2025 Art Career Goal Setting
Happy New Year everyone! I’m starting 2025 refreshed and excited to share what I want to accomplish in 2025. I spent time reflecting on what I wanted my days and months to look like while continuing to grow my art business. I’ve settled on these four goals:
Paint 60 paintings
Paint outdoors more often
Apply to 30 art calls
Participate in 3-5 in person events
Last year, I finished 47 paintings, so I think 60 paintings is a good number to strive for. I also started to paint outdoors more often last year, and I want to continue that practice by setting intentions to bring my paints outdoors. I have a personal resolution to travel more and take more weekend trips to places in California. I’ve now lived in this state for over four years but I feel like there’s so much more to see and explore. Weekend trips will give me the chance to travel to places that are still within driving distance from home that are further away. And the best way to record the memories will be painting those places!
I found that applying to art calls were really beneficial in getting my artwork in new places and opened up a lot of new opportunities. I’ve increased my goal from 10 art calls to 30 art calls in 2025. Even though I applied to 44 art calls last year, I wasn’t highly selective of the opportunities that I applied to. I think quantity over quality worked for me last year because it gave me the chance to explore what kinds of opportunities are out there while also getting used to the sting of rejection and learning what I was a better fit for (I was accepted into 10 of the art calls I applied to!). This year, I’m going to be a bit more discerning in determining which art calls are a better fit for me and my artwork, which is why my goal is a little lower than the number of art calls I applied to last year.
My last goal is to participate in 3-5 in person events this year. Sharing my artwork with people is my favorite thing about being an artist, and I felt like the number of events I participated in last year was a good amount for me. So I’m keeping this goal the same as last year and look forward to being able to share my artwork at my studio and other events!
One last intention I had while setting my goals for this year is that I want to leave some space for unexpected opportunities and experiences that come my way. Last year showed me that there are plenty of things that come my way that I didn’t plan for in my goal setting. It turns out, when you apply to so many opportunities, you do get accepted into some of them, so I should leave some space open for me to actually be able to enjoy the experiences. Last year I was able to spend a week at my first artist residency that has continued to provide me with inspiration months later. But I also remember feeling quite stressed about the timing because I had planned a couple of long trips with friends and family during the same time period along with a couple of studio visits for an upcoming exhibition. So I want to remind myself that it’s good to have empty days on the calendar to leave room for the unexpected.
So I hope you have had some time to reflect on your past year and have made your own resolutions and goals with me. Here’s to a new year and I’m looking forward to sharing with you all that comes! Thanks for supporting me on my journey!
