My Art Goals for 2010

It is that time of year again. I love reflecting and making goals for the new year. My goals fall into three categories:

• Production Using my current skills to produce artwork.
• Learning Developing new skills so my future artwork will be better.
• Sketching I see this as a combination of production and learning.

By December 31, 2010, I will have a website that show cases my best illustration work, so I can start seeking illustration assignments in 2011.

Production

• Participate in Illustration Friday every week.
• Participate in the WetCanvas Monthly Portrait Challenge every month.

Learning

I will be taking oil painting with Dave Kramer at the Dallas Creative Arts Center. Dave is the best art teacher I ever had, and I want to take advantage of his instruction.

In addition, I will work through the following self-study books:

• Adobe Photoshop CS4 Classroom in a Book (Complete by 4/30)
• Creative Photoshop CS4: Digital Illustration and Art Techniques (Complete by 9/30)
• Vanishing Point: Perspective for Comics from the Ground Up (Complete by 8/31)
• Color Drawing: Design Drawing Skills for Architects, Landscape Architects, and Interior Designers (Complete by 12/31)
• Watercolor Basics: People (Complete by 4/30)
• Painting People in Watercolor (Complete by 9/30)
• Expressive Portraits: Creative Methods for Painting People (Complete by 12/31)
• The Figure: The Classic Approach to Drawing & Construction (Complete by 12/31)
• Human Anatomy Made Amazingly Simple (Complete by 12/31)

Sketching

Here are my ideas for filling my sketch books:

• Drawing from life
• Imaginative drawing
• Drawing dreams
• Drawing memories
• Making up stories
• Illustrating journal writing done in the style of Writing Down to the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
• Anatomy studies
• Portrait practice
• Color practice

The photo is our front walk on Christmas morning.