From Sketch to Success: Strategic Steps for Achieving Your Art Goals in the New Year

Happy New Year!

It goes without saying that we all LOVE a BLANK NEW CANVAS from time to time. A new year gives us this. Whatever we did last year is in the past, and new possibilities beckon to us from everywhere. I’ve already sat down with my personal planner to review the highlights and lowlights (ahem, unmentionables) of the main areas of my life -you know, categories like spiritual relationship with God, my marriage, my relationship with my kids and friends, money, hobbies, health, and so on. I love doing this because I’m often surprised at how much happened during the year that I forgot about and how much growth happened. I’ve picked out my word of the year. It’s…

I L❤️VE planning and brainstorming ideas, and this year was no exception. However, I am purposing to work on one main goal this year. I won't share this just yet. Have you started your art goals for this year?

But first a little announcement…

Have you seen Pantone’s announcement that the color of the year is PANTONE 13-1023 Peach Fuzz?!

I’m so excited about this new color, as I already use it, only my version is a little more pink. I’m ready to go peach! How bout you?

And now back to our topic…

How does one plan for success in the art world? What is success to you? It’s different for each person, and there is no wrong answer. I’m sure there are many ways to go about this, so I’ll just let you in on how I do it.

STEPS FOR MAKING & ACHIEVING YOUR ART GOALS

  1. Get clarity on what your purpose, ask yourself, “Why do I make art?”

    • We’ve all heard about this, but you really need to ask yourself why you like to create. What motivates you? If no one sees what you make, would you still make it? For more on why art matters, watch my YouTube video here and here. They are some of my first videos, so bear with the unseasoned talent, please🤣. It’s embarrassing to reveal my rawness, but I’m showing you so you know you can overcome any nerves which may keep you from delighting in creating art.

  2. Define your style

    • Make a mood board of images you made yourself. Analyze similarities. Notice the type of subject matter, line, composition, textures, and color palettes you gravitate toward. Andy J. Pizza has an excellent Skillshare class on finding and refining your personal style - I watched it flying home from Tokyo last September.

    • If you want to experiment with your style, make a mood board of work you see on Pinterest. Analyze it and note what particular elements you would like to incorporate into your work. Don’t copy, just use “the way they do certain things.” For example, some people outline their drawings, others don’t. Some have fuzzy edges. Some leave visible brush strokes. Some people use heavy textures. Some like dramatic lighting and shadows. Some work with a limited color palette. Some work is realism while others stretch your imagination to discover what it is all about.

    • After you have figured out what marks you like making, write it down. On a piece of paper! Feel free to change it, of course.

  3. Define your medium.

    • If you constantly switch between mediums, ask yourself if you want to concentrate on just a select few.

    • If you never try new mediums, go beyond your comfort zone and try a few.

  4. Define your techniques.

    • How do you create your art. If there are steps involved, write them down.

    • Are you curious about how others make the kind of marks they make? Ask them. Do a little sleuthing. Experiment. Attend a class.

  5. Set Specific Goals. Ask, “Where do you want to be by the end of the year?”

    • Reflect on where you’ve come in your journey and where you would like to go.

    • Are there specific skills you want to learn? Classes to take? Mediums to try?

    • What type of art do you want to have created? How many pieces? Sizes?

    Concerning goals, Michael Hyatt writes to work SMARTER in his book Your Best Year.

    1. Specific

    2. Measurable

    3. Actionable

    4. Risky

    5. Time-keyed

    6. Exciting

    7. Relevant

  6. Put a star by your top three. Prioritizing what really matters to you will help you know what to do when motivation is flagging. Break those goals down into bite sized chunks.

  7. Block out your art goals on a calendar showing the 12 months on a single page. A simple grid of 12 squares will do just fine. Be reasonable with how long you think they will take.

  8. Gather supplies to help you reach your goal. Although Steinway Pianos are lovely, you don’t need one to become a concert pianist. If you can afford one, great. The same goes for art supplies. Get the best you can afford and be content. It’s better to buy one good supply than 15 cheap supplies that don’t have enough pigment.

  9. Probably the most important one here… BE CONSISTENT.

    • Show up everyday. I realize that somedays you can’t even spare 5 minutes. But if you do have 5 minutes - you can literally make the outline of a single object on a larger illustration. It may take you days to finish the whole piece, but you can chip away at it in your spare time.

  10. Reward yourself for goals met! Or reward yourself simply because you completed a piece of art that was beyond what you thought was possible.

  11. Seek feedback. I know you can ask your family, but all of us have funny stories about asking our significant other what they think of our art because, well, they aren’t us and they wouldn't probably make things differently.

    • Post online. You can do it. If all you hear is crickets, that’s okay, you can blame the algorithm. Be patient. At some point someone will give feedback.

    • If you have a mentor, seek feedback.

  12. Embrace Challenges. When your artwork fails or you’ve overworked it, be ok with not being perfect. None of us are anyways. Start again or decide to do a completely different take entirely.

  13. Embrace learning. It’s not only beneficial to improve your skills, it’s tons of fun and you get to be a part of an art community!

  14. My personal favorite: Make sure to fill your inspiration bucket. Take walks in the city and in the country. Go on mini-trips. Read books. Watch movies. Listen to music and podcasts for ideas. Open your eyes to the amazing details of design all around you.

Here’s my latest entrepreneurial book stash I just brought back from the library. I haven’t read all of them, but I’m working my way through. Do you have any favorites which help us artists? Let me know down in the comments below. We all would like to hear about them.

I hope this has been helpful. Have you done any planning for this year yet? Are you excited?

It’s a new canvas, a new start!

Go Make Some Art Today!

For those of you who would like a little visual of the art journey we artists take, I’ve created a free map. Sign up below for my email list to get it!