I was like, OK. Well that’s not going to work. I learned a couple things there. Later I met him and I was like remember that time you told me… He said “No, why would I say that, I love my job! I work five days, and spend 15 days in Hawaii, and then I work another five more days.” I was like, “Ahhhhhhhh!” So what I learned was to be very careful when you give advice, because the person might take it. I tend to either tell that story or disclaim advice and suggest that you don’t take it, but you only use it as a little data point. Be careful about advice. What do you love? I love my kids and my wife and my family, but everybody loves those things. It’s changed over time; there have been times where I have really loved doing things that other people noticed. Recognition. Like when I was young I loved recognition. I think I still like it. But I really loved it, I worked hard and everything I did was to be recognized. And then something happens when you get a little bit older. For me now, I don’t do it all the time, but what I LOVE, is mentoring other people. Meeting people. Just sort of, pulling out of them, what it is that they want to do, and in a way, connecting them to it, make them realize what it is, make them realize they can achieve it. And then help them a little bit, too, connect them with other people and help them make that a reality. What is something you had to learn the hard way? I think it’s funny, because I know things and then I forget things. When you are creative, you have a kind of intelligence that is more of an emotional intelligence than IQ. Less analytical. I was very comfortable with that for a long time. The most significant decision I have made, I have made with, what I would call my gut. So I would feel the decision, and then I would think about how I could support that feeling. Some people have the opposite process, where they have a feeling, then they try and see if their intellect can overcome that feeling. I did the reverse, I thought, “OK, I got this feeling, why is this feeling right?” Then I would support it. With my rational side. There are times when I made much more rational decisions and although those, a lot people would think those were successful decisions, and most of them, if your measure is money, were successful decisions, but I always use happiness as the measurement. And if you used happiness to measure those decisions, they were not successful. My father-in-law teaches Leadership, and he is a former Harvard professor, a Stanford professor. He has written about leadership and studied leadership. I was telling him about my process, and he asking about my decisions and I only made a few decisions that I feel that were a mistake, and those were decisions I made with my head instead of my heart. He asked, “Tell me how they turned out?” I said, “From your point of view, I think you would consider them a success, because they made me a lot of money. But from my point of view, they led me the wrong direction and they made me less happy.” If that is the measurement, then I think I learned the hard way to continue to trust, to support my gut and my heart. What is one thing most people would be surprised to learn about you? Most people are surprised that I’m shorter than they thought. I’m 5’9”. (laughs) People are going to think I’m tiny now. What personality trait is most important in success? Set your definition before you get started, I already knew what I wanted it to be. I didn’t get it from somewhere else, the American Dream was out there. A lot of people defined it in different ways, and I just at some point said, what do I think it would be. I probably asked people, what do you like about what you do? I grew up around a lot of artists and stuff, I think it’s just a matter of, it shouldn’t be the same. That’s the worst thing about the American Dream. Is the Generican Dream. That it’s the same. How can that possibly be? That we all share the same dream? I think the original version of the American dream, was the promise- whatever dream you have, you can achieve it here. We live in a pretty complicated time, politically, environmentally, socially…how do you think we can make the world a better place? I guess I think about this a lot and it bothers me. I’m troubled by it personally. Sometimes I just lie in bed all day and I think that nothing I do matters. And other times I’m so excited, and feel that there is so much potential for anybody, including me, to make a difference. The more time I’ve spent sort of looking at it and thinking about it, the only element is to believe you can, and then do something. You don’t need grand plans. You can wonder about it, you can critique it, but I wanted to communicate to people- just make sure you go. It’s amazing that just by standing up and saying, “OK. I’m just going to be here and witness this,” has its own power. Maybe a lot of us have been convinced that we don’t have that much power. Is it school, is it life, is it culture? I don’t know. But it seems like a lot of people are left with the feeling that this situation is helpless and that situation is helpless. It’s too big for me. And a lot of the problems do seem enormous. And yet, when enough people, starting with one, say, “I’m going to do a little bit of something,” then time after time these seemingly insurmountable problems or obstacles or groups or governments, standing in the way, just buckle under the pressure. Let’s talk about the Fearless Cottage, how did it come to be? It’s all a work in progress, because of a lot of what has happened to me has happened by accident. Or at least partly by accident. It’s not like I had this grand plan that was the Fearless Cottage. What happened was, I wasn’t really happy doing what I was doing. I started to recognize that, started to work on some different version of it. One of the things I was not happy with was that I felt like there were a lot of issues and in my position, as the co-chairman of a major agency, I wasn’t really in the position to talk about these things. I had a lot of conflicts, little by little I had more and more. So I thought, I’d love to agitate this industry from within, so that it could move a little faster in the direction that I think it probably needs to go. And in the direction a lot of people I know would like to see it go. I could probably help if I was halfway removed. So I tried that through the holding company. When I actually started saying some of the things I thought I wanted to say, it created problems. The connection was too tight. It still created a lot of problems for the agency, and all the people I loved that were working there, whose values are not the same as mine. So, then at that point it’s like OK, this is a little bit different than I had planned, but now I have to step completely out. In the meantime, I’ve moved into the cottage, and I’ve got a certain amount of stuff going on. Do I keep that going? Or do I let go of the people that came with me? What’s the plan? I thought I’d like to keep it going, I’d like to keep working with people that wanted to stick with this. When I looked at my energy, and sort of the first steps of that path, I thought I was sort of moving from being a brand advocate, speaking on behalf of the brand, and potentially moving into this consumer advocacy stage- but not like a Ralph Nader point of view, more from the point of view of “what is the expectations for relationships between consumer and brand?” and do we as consumers, when we buy something do we expect in return as much as we should? I think we expect much less than we should, from the companies that we do business with. Part of the reason why that matters now, is because business has inserted itself into democracy. The money from corporations has moved into our democracy, so unless we consume and vote almost in a sensitized way, we are not operating within the realities of the current system. I don’t think it’s a perfect system – I’d like to see the money move out, but since the money is there, if we are going to leverage our potential to vote for and buy a world that matches our values, we have to work both simultaneously. So a consumer/citizen is more powerful today than someone that plays just in the political realm. Or vice versa. And that’s what we want to spend time talking about. https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/holly-gressley-interview monthly 0.5 2026-02-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/1593639039109-J3FVZAX2ZB0D60EK3FL3/holly-greesley.jpg Blog - Holly Gressley, Graphic Artist https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/category/Left+Field+Proejct monthly 0.5 https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/category/Op-Ed monthly 0.5 https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/category/Work monthly 0.5 https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/category/Blog monthly 0.5 https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/category/Food monthly 0.5 https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/category/Interview monthly 0.5 https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/tag/Blog monthly 0.5 https://www.duanefernandez.com/blog/tag/Interview monthly 0.5 https://www.duanefernandez.com/about daily 0.75 2026-02-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/4306c9d6-6cb8-4e09-a315-afe7cfd0100c/duane-fernandez_site.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5ef77a3eb6cc437553e8658a/ee08ee5c-f6c6-432f-9284-377404ab753d/Duane-fernandez-tss-sunset.jpg https://www.duanefernandez.com/contact-3 daily 0.75 2026-02-08