Monday, January 05, 2009

2009: The Plan

"After van Gogh- "Sunflowers" " ACEO
Part 1, coloured pencil on Mi-Teintes




Happy New Year, dear reader!

So 2008 came and went and now we’re into 2009. This year is going to be particularly busy for me as I have my personal artistic goals to meet as well as obligations towards helping to make the 3rd annual Lilac Tea a success. This year also sees the ‘Art For Literacy’ program expanding into another local library, the Deseronto Public Library, and that means that there will be a show held there as well, the Harvest Tea, which is slated to be held in September. Busy, busy, busy!

Also, for those of you that have been following this blog for awhile know that I got engaged last year and the Other Half and I have decided on an Autumn wedding. It’s not going to be an over the top affair (that’s definitely not my style) but as I’m sure you understand it’ll still require some planning so that’s going to be preoccupying me this year as well.


Enough nattering, you’re here for art and I just happen to be an artist so let’s find out what tomfoolery I have planned for myself in 2009:

Artistic
- Improve my photography skills to take better reference pictures and images of my artwork. This is a carry over from last year but I’d like to work on that and becoming even more familiar with Photoshop.
- Do a large piece... nay, several large pieces. I feel that this is something I really need to do. I’ve been staying in my comfort zone far too long.
- Begin my equine still life series which I would like to consist of at least 5 pieces.
- Work on my understanding of composition. I think this will develop as I do more still lifes but I'm really not familiar with all the technical aspects of composition and if I really want to do some bang-up work I need to get a better understanding.
- Purge my older “What the Hell was I thinking!?” work. Some of the really horrific stuff will see the inside of the fireplace and the other works will go to eBay so I can pay for more art supplies. I do this from time to time but my intuition tells me that now is the time to really clean house so I can move forward.

"After Vermeer- "Woman Holding a Balance" " ACEO
Part 2, coloured pencil on Mi-Teintes


Business
- Make more contacts within my local art community. This was on my list from last year but it’s a worthwhile goal and I think it deserves a place this year as well.
- Promote my studio/ gallery more via arts organizations, advertising and personal efforts.
- Prepare a portfolio for submission to a gallery. This has been in the back of my mind for awhile and I think I’d like to spend this year working on a solid portfolio to get into a gallery either later this year or early in 2010.
- Update my website. New images need to be put on and I need to do some re-shuffling to reflect what I’m currently working on and where I'm going.
- Update this blog. This one is kind of iffy because of the new format that Google has with it’s drag and drop widgets which, while convenient, is a bit buggy. This goal will be dependent on whether or not Google can get itself sorted out. If not, it's good ol' fashioned hand-coding for me.


So that's what I have lined up for this year. As always I'm enacting the "wiggle-room" policy because life is, well... unpredictable. Also, I really have no idea how much time is going to be spent planning a wedding as I'm blissfully ignorant of how much time and effort goes into this sort of thing. That said, having the guidelines above certainly helps and makes me accountable for getting everything done.

The last thing I'm toying with is doing less art fairs and instead concentrating my efforts into getting into shows held at galleries. The reason for this being that I think it helps beef up my artistic resume and, let's be honest folks, the economy is going in the pooper and to put that much time and $$'s into a show where I have no guarantee of even making my booth fee back is just plain silly. I'll still do some fairs this year but in the interest of my sanity and bank account I'm going to be very selective as to which ones I participate in.


So there's the plan for 2009. Can I do it? Only time will tell... ;)

5 comments:

Ann said...

Sounds like a great plan and very doable! I look forward to seeing what you do for larger works, should be fun. Wedding planning should probably be fun too, but I wouldn't know as hubby and I eloped - almost 25 years ago now :)

Jennifer Rose said...

its all doable! Having it all written down will help. We planned our wedding in 3 weeks, but it was a very small wedding on dad's front yard and with cold meats and a buffet at the reception. People plan a wedding in a day, so as long as you both know what you both want then that should make it easier.

Rita said...

Ann and Jennifer- Thanks for the vote of confidence! I figured it was pretty doable and since I'm allowing wiggle room I can edir or expand as needed.

As far as the wedding goes... the year is still young, so eloping isn't out of the question. ;)

Regina said...

Hi Rita,
I tagged you for a blog award when I posted yesterday & forgot to tell you.
We have many similar goals for this year. I need to get some larger works done that have more presence since I've got a couple solo exhibits on the calendar.
This book is really good: "The Simple Secret to Better Painting: How to Immediately Improve Your Work With the One Rule of Composition." by Greg Albert
Another book I have that is good for understanding composition is "Painting with your Artist's Brain" by Carl Purcell. It focuses on watercolor (if I remember correctly), but the examples work for any media.
Congratulations on your upcoming wedding. I kept a 3-ring binder with a check list and folder pockets for items that I couldn't punch. It was the most organized I've ever been & really kept me sane.

Rita said...

Thanks for the award and wedding idea, Regina! :D

I may head off to the library this week to look for some books on composition. I have some still life ideas (okay, a lot of still life ideas) rolling around in my noggin but really need some guidance with composition. I'll have to look for the books you suggested...