Setting Goals
 

My son, the musician, says every serious musician must have their "toolshed time". A time to remove oneself from all distractions, to write and get out the music heard in his/her head. Thought you'd like that.

Unrelated to that little tidbit...

He also suggested I begin this new phase on my art path to develop goals, a six month goal, a five year plan, and even a ten year plan. It would be interesting to get feedback from professionals and students alike, here. Do you set down goals, ie so many pieces for a portfolio, so much marketing, a goal to get more commissions this year than last. A goal to get x number of pieces in x number of shows. How specific do you get?

My short term goal is to be producing sellable art by the end of this year. That's deliberately vague. I'm not deluded into thinking I'll hang in a gallery by the end of the year. If Ebay accepts it I'll be lucky.

My personal definition of sellable is a painting that I'm willing to put my signature and a price on, even if nobody buys it. I've never signed a painting. When I feel my work is worth putting my name on, I'll call it sellable. I'm a tough self-critic, so that's not as mushy a goal as it sounds.

I have someone bugging me for a portrait now. I keep putting her off, saying I'm not ready, because I know she'll want me to sign it. I don't want to lose sleep five years from now, knowing there's a really bad painting with my name on it.

I always set goals, long term and short term. I set a deadline for each painting I'm working on (and I tell the client, so I don't let it slip!) I also have annual revenue goals. I have goals as to how many hours I work each week as well. This is my job and my boss is has high expectations for me!

Jeff,
Sign your work, even if no one else sees it. It is good practice and at least for me, makes me feel good!! You are a legitimate artist, whether you sell or not, signing your work makes it more real.

BTW, I like how your portrait is coming along which you have posted in the critiques thread, just havent had the chance to respond. Love her nose and mouth.

Michele,
I was hoping for a response from you! I respect your business accuity (and love your paintings). You've given me some things to consider as I develop my own goals. When I relocate I am hoping to get more focused than I have ever been (three more weeks!! ;) ).

Jeff wrote: Judging by the WIP you've posted, you're there. Sign it, frame it, make twenty more like it (that's the time consuming part!) and show your body of work to any gallery you want to. (And yes, you're ready to take on commissions, in my opinon.)

I used to spend far too much of my time doing this: "Ready, aim, aim, aim, aim......" Once I woke up and realized I'm not in my twenties any more (far from it!) I saw that I didn't have time to spare. Now it's "Ready, aim, fire!"

Short-term goal: survive the end of the school year and its accompanying meetings and paperwork. Very little art can be done during this time.

Medium-range goal: work like a dog over the summer on portrait samples and other ideas. Also enter more competitions (I have my list on my desk, with all the deadlines). Work out a routine for daily drawing practice.

Long term: that's a quandary. I would love to be able to cut back on my school hours but am afraid to, since commissions are just beginning and I need every dollar with my son entering a college dorm next year. Continue drawing and painting, looking for commissions and entering competitions. Really long-term is retirement and full-time painting, which, unfortunately, is a long way away.

Michelle, I admire your business acumen. Just thought I would give a contrasting, low-end sample of goal-setting.

Michele, I so wish I could spend a week following you around. Maybe some of your drive and business smarts could rub off on me. Somewhere along the line I missed out on that thing called organization. I paint every day and have 3 kids and don't even keep a calendar reminding me what has to be done for everyone. I don't know how anyone is functioning over here. Much less how I manage to actually get things done on time.

Only way to do that, Jeff, is not to paint. You'll continue to grow and improve, regardless what level you attain before presenting your work to a waiting public! In five years or even less, I predict you'll think your abilities at "entry" were quite inadequate. ;)

(But please don't lose any sleep . . . just forge ahead!)

Highly successful people
 

i had a behavioral psychologist on my Board of Directors when i was still running my own company. This man works primarily for the top executives of fortune 500 companies. Here is a statement he makes about goal setting.

"Every highly successful person he has meet continually sets goals. This is true across the board without exception."

Goals can be short, medium or long term, but they must be measurable, force you to stretch and they must achievable.

" I have learned as a rule of thumb, never to ask whether you can do something. Say, instead, that you are doing it. then fasten your seat belt. The most remarkable things follow." - Lulia Cameron

Ok, time to start my goal-setting journal!! Which will sit alonside my Artist Way Pages journal and my Dream Journal!!! can you tell I like to journal?!! I often find I need to look back at what I have accomplished in a year to know how far I have come. When we do not keep track we tend to forget. this is only the beginning of april and I have more than doubled the no of commissions I got all last year. and the year before that I only had my first commission, now looking forward ...

I received a very exciting phone call from my art rep in Ct. She had taken two of my drawings in to be framed for her May show. Her usual framer closed so she had to go to the only other framer she knows, a gallery in NYC which also does framing (paintings sell upwards of $5k). When she went to pick up the drawings the owner asked who the artist is. "Does she always work in graphite like this?" We need an artist who works in this medium, can you get me some of her pieces to keep on display at the gallery?" . . . and so, I now am finding myself researching the details involved, i.e. commission, gallery's take, etc. I don't even know the name of the gallery yet, but will let you know if I sign on.

If you look at hi-end decorating magazines there seems to be more graphite/charcoal prints on walls for art. And this is the second place which has expressed a client based need for such pieces. I am getting so pumped! It kept me up working on a commission till 1am, something I have had no energy for in months!

Patty, that's fantastic news about the gallery, it can only lead to bigger and better things, and must have given your confidence quite a boost. Well deserved too.

re: goals, I have long term goals but they're very vague, too vague to be much use to work towards. My way of getting to them is to forget them and set a lot of short term goals. All my work is about practicing right now, so I do series of small drawings and paintings, most of the series don't have a set time frame but they do have a set number, usually twenty for some reason:

twenty self portraits, twenty hand drawings, twenty eye drawings, twenty mouth drawings, ten (alright sometimes it's ten) still lifes of single objects, etc etc.

The nice thing about it is that as I get further through each series it gives me a push to get a bit further through, working towards the magic number. It also means I'm never stuck for what to draw or paint next!

It perhaps wouldn't work for everyone but it certainly works for me.

Paul,
As you know, I am fond of you goals. And I have a few cafe sketches to show you!! Will send to you privately when I get pics taken of them. What fun it is and a great way to practive drawing. but you have to be fast. One of my drawings the old man got up and left before I could put a head on him! (it ws the jacket and newspaper and legs that intrigued me first!)

I have tried the so many self portraits goal and ended up disguisted with my face and only wanting to hide in a closet and not go out for a few days until my self esteem came back up - just kidding :o

Personally, I am determined to at least set some goals for this summer, along with deciding how starved I want to be as an aspiring artist!! Might try the rolled wheat Molly described in her post.
Have a great weekend, everyone.

Woohoo! I can't wait to see them!

hehe, yes I have a lot of those in my sketch pad!. Sometimes I only get a couple of lines done before they leave. How inconsiderate people are ;)

I stopped doing the self portrait thing too because it got too psychologically involving. Self portraits are strange. And I got sick of looking my own coggly face.

But yes, cafe sketching is great fun. I'm just off for another trip in half an hour, I might even post some if I have a good day...

Try sketching in cafes with a singer. They're sitting there, playing their guitar in the same spot for an extended period.