Goal setting is instrumental to artistic success. Most of us desire to be a famous artist who is self-supporting. This may seem a great distance away but is achievable only by setting objectives that will eventually bring us the to that final destination. With each small success, comes a growing confidence and reassurance that progress is being made. When you finally make that final goal, stand proud, and look back at the steps and accomplishments that brought you here.
Below are tips and advice for goal setting. Read it over, and reread it. Then, start now in making artistic goals to advance your art career.
How to Achieve Your Artistic Goals
Establish your primary long-term goals. These objectives may appear impossible in your current situation. The most important part is to break them down to a series of smaller attainable goals. Always retain your momentum. For example, if your mission is to have an art show, there are quite a few steps that would lead to success with this goal. Break the art show objective into a series of smaller targets. Write down all the things needed to accomplish this task, and accomplish them one at a time.
Long-term Goal: Art Show
Short-Term Goals:
- Create an artist statement.
- Build a collection of artworks.
- Work on producing a good resume (taking part in art competitions, etc.)
- Create a portfolio of artworks.
- Arrange an artist interview with an art gallery.
- If successful, go through all the steps to organize an art show.
- Set a realistic time limit for your smaller short-term goals. If its a certain painting you need to finish, or getting 100 readers for your art blog, set a certain time frame to achieve it. Do what it takes to work towards that objective.
- Generally take goals one step at a time. If an artist website is what you want to achieve, spend most of your effort there. Once you achieve it, don’t stop. Aim for another success. Before long, setting goals will be a habit.
- Keep your short-term goals focussed and specific. If your ambition is to sell more art, set a goal of how many you would like to sell in a certain time frame.
- Be content with setting goals. If your aims are causing unhappiness, then it is time to rethink them, or the way they are being approached. Enjoyable objectives are easier to achieve.
Keep track of all your goals, maybe in a sketchbook. Check them off as they are completed and reward yourself for achieving them.
- If you feel you cannot attain a goal because of certain circumstances, modify it into something achievable, instead of giving up altogether. Always keep trying, and do not get discouraged.
Hopefully these few goal planning tips will encourage and inspire you to create artistic goals of your own.
Do you have any setting goals advice you would like to add to this list?
I leave you with a question. Please answer it, and make your goal of achieving it!
Where do you hope to be as an artist in 10 years time?
Very very interesting! Thank you Graham. Your tips are useful and helpful to me, and I think to the other as well...
ReplyDeleteWhere do you hope to be as an artist in a 10 years time?
I hope to keep in art again and to earn enough to live on. It is too small as a goal?
Great article and useful tips! :)
ReplyDeleteMy tip would be that the more specific you are in setting the goals the more achievable they are and this will make it easier to lay out the map to get there. You also need to make sure that you can define what you mean by each goal. For example, I would like creating art to be (at least) a sustainable part time job. But then I also need to define how much that actually means to me in terms of money and time.
Graham, These are great tips. The only thing I would add is that in my coaching work helping creatives set and accomplish their goals I find it's really helpful to embrace visual solutions to both setting and monitoring success, and it's really important to get underneath the surface of a goal, like "get a show" and understand the emotional outcome too..."what do you want to have/feel when you get the show?" What's the most important outcome, money, recognition, or something else? And how do you get past fear and feelings of self-doubt if you don't feel like you are an organized person. What is a visual or nonlinear solution to planning and monitoring.
ReplyDeleteReally helpful article Graham - as always - and some great replies too.
ReplyDeleteI find the best way for me and maybe others, is to set small achievable goals, as I get easily overwhelmed by big ones, and end up feeling a failure. I then give myself quiet praise and can tentatively move to the next one - small steps approach.
Sometimes it might be something simple like "draft letter to potential client" but to acknowledge to myself I did it is really empowering when you are full of self doubt.
I also find that seeing an artist at a particular show helped me once - they were stood with their browser and paintings, at a show I hope to attend one day and are truly inspiring. I keep the photo in mind and go to it each time I feel my confidence wavering and it re-focuses me.
Really helpful article Graham - as always - and some great replies too.
ReplyDeleteI find the best way for me and maybe others, is to set small achievable goals, as I get easily overwhelmed by big ones, and end up feeling a failure. I then give myself quiet praise and can tentatively move to the next one - small steps approach.
Sometimes it might be something simple like "draft letter to potential client" but to acknowledge to myself I did it is really empowering when you are full of self doubt.
I also find that seeing an artist at a particular show helped me once - they were stood with their browser and paintings, at a show I hope to attend one day and are truly inspiring. I keep the photo in mind and go to it each time I feel my confidence wavering and it re-focuses me.
Amazing knowledge and I like to share this kind of information with my friends and hope they like it they why I do positive affirmations for success
ReplyDelete