My new piece! “Flame”, oil on panel, 20″x24″, Jessica Libor 2015

Happy New Year!  I hope you had a great time celebrating 2016.  I had a wonderful evening, and also finished a new piece, “Flame,” in keeping with the winter season.  The new year is a time I always reflect on the past 12 months and think about the year to come.  Almost everyone I know sets goals for the new year: finish a creative project, try something new, travel more, exercise, make more art, etc.  But how can we actually achieve those goals? Check out these tips that will guarantee a better success rate for hitting those new year’s resolutions!

1.  Spend time with people you want to be like.  Studies have shown that the people you surround yourself with influence you more than anything.  So make sure that the friends, teachers, and people you choose to hang out with are positive influences with lifestyles and choices you would want for your own life.  Bonus if they also are great at what they do, because their energy will pull you upwards.
2. Take time to learn.  Even though you may think you know everything about your field, chances are there is always more to learn.  Also, don’t limit yourself to just learning more about your niche field (such as art).  Sometimes the greatest inspiration will strike you when you are totally engaged in something OTHER than your field.  So if  you’re an artist, maybe try hiking, cooking, learning a new language, or writing.  Those crossover skills can give you greater depth and inspiration into your art.
3. Take care of yourself.  This means eating healthy, exercise, getting the rest your body needs, and the social support that humans need.
4. Move fast.  When you have a good idea, run with it.  For me, this means keeping a small sketchpad with me in my purse, and when an idea strikes me (most often while driving, waiting in line somewhere, or generally not thinking about it) I can pull out the sketchpad and capture the moment before it gets lost in the day’s thoughts.  I like the idea of “Artist is the choreographer of Time,” from Lera Auerbach in her book Excess of Being.
5. Finish your projects.  This is a tough one for me as an artist because it’s hard to know when a project is finished.  In fact, I don’t know of one painting I’ve done where I can be like, “Yes, this is done and there’s not one more thing to do to it!” I could work on one piece of art literally FOREVER.  At some point, I just have to stop.  However, in recent times I’ve pushed myself past the point where I normally stop, and surprise myself with how detailed and finished the paintings become.  So maybe for me this is more about pushing your projects further, and going that extra mile.  You may surprise yourself what you can do!

I hope these tips help you as we begin 2016!  Don’t forget to subscribe to never miss a post.  Stay creative,

Jessica

http://www.jessicalibor.com