More Not-Goals for 2018

So as I discussed in my 2017 year-in-review post, I thought last year was pretty successful.  It marked a solid turn-around from the slump that occurred in my life after the death of my wife in the summer of 2014.  She was my cheer leader and did a whole lot for me, both in terms of spreading my art with shameless promotion and also with encouragement.  She knew and understood what I was working towards, style-wise.  She followed the work of artists I admired to understand what made me like them.  Even though, she herself never pursued art in any way, she learned a lot about it in order to better understand what drove me and help me to better myself.  That is a rare thing to have.

So while I have not fully recovered, I have had some help in dealing and learning how to keep moving forward.  And I hope to continue this trend into 2018.

One huge goal I managed to accomplish in 2017 was getting my work into a third gallery.  It is a beautiful space in a quaint downtown in a small town in southern Arkansas.  The owner seems to be a wonderful person and I look forward to working with him to provide work of interest to this area.  However, I remain realistic about the prospects here.  Art is not a priority in the town in which this gallery is located.  Because of this, I will set my primary "not-goal" of 2018 to pursue a fourth gallery.  I will put some focus into a gallery in a larger city outside of Arkansas.  However, I will also be willing to find another gallery in-state if it is in a decent sized town or a town with a good art community, Hot Springs would be ideal.

1.   Get into a 4th gallery!  As discussed above, I will be looking for some very specific criteria here.  Either in a city modest sized or larger city out of state or an Arkansas city that should experience some relatively high traffic volume.  There are not many cities in Arkansas which fit this criteria so I should be able eliminate possibilities rather quickly.

2.  Start making my own frames! My online frame supplier of choice has discontinued more and more of my favorite styles of frames.  I really cannot afford to have a local company make my frames.  I bought a very nice used miter saw about 10 years ago and have yet to put it to use.  All I need is a corner pinner and I'm ready to start trying this.  I will target having this going before April.

3.  Make 60 blog posts...yes, I'm going to try for this again. It's totally achievable, especially if I blog more about works in progress or process related things.  No problem, lol.

4.  Complete 50 paintings...yes, I'm going to try to do this again too!

5.  Hang in 3 national shows.  I bested my goal of 2 last year so let's go for an improvement.  I would like for 2 of these to be outside of Arkansas.

6.  Line up a solo show for either end of 2018 or 2019.  Most likely this will be in 2019 because most galleries and arts centers will have already booked 2018.

I think you can see a theme beginning to develop here.  I am aiming for 2018 to be a year to establish footholds as a more regional artist with goals tied to out of state venues.

2017, A Year in Review

2017 was, by most standards, a really good year for me.  I set out this year with some pretty big goals in mind and I managed to accomplish the more important of those. I made not just 2 but 3 national level shows and sold one piece that made a show out of state.  That is a first for me.  Sales-wise, 2017 was not my best year ever but sales are rebounding after the death of my best representative and cheerleader.  I had an absolutely awesome trip to Denmark.  Every painting of Denmark I have attempted has turned out to be satisfying at least.  Some have been pretty awesome in my mind.  Over the course of the last 3 years, I have had a lot of baggage to carry around and many unfinished tasks of the heart and soul that just have never seemed to want to come to a conclusion.  2017 saw some of those things come to a conclusion and some others that will finally close early in 2018.  I had a period from around August until November where I did very little work as I faced those demons that have been haunting me.  I was even forced to take on some other responsibilities in my personal life in that time frame that will not be able to be finished until around midway through 2018.  I am hoping these will not have the darkened cloud effect that has been hanging over me the past 3 years.

1.  Get into another gallery

• COMPLETE!
• Frame of Mind, Camden, AR

2.  Make 60 blog posts

• 50
• My third highest post total ever so that's not too bad.

3.  Complete 50 paintings

• 37
• Not all of these have been published yet but will be in time.  I think this is my highest yearly painting total ever so while I did not make my goal, I can't complain about this.

4.  Hang in 2 national shows

• COMPLETE!
• Art at the Center in Overland Park, KS
• South Arkansas Art Center Juried show in El Dorado, AR
• Small Works, Mena, AR

5.  Hang in 4 local or regional shows

• 0 
• I just kind of ran out of options to enter.  At the end of the day this one was not quite so important to me.

So, there it is.  This will be my last post for 2017.  We will be going to Florida and Texas again but I will not be painting in Florida this year.  I have never really managed to produce anything there I liked anyway.  I'm not sure why that is.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Holidays or whatever floats your boat and a Happy New Year!

Mid Year Review

Ok, so yeah, it's past mid-year but not by a whole lot.  I have never done a mid-year review before so maybe this would be a good practice for me.

Just in the last month or so, I have been witness to some very liberating events.  Some anchors that had been dragging me down have been cut free.  Through the fog, I can see some paths coming into focus with some real important choices to make.  But for now, I can say that I feel more energized about my art and it's future than I have in a long time.  I'm sure this current wave of feelings helps to inspire me to do this review.

1.  Get into another gallery

• COMPLETE!
• Frame of Mind, Camden, AR

2.  Make 60 blog posts

• Currently at 27
• Just a bit off pace but not too far, this can be made up

3.  Complete 50 paintings

• Currently at 15 of 50 (published)
• Actual at about 20 of 50 (several yet to be photoed and uploaded)
• This one is problematic, may not be able to achieve this at this point

4.  Hang in 2 national shows

• COMPLETE!
• Art at the Center in Overland Park, KS
• South Arkansas Art Center Juried show in El Dorado, AR

5.  Hang in 4 local or regional shows

• 0 of 4
• At this point, I'm not sure there are 4 local or regional shows available

I am definitely off pace in some areas but I've accomplished the biggest goals already.  The 50 paintings goal would be a really good one to make but at the end of the day, 30 high quality  paintings would be better than 50 with several of lesser quality.  It hasn't helped that I spent almost 3 months doing nothing in the studio.  That was a rough time but I hope I'm over it.  The local or regional shows are good but nationals are better and I think I have solid chances of getting into at least one more.  There is also a Regional I intend to submit for that I have solid hopes of making.  I will take another national or two and a regional over 4 local shows. 

It's Time for "That Post" Again

Usually around the first of the year I will do up a little post that sets myself up for disappointment in the coming year.  Goals, resolutions, expectations, call them what you will.  I have long had a bizarre relationship to them when it comes to my painting.  In other areas of my life, I don't seem to have nearly as much of an issue with this.  But for some reason, when I set a goal in painting, I promptly ignore it.  Last year, I avoided doing this setting of goals post, opting instead to make a post of a very personal nature towards the end of February.  That post contained a "not goal" of going into my studio almost every day during the month of March.  I did well enough with that.

Make no mistake, 2016 was a struggle.  There were times I was ready to give up the fight and just quit painting.  My show at Cantrell Gallery was a large factor in me continuing.  The encouragement of some fellow artists on DeviantArt also played no small part in my ability to keep trudging forward.  One person in particular has been instrumental in helping to lift some of the veil of darkness.  Someone who I feel provides some of the enthusiasm for my work I had been so missing, that helps me say, "yes, I am on the right track here!"  This person has also helped me to regain some of my focus in other areas of my life.  Dare I say that I can dream again somewhat.  Now, I know that time and tide have certainly helped to carry me away from that farthest shore of death but I can most definitely trace the feeling of some creeping tendrils of life and joy to the past month and half or so.

So here I am daring to dream a little bit again.  And with that comes the notion that painting must play a large part in whatever future I have.  I have two or three rather disparate notions of what my future might look like but in all of them, painting must form the focal point in order to make them achievable.  Therefore, I embark once again upon the creation of some "goals." (Yes, I will use that dirty word.) And as always, I try to make sure my goals are things which I am in control of and not something like number of sales or anything like that.

1.  Get into another gallery!  (Am I really in control of this?? A little bit at least.  If I never submit, I will never get in....)
2.  Make 60 blog posts!!  This would be an annual record for me.
3.  Complete 50 paintings!
4.  Hang in 2 national shows (this will become much harder now that the Diamond National Show in Hot Springs is defunct.)  I guess if the show is online that will count as hanging but if you know me, I'm not much for online shows so they must be seriously reputable, like OPA or OPS shows.
5.  Hang in 4 local or regional shows (This will probably require me to get re-engaged with Arkansas League of Artists as well as some other local organizations.)

Lots of energy is required for these and I am still very much constrained by life so I will be plenty happy with any 3 of these.