New Year celebrations have never really been my thing, neither are resolutions. Still, I can’t get away from thinking about what I have learned this past year and what lies ahead. This year ended very differently than it began with so many shifts: work, Ed’s health and Mom’s health and situation. I also have what was an equine “adoption” that managed to turn into having a healthy horse of my own to love and enjoy again. We also made the hard decision to sell SV Serenity, “trading” her for something more manageable and now we have MV Knot Shore, which has already proven to be a good decision as we have the flexibility to enjoy the water more frequently. I remember telling my friend, Sonseeahray, that I would like my life to be about teaching dressage, riding, creating my art and enjoying boating with Ed. I’m busy but I find myself in the position of doing all those things!

Art wise, this past year was very busy with commissions, from pets, horses, a shark, a house and a bear, which helped go toward getting Marshall’s surgery as well as fundraiser sales through the Parkland Library Show. “On Watch”, my largest and most involved oil painting to date, won “Excellence in Craftsmanship” at our Coral Springs Museum of Art’s Artist Guild Exhibit and was also included in Wild Heart Gallery’s WINGS Exhibit, on-line.

So now I sit with a new Art Business Planner for 2026. I am writing in dates when to get current commissions completed. Noting when the CSMoA needs the 6”x6” paintings for their Empty the Walls Fundraiser as well as their Art Guild meetings. Adding entry dates for contests and exhibits I’m interested in participating in and researching Festival closing dates. Noting when to prepare for the Parkland Library Show for the month of September. Also making sure to get these Blog posts out monthly, as well as my email newsletter. I need to keep pursuing a social media presence as an artist so making sure to write that in because I find it very easy to forget those things! I also use the planner to keep track of hours spent on a painting or drawing, website updating and writing, expenses, etc.

Now my artist desire for this year is to challenge myself and my skills with some of the ideas I have percolating in my sketchbooks (which is why I’m taking a bit of a break from commissions). These include ideas that are not copying a photo but putting together scenes from multiple references to show a unique moment that can be found in nature but difficult to capture. I want to keep pursuing growing with oil paints as well as acrylics. I want to keep filling sketchbooks with a variety of things from just plain practice of accurate renderings to value studies to composition analyses for paintings. I want to continue drawings for their own sake, using graphite and charcoal. I want to get outside and plein air paint and sketch from life. I have a list of painting ideas that could turn into a series about Motherhood. The challenge for this year is to see how much of that I can accomplish!

All this has me ready to “take a bite out of 2026!! Thinking about all these things and laying out dates in a book is very helpful however, execution is filled with distractions, life changes and interruptions. One thing I have learned is waiting for inspiration does not get anything done. I have to schedule time and follow through with it. Many times, I have thought “I am too tired to paint. I can’t focus.” BUT when I make myself sit down and pick up a brush, I find myself locked in and only stop when I start to feel like I’m just pushing paint around. That is how to accomplish things, no matter what it is.

So my real plan for 2026 is to START. Whatever the task might be, the hardest thing is the start.

What’s In Store?

Art when the World is on Fire