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Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Making a 30 Day Art Plan

'Sledding in the City'          11x14              pastel           ©Karen Margulis
sold
 It is so easy to get overwhelmed. This is the time of year many of us set goals for our art journey. Whether we are professionals or just paint for fun it is good to have something to work towards.  We can call them goals but sometimes this makes it seem like a chore. I like Lori Woodward's approach to goals.....she calls them 'wants' as in "I want to be a better artist."  You aren't measured or graded on how well you do to meet your goals. Instead it is up to you to follow through because you really want to paint better.

It is still easy to be overwhelmed with a big list of wants!  How can we manage to work at our wants and still have fun?




How about simplifying the list.  I love what my friend Marsha Savage is doing.  She is setting a 30 day plan for her art to-do list.  Breaking the tasks into monthly chunks makes it less daunting than working on a huge list.  I have things I want to accomplish but they take time and effort to achieve. Having monthly tasks helps keep me focused.

One of my 'wants' was to achieve Master Circle status with IAPS (International Association of Pastel Societies)  It took a few years of entering shows and getting my work accepted but I did it!  I will get my medallion at the next convention in 2015. The hard work was worth it!

If you have art wants give a 30 day art plan a try. Make it simple and manageable so that you can work towards achieving your own personal wants.

IAPS Master Circle letter Yay!!
About today's painting:  I am starting a series of Winter in the City paintings and this is the first. It is 11x14 on yellow Pastelmat paper.

11 comments:

Sergio DS said...

Congrats, this painting is really amazing, love it.

Dorothy said...

What a great painting!

Unknown said...

Master Circle is a wonderful achievement and you more than deserve it! Love this painting and just how do you do the falling snow?

Karen said...

Thank you all!! The snow is created by shaving a pastel over the painting and pressing in the dust!

Kami said...

This painting is really wonderful! I love the buildings in the backgroud...Perfect atmosphere!

Carol Flatt said...

Congratulations to you on such an honor! Well deserved! Thank you for all you give us through your blog!

Lorraine said...

Congratulations on your achievement, Karen!

Anonymous said...

Great capture of the sledder. I like the snow in the air, nicely done. Congratulations!

robertsloan2art said...

I do that every month on WetCanvas in the Soft Pastel Talk forum's goals thread. Monthly goals are much easier to manage than annual ones. Depending on weather I sometimes don't manage any of them but at least it gets me going in the right direction.

Kelleewynne said...

Thanks! Great advice and an absolutely beautiful painting!

Jen Beaudet said...

Congratulations Karen! I love your work!
Jennifer