Objectives for 2014

Happy New Year my friends!

2013 was a very positive year for my development as an artist.  I started this blog, I created a website, I created 2 drawings and about 4 paintings.  I joined KWSA (Kitchener-Waterloo Society of Artists).  I've learned a lot about different painting and drawing techniques and the business of doing art.

December is always a horrible month for me, but this last one seemed particularly rough.  It seemed that I spent most of the month getting over one illness or another, in between bouts of holiday festivities and planning.  The positive to this is that I spent the month reading.  I found some valuable books on working the business-side of being an artist as well as several blogs by artists with helpful hints and tips.

1) How to Make Money as an Artist: the 7 Winning Strategies of Successful Fine Artists, by Sean Moore

2) Artists Survival Skills: How to Make a Living as a Canadian Visual Artist, by Chris Tyrell

3) Start and Run an Art Teaching Business, by Tanya Freedman

From these books I have learned the importance of structure and written objectives for success in a business, even for an artist.  One tool for determining/creating successful objectives is to follow the SMART model.  SMART stands for:

S: Specific - the objective must detail exactly what needs to be done
M: Measurable - progress or achievement of the objective can be measured
A: Attainable - of course the objective needs to be something you can achieve
R: Realistic - the objective is possible to attain
T: Time - a time period for achievement is clearly stated

With this model in mind, I have drawn up my objectives for 2014.  In order to break down my objectives effectively, I've laid out my plans and goals, some of them specific (S), others more vague.  I've tried to write them so that each has a measure to know when it's complete (M).   I believe I am capable of achieving all the objectives in that I have the necessary skills to make them attainable (A).  I think they are all realistic (R), especially if I can keep towards the habits I wish to develop for time management. Then I've broken down the year into month segments and assigned one of my objectives (or a part of an objective if it was a large one) into each month so each has a time period for completion (T).

I also created a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) in spreadsheet format.  It's basically a spreadsheet with the months and weeks of the year at the top, and all the tasks I want to accomplish along the left-side.  Then I went through the dates, assigning the tasks and spreading them out through the year.  I also put in any "home" projects that might interfere like March break or our vacation time so that I could schedule around these "known" obstacles ahead of time. (Incidentally, my original objectives were much bigger, but when I tried to assign them in my WBS I realized I couldn't possibly get them all done, so I pared them down to a more manageable scale.  I can always do more than my objectives state if I find the time)

I will be using this specific post regularly to check on my progress and/or spur myself forward toward the assigned deadline.  You, my friends, will be my accountable contact as I am sure you will be anxiously waiting to hear how things are progressing (or not as the case may be, but let's not get negative)!

Objectives for 2014

References/Books to read in 2014:
1) Start and Run a Creative Services Business, by Susan Kirkland
2) The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People
3) Guides to collecting art (not a book per se, but several websites have the information I'm looking for)
4) How to increase traffic to your website (again, many websites cover this)

My plans to help develop as an artist are as follows:
- visit/attend 5 art galleries/museums/exhibitions
- enter at least 2 art exhibitions/juried shows
- create 6 paintings on the following: landscape, portrait, still life, floral
- create 3 drawings on the following: portrait, floral, still life
- set up and sell at least one print from my website

In order to do the above, I will need to:
- join at least one more art group
- develop the website to incorporate shop potential
- find a good artist printshop in my area
- improve website following
- research on best materials for prints

The habits I plan to develop include:
- working while my family is home (i.e. in the house)
- reducing the amount of time I spend on distractions (tv, email, Facebook, etc)
- regular/daily sketching (10 min or so total time for each session)

January
I've signed up for a botanical art workshop at the Toronto Botanical Gardens this month with Nellie Sue Potter that I'm hoping will make up one of the 6 paintings for the year.  The workshop ends Jan 25.  I plan to visit the art gallery at the University of Waterloo this month.  I also plan to make notes on the books I read last month.  To help reduce my distraction time, I will use a timer and set it for 30min or so for email, etc each day.

February
If I have any extra time in January, I'm hoping to start work on another floral piece - a poinsettia, that I intend to finish by the end of this month.  I will move my website from my host/domain to the Weebly page proper as I've noticed it offers more usability and features in the free version.  Read and make notes on one of the 4 books listed above.  Do at least 10 (10 min) sketches while my family is in the house by month's end.

March
Time to tackle a drawing.  I'd like to do a self portrait (because I've never really done one).  Find another gallery/museum to visit in the area.  Join SONSI. Begin planning my next painting for April.  Do at least 10 sketches while my family is in the house by month's end.  Begin research on best materials for prints.  Review my progress to date.

April
Complete planned painting.  The 10 sketches.  See if there is an upcoming exhibition in the groups I'm in that I can enter some work.    Look into registering for another workshop with the Button Factory on urban drawing that looked interesting.

May
Look up a good artist printshop in my area.  Make contact with them and ask questions.  10 sketches.  Read another from my assigned reading list and make notes.  Setup the store on my website to sell prints, etc.  Start painting #4.

June
Finish painting #4.  10 sketches.  Research and implement methods to increase traffic to my website.  Review my progress to date.

July
The next two months have lighter expectations to make room for vacations over the summer.  I will try to do the 10 sketches, but I'm only committing to 5 as I expect to be very busy.  Find another gallery/museum to visit.  Start drawing #2.

August
At least 5 sketches.  Finish drawing #2.  Look for another exhibition to enter.

September
Create painting #5.  Back to 10 sketches.  One more gallery/museum visit.  Start my final reading and write up from the assigned list. Review my progress to date and check on website traffic.

October
Create painting #6.  Finish final reading.  10 sketches.  Start drawing #3.

November
Finish drawing #3.  I've left the remainder of the year open for 2 reasons: 1) this allows some extra room if I get behind for any reason, 2) I really like to make things for the Christmas season and gifts so I've given myself plenty of time for that.

December
Review my progress for the year, including website traffic and sales.  Write year end summary and determine objectives for 2015.

I plan to print out both this post and my WBS and post them in my studio so I can refer to them throughout the year.  I also plan to post 2x per week - one at the beginning to state my goals for the week, and one at the end to report on my progress on the week's goals.