Out with the old and in with the new! Time once again to reevaluate and reassess what's working and what isn't, and do a little mental house cleaning. To be quite honest, I'm not usually the type to actually make New Year's resolutions, as I try to constantly work on self-improvement (see last week's post about improving with intention in your own life and art), but I never turn down an opportunity to learn how to grow as an artist.

I found a few little resolution worksheets online that were kinda cute, but I decided to create my own to be more tailored towards an artist with a blossoming career, like myself. Feel free to click on the picture and download it and use it for yourself for your own artsy ambitions :)

new years resolutions for artists worksheet

Here are my resolutions:

1. Doing my bookkeeping is probably my least favorite task. It's not even that difficult or time-consuming, I just have yet to get in the habit of doing it as I go along so every few months I don't have to sit down with a backlog of email and paper receipts and a glass of wine (or two) and have to get it all organized. To resolve this I am in the process of signing up for Wave after having it suggested by my guru Laura C. George (more on her at a later date:) ) in order to spearhead 2017 finances from day one. Yes! I can do it this time!! (Or at least I say that every year after finishing my taxes on April 12th...)

2. I love love love going to see art in person, either by galavanting through the best collections Europe has to offer, or by going to my local art walk or gallery openings, so this one is a gimme for me. I actually have my first opening attendance at a new place scheduled for the 2nd, so done and done! I really added this one as a sneaky way to share the importance of seeing art in person and being active in your local art community. The technique you will learn and the relationships you can forge will be immeasurable.

My boyfriend and I at the Honolulu museum of Art for my birthday last year

3.Yes! This one actually has been on my radar for a hot minute now. I have been looking around at places to donate either a percentage of sales or (better yet) actual drawings or custom portraits. I've been brainstorming possibly contacting local charity auctions to auction portraits at events I believe in, or maybe donating 5% of every portrait or painting to some kind of art program either in an inner city or a less-fortunate country. In an ideal world, anyone who has anything to give, should. And I would love to help create that ideal world. I heard a great quote once that was something like, 'no one ever became poor from giving.'

A good way to show gratitude for a wonderful life given is to pay it forward and create a better life for another person.

4. Ugh.... why do I do this to myself? I'm a bit embarrassed to share this one publically, but in the name of progress and honesty with my readers, here it is: I fall down the Facebook rabbit hole a bit too often. And let me tell you, it doesn't take much to add up to a lot. Since the election especially, I'll find myself on it sometimes 45 minutes to an hour, or even a lil longer, per day! Not even including posting my art! Blah! Now most of the people I interact with on FB are my friends or art supporters and I love and care about them, but when you add up one hour per day, per month that is like four actual working days worth of time! When I force myself to look at it that way, I think about how much more I could be accomplishing with those hours and it really helps me reign it in. As I'm sure you guessed it, this is one I'm already working (and improving!) on currently.

5. My studio is tiny and I have to clean it quite often, so I'm constantly trying to find little baskets or holders at the thrift store to help compartmentalize and tidy my space. My clerical tidying will be with Wave as mentioned in resolution 1.

6. This one is not particularly art related, but it is beauty-appreciation related and therefore inspirational and thus totally important (my logic is flawless;) ). I want to go on more hikes. I moved out here to O'ahu a year ago and there are so many other-worldly and epic places to hike and I feel like I have not experienced nearly enough. Coming from the flat land of Charleston, SC it has been a bit of a learning curve as far as having the power to jungle hike, but now that I run and bike uphill multiple times a week I have gotten much stronger and have really enjoyed some challenging adventures.

What kinds of improvements will you be working towards this year? Did you find my worksheet helpful? Feel free to share your goals!

originally posted: December 31, 2016