Outlook
2025 promises to be an exciting year. My wife and I are expecting the arrival of our son in early February, and we’re both incredibly excited to complete our little nuclear family. As she’ll be on maternity leave, I’ll be picking up more millwrighting work to help cover those damned bills. I’m not sure how much time I’ll have in the studio this year, as between family life, work, and plans to redo the exterior of our house this summer, things will be busy.Thankfully, my mother-in-law is coming for an extended visit after our son is born, which should give me some time early in the year to dive into my art. I hope to use that window to create six new works for the 2025 Northern Juried Art Show. Even though “art time” will be limited this year, I’m still aiming to produce new work. I’ve got several unfinished paintings on the wall, and a few ideas that I think are worth developing.
Goals for the year
My overall aim for 2025 is to grow into a more mature, professional artist. I intend to do this in three main ways: developing a website, continuing my education, and maintaining a regular artistic practice. I also hope to create a mantra that will help unify my work and give it a more cohesive direction.
I’ve built a few websites for myself over the years but never followed through to a point where I felt satisfied—or kept them properly updated. This is pretty common among artists; we’d often rather be making art than dealing with the business side of things. That said, having a dedicated website—something an artist fully controls—is more important than ever. Social media platforms are evolving in ways that make them less friendly to visual artists, so it’s crucial to have a personal online space to showcase work.
Website
I’ve decided to build my site using WordPress because of its flexibility and personalization options. I’ve already started, and while it’s turning out to be something of a rabbit hole, I’m excited to gain new skills. In the long run, I think taking the harder path will be worth it, rather than settling for a cookie-cutter site.
Education
Education has always been a vital part of my artistic process, and that won’t change this year. While I don’t have much formal training (a fact that still grieves me), I constantly seek to learn more. My learning tends to be self-directed, though I jump at the chance to take in-person workshops when they’re available. More often, I take online classes, which are easier to fit into my schedule. This year, I plan to finish an online painting workshop with Stapleton Kearns and take two more with Mark Boedges—both artists whose work I admire for different reasons. I’m excited to see how these workshops will help me improve. I’m also halfway through Claude Monet’s biography, which has been insightful and encouraging so far.
Practice
Artists often talk about their “practice,” but I think the term sometimes gets muddled—used to describe the product rather than the process. When I talk about practice, I mean the act of making—of mixing paint, making marks, and drawing. Like a soccer player has to shoot a thousand times to reliably hit the top corner in a real game, artists need repetition. In today’s contemporary art world, I feel there’s too much emphasis on producing something new and unique with every piece, and not enough on skill-building. The result is often work that is original but poorly executed.
This year, I want to focus on practicing three things: color mixing, drawing with paint, and recognizing the individuality of trees. I’ll practice mostly through plein air painting. With time being limited, I want to zero in on a few weak spots to get the most out of the time I do have.
Mantra
Established artists tend to produce work that’s immediately recognizable—themes, style, and subject matter that hold things together. That kind of cohesiveness has been a challenge for me. I tend to get pulled in many directions, not just creatively. This year, I’m going to try to develop a mantra—a guiding principle—for my work. I don’t have it yet, but I have a few ideas. If it’s going to be meaningful, I’ll need to commit to it for a few years, so I don’t want to rush it. If I can land on one by the end of the year, I’ll consider that a success.
Looking forward
2025 will bring both familiar and brand-new challenges. It promises to be a unique, exciting part of the journey—one I’ll look back on with plenty to reflect upon. Please check back in January 2026 for my reflections on the year and an outlook for what’s ahead.