The Creative Generalist | Dave Conrey | Substack

For Creatives Who Can't Stop Starting New Projects

A starting point for multi-passionate creatives who are done waiting for the permission slip they were never going to get anyway.

Apr 18, 2025 • Dave Conrey

The Creative Itch I've Been Afraid to Scratch for Years

For the month of July, I'm learning to sketch, but the sketching isn't the scary part.

19 hrs ago • Dave Conrey

How I became a pro photographer in 30 days

Are you kidding? That's not really a thing, but this is what really happened.

Jun 26 • Dave Conrey

I Went Out Looking for History, but I Found Something Else Entirely

This was supposed to be a post about signs, but that was a lie.

Jun 18 • Dave Conrey

I Wish I Knew This About Creativity When I Started 40 Years Ago

Some say that failure is the greatest teacher, but I disagree.

Jun 11 • Dave Conrey

Been told to pick a lane and hate it? Ready to make and sell whatever you want? Join me and thousands of other creatives not waiting on a permission slip to grow our businesses.

E-Commerce for Creatives

How I'm Un-stucking My Creativity

The best way through a creative problem is to give myself a different creative problem to solve, and I'm doing it ALL MONTH LONG.

Jun 4 • Dave Conrey

"So, what do you do?"

Never panic again when someone asks the question you likely hate the most.

May 28 • Dave Conrey

How to Turn Discomfort Into Creativity

I ran out of good ideas. This is how I'm getting more.

May 21 • Dave Conrey

How to Stop Confusing People With All Your Creative Projects

This is connective tissue between my many creative projects, and what's going to make me rich.

May 15 • Dave Conrey

Advice I Would Give My Mother (and you) to Enhance Her Creative Life

My mom is a struggling artist and recently asked me for help. This is everything I'm going to tell her this weekend when I see her next.

May 5 • Dave Conrey

You're a Creative Superhero. Now Act Like It.

The Creative Generalist's guide to building a mythology the normies can't ignore.

Apr 28 • Dave Conrey

The Creative Generalist

The Creative Generalist

Honest and irreverent takes on building a creative business without picking a lane. Sharing weekly insights on turning your prolific work into an audience that pays attention.

Recommendations

Kate Bingaman-Burt

The Second Act Strategist

Tracy Friedlander

A Book Designer's Notebook

Nathaniel Roy

Claudia Faith

Dave Pell

Top posts

How to Stop Confusing People With All Your Creative Projects

May 15 • Dave Conrey

How to make a zine

Mar 14, 2025 • Dave Conrey

I Went Out Looking for History, but I Found Something Else Entirely

Jun 18 • Dave Conrey

The Great Crash Out of 2025

Jan 3 • Dave Conrey

You're Too Old for This!

Apr 4, 2025 • Dave Conrey

Storytelling Sells

The Unspoken Rules of Writing About Personal Experiences

There's pitfalls to telling your stories, especially when others are involved. Here are lessons I've learned the hard way for sharing those stories…

Apr 20 • Dave Conrey

I'm the Hero of a Story With No Third Act

What to do when the world doesn't want to hear your dull stories

Mar 17 • Dave Conrey

The time I had to punch my way through to creativity

Breakthroughs are easy. It’s the get-up-off-the-couch part that's hard

May 9, 2025 • Dave Conrey

Let them put hands on your work

Being able to hold the work is more vital now than ever.

Mar 7, 2025 • Dave Conrey

They Don't Sing Songs About Wallflowers (redux)

The squeaky wheel gets the art grant, solo show, and big money benefactors

Feb 21, 2025 • Dave Conrey

Can a visual artist make a living being (almost) completely digital?

This is a revisited lesson on whether artists can make money going totally digital

Feb 7, 2025 • Dave Conrey

These Are For You

The Unspoken Rules of Writing About Personal Experiences

There's pitfalls to telling your stories, especially when others are involved. Here are lessons I've learned the hard way for sharing those stories…

Apr 20 • Dave Conrey

How I Learned to Stop Fixing and Start Shipping

This design fought me the entire way, but also cleared the way for my Spring micro-collection. Want to see it?

Apr 13 • Dave Conrey

How to Build a Substantial Online Presence

I really don't know the answer, but I'm guessing that it starts with good storytelling

Apr 8 • Dave Conrey

They Said Pick a Lane. I Said No!

The moment I stopped apologizing for being "too much" and became a Creative Generalist

Apr 6 • Dave Conrey

There's Nothing Free About Free Marketplaces

People tell me Shopify is expensive, and I laugh because it's the best investment I've ever made in my business.

Mar 30 • Dave Conrey

The Curse of Finding Your Proof of Concept

How I'm learning to turn the comparison trap into a super power.

Mar 24 • Dave Conrey

I'm the Hero of a Story With No Third Act

What to do when the world doesn't want to hear your dull stories

Mar 17 • Dave Conrey

I Built the Wrong Brand. Here's What I'm Doing Different.

I'm six months into Lost Mixtape, I finally understand what it's really about, and this is my thought process behind the shift.

Mar 13 • Dave Conrey

The Creative Generalist

Honest and irreverent takes on building a creative business without picking a lane. Sharing weekly insights on turning your prolific work into an audience that pays attention.

About Archive Recommendations Sitemap

#nojs-banner { position: fixed; bottom: 0; left: 0; padding: 16px 16px 16px 32px; width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; background: red; color: white; font-family: -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; } #nojs-banner a { color: inherit; text-decoration: underline; } This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts