The 8 Best Things I Did for My Art This Year

1. Started the Green Paint Society

I have to begin with this one. Creating this online community was my single greatest professional accomplishment this year. I’d spent so much time trying to make a membership program happen. Finally, I just had to clear my schedule and go for it. And I’m so glad I did. I know I still have a ways to go with the GPS. I’m still figuring out the best way to serve you all, but the fact that I was able to get this thing off the ground makes me feel so accomplished! When people say the best form of learning is teaching, they’re right. I’ve learned so much just by putting together content for you all every month.

2. Got My Art into a Major Retail Store

I started working with West Elm in the Spring of 2022. One of my products finally made it into stores this past Fall - a holiday ice skaters pillow. The feeling of satisfaction I get from displaying the pillow in my home is unparalleled. My loved ones were so supportive and ordered pillows as well. It sounds silly, but I feel validated as an artist. Having never went to art school, I hate to admit I need that sometimes. And it hasn’t been easy getting here. Working with a major brand has been rewarding and challenging at the same time. Earlier this year, some of the work I did was killed because it didn’t align with the brand’s new vision. That was tough. But seeing at least one product in stores has made it all worth it. Also, I learned so much by working with a big brand. My art style has become more refined as I’ve met their challenges.

3. Cataloging My Art

This has been on my list forever. As you may know, I’ve kept storage boxes of my art for every year since 2015 (which was when I recommitted to making art). I have 8 boxes now, and I had no idea what was in each box. They all ran together in my mind. This year, I went through each box and typed out a Google doc catalog of what pieces were in it and in what order. I feel so much better knowing where I can find old work. It was also really cool to see how my art has progressed over the years. I learned so much just by reviewing my old work in detail.

4. Sold off My Misprints

I had a huge stack of faulty prints building up in my studio for years. They were all prints with tiny imperfections, not good enough to send to someone who paid full price for my art. Getting them all listed in my shop for 50% off was a monster of a project, but I finally did it! I’m proud to say I only have a few misprints left in my shop, and it feels great. I’ve made a new promise to myself to list new misprints immediately, instead of letting them pile up again. Luckily, I have less misprints these days as I’ve learned more about printing my artwork.

5. Made A New Color Swatch Board

As I shared with you all, I finally redid my color swatches on a pin board in my studio. You wouldn’t think this would make that big of a difference, but it has. I use my new swatches ALL THE TIME. And I love that they are large and waterproof. As an added bonus, I’m obsessed with the way the board looks. It just makes me so happy to see my swatches neatly organized and on display.

6. Met with an Art Lawyer

I’ve had my fair share of copyright issues this past year, whether it be people literally stealing my work and selling it as their own, or people copying my style/ideas. I tried not to become too frustrated. In a way, it’s a huge compliment. It comes with the territory of putting lots of artwork out there. However, last month, I became particularly frustrated with one artist. I finally met with an art lawyer to learn about my rights. As I suspected, there wasn’t much I could do in this particular case. He also recommended not approaching the artist and making unnecessary enemies. Even though there wasn’t much I could do, it gave me closure on the subject and I felt a million times better. I also learned a lot about what’s not okay in the future. I really liked the lawyer I met with, so it’s nice to have a go-to person for my future art needs - like reviewing contracts and filing for copyrights.

7. Made Swatch Guides of My Gouache Tubes and Colored Pencils

I mainly made these for you all, but they’ve actually helped me a ton. In particular, the colored pencil swatches have been great. Often, I’m trying to match them to a certain shade of gouache. My guide is way easier than picking up pencils and testing them out. I’m now a firm believer that all artists should have swatch guides of their art supplies, separate from their primary color swatches.

8. Gave USPS Another Chance

I had a really bad experience with USPS in 2021. They lost so many of my packages over the holidays. It was a disaster. I vowed never to use them again. With FedEx prices skyrocketing, I gave them another chance this year for shipping my larger art print sizes. And guess what? They’ve been great. I’ve had zero lost packages this year (knock on wood), and only a few damaged art prints out of the thousands I’ve shipped. Using Priority Mail Express, my USPS packages sometimes arrive sooner than my FedEx ones. And they’re about half the price to ship. As a result, I’ve saved thousands of dollars this year on shipping. It’s a good reminder to always keep an open mind and regularly test things out for myself.