Things I Learned Last Year

While I tend to be introspective, I have never formally set about this task. In order to set my course for 2025, I have been reflecting on the past year snd considering my next steps. It has been almost a year since I began to focus solely on painting.​​ As I look around my studio, I can see visible gains. Here are three things I learned in January...

1. Steady work yields results. As a person who can easily self-sabotage, my commitment in March of 2024 was to treat painting like a job. I would (and did!) show up in the studio at least five days a week, 9-5. I credit this practice for the improvements in my painting skills and to a continued flow of ideas.

2. It's ok to start small and simple. I started in late March, so the emerging plants provided potential subject matter. I wanted to work with something interesting, and the idea of flower "portraits" provided a good format. I could focus on a subject's form and color, leaving the background simple.

3. Immersing myself in work can yield a variety of results. As the year progressed, I began to look at a broad variety of artwork, including contemporary artists. In doing this I discovered podcasts and interviews. I often listen to these as I work or prepare dinner. I often hear someone articulate an idea that I have been struggling to clarify in my own mind. Another happy result was that, by autumn, ideas of how to approach a problem would pop into my mind, quite often outside my studio hours.

As I reflect on my success, I realize that what seemed like a huge goal - to treat my painting like a profession - boiled down to showing up and putting brush to surface consistently. I have often heard that winning can breed more wins. With that in mind, I am working on goals for 2025.