[Please take a look at my latest book, Brave New Mind, which teaches the invaluable skill of serene readiness. Perfect for artists!]
Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions for Visual Artists
- Resolve to Separate Making Art from Monetizing Art
Do not let market logic colonize your studio. Create at least one body of work this year that is answerable only to your own aesthetic and existential standards, not algorithms, trends, or buyers. You can monetize other work—but protect a core practice that remains free.
Why it matters now: Artists need protected zones of autonomy more than ever.
- Resolve to Build a Direct Relationship with a Small, Real Audience
Stop chasing reach. Start cultivating recognition. Aim for 100–1,000 people who genuinely care about your work and your thinking, not 10,000 indifferent followers.
Concrete actions:
- A thoughtful newsletter
- Studio notes or process essays
- Occasional personal correspondence with collectors or peers
Why it matters now: Platforms can vanish; relationships endure.
- Resolve to Learn the Basics of AI Without Panic or Submission
Do not reject AI reflexively—and do not surrender to it uncritically. Learn:
- What AI can do well
- What it cannot do
- Where it threatens your livelihood
- Where it might serve your process
Then make conscious, values-based decisions about its use or non-use.
Why it matters now: Ignorance breeds anxiety; blind adoption erodes authorship.
- Resolve to Clarify Your Artistic Identity in Language
Not branding—articulation. Be able to say, in plain language:
- What you are exploring
- Why it matters to you
- What questions animate your work
This is for you first, the marketplace second.
Why it matters now: In an oversaturated visual field, meaning travels through words.
- Resolve to Diversify Income Without Diluting Your Soul
Avoid both extremes:
- “Pure art or nothing”
- “I’ll do anything for money”
Explore aligned income streams:
- Teaching
- Licensing
- Limited editions
- Writing
- Residencies
- Commissions with clear boundaries
Why it matters now: Economic resilience reduces creative desperation.
- Resolve to Treat Attention as a Finite, Sacred Resource
Choose where you place your attention with care:
- Fewer platforms
- Less reactive posting
- More deep work
- More studio immersion
Design your days to support concentration, not constant visibility.
Why it matters now: The attention economy is corrosive to serious art.
- Resolve to Develop a Personal Philosophy of Success
Decide—explicitly—what success means for you:
- Is it income?
- Impact?
- Depth?
- Freedom?
- Longevity?
- Meaningfulness?
Write this down. Revisit it quarterly. Let it guide decisions.
Why it matters now: Without a philosophy, artists unconsciously absorb someone else’s metrics.
- Resolve to Tend Your Creative Nervous System
A dysregulated artist cannot sustain a practice. Commit to:
- Rhythms of rest
- Nature exposure
- Body-based grounding
- Psychological support when needed
Treat creative health as a primary responsibility, not an afterthought.
Why it matters now: Burnout is endemic and rarely talked about honestly.
- Resolve to Think Long-Term Again
Make choices that serve a 10—20—year arc, not a viral moment:
- Skill-building
- Deep thematic exploration
- Archiving your work
- Documenting your thinking
Ask often: Will I be glad I did this in ten years?
Why it matters now: Short-termism dominates the market; artists must resist it.
- Resolve to Reclaim Meaning as the Central Metric
Make art because it helps you live.
Because it orders your experience.
Because it brings coherence, rightness, or beauty into being.
Why it matters now: Experiences of meaning matter and sustain artists through times of uncertainty.