Hello and welcome my fine friends!
I assure you, this post has been sitting in my pile of drafts for about a month…
I am at the tail end of my Christmas break here- the gifts have been (mostly) all exchanged and the family has been visited. There has been lots of work behind the scenes- baking, cleaning, wrapping gifts, decorating and entertaining. But there has also been plenty of downtime in front of the fireplace, watching old movies and doodling in the sketchbook.
But the Twelve Days of Christmas has nearly ended, and it is time to take down the decorations, start lesson plans again for school and, what I am most excited about, think about my studio goals for 2025.
So what are my goals this year? I’ve been giving it a lot of thought, and it has been difficult to narrow down the list to something manageable. It is far easier to dream than it is to actually complete a task.
Regular sketchbook drawings. I would like to get better at figure drawing, so having a sketchbook dedicated to figure drawing and portraiture would be great. And working from life. Observational drawings- the goal is not perfection, but an understanding of the face, body and hands. Probably lots of quick gesture drawings from life. The idea would be to practice making a mark in this sketchbook each day, for an entire year. There wouldn’t have to be tons of time devoted to this- maybe only 5 minutes each day. Some days might only be 30 seconds. But the point is to show up and practice daily.
Observational painting/ sketching. I started more plein air sketching/ painting last year, and while I can’t make it out for a painting session every day, I think filling more sketchbooks with observational paintings is going to happen this year.
A new series of finished pieces. I’m not certain how many finished paintings I will be able to complete, but I’ve got some ideas, and as scary as it seems to focus on creating final paintings NOT inspired from urban landscapes, I think I need to give it a try.
I’ve got a few other “bucket list” hobbies I would like to try out this year as well, though these are really more in the “wishlist” section of my creativity.
Start a garden. Okay- I have a garden- many gardens actually. But I’m knee deep in redesigning the “vegetable” garden on the side of the house. So more time spent outside, digging in the dirt and watching things grow with the children.
Sew a dress. I’ve always wanted to do this! My sewing machine is finally working again and I’ve already bought the pattern- now it’s just a matter of finding the time to actually start the project.
Bake more (sourdough) bread. I’ve dabbled a bit in sourdough for the past 2+ years, and I would like to continue this trend!
Make some candles. I’ve been feeling a bit nostalgic about my childhood memories dipping candles every year at the Yankee Candle Factory.
Well, that’s about it for today! As the year progresses I will let you which goals I accomplished and which turned into wishful dreaming!
Love and Peace,
Katy