As an artist: Do you have a bucket list?

I didn’t realize until now that I have had a bucket list for each year of my art journey. I am happy to say this past year was a very eventful year for it!

Several items were marked off my list of firsts:

• Sell art in a gallery show
• Sell art via a local festival/fair
• Start offering Private Lessons to Students
• Series of Paintings (3 or more similar paintings)

So now what? In 2025, I have planned a few more new things to accomplish as far as my art journey goes. One must have is a place to steer like-minded budding-artists toward, and this past year I had the opportunity to make a few more art contacts to move in that direction.

In November, the local Art Gallery invited local Art Guild members to show art during an exhibition for Small Works. I’m happy to say: one of my bird paintings sold in the first week of the show. How exciting to see others appreciate my love for painting birds.

I’m enjoying working with the local Art Gallery by teaching acrylic classes on the regular, that was a thing I added to my journey two years ago. Before that I taught randomly at a few local antique shops. Because of my connections at the Gilmer Art Center, I was able to man and share a booth with a few other local artists and enjoyed selling art to the mass audience that the local Apple Festival in our county brings. It was the best fair/festival sales experience I’ve ever had! And after the let down of weather interference during the Art Walk and cancellation of events in a town north of our community, I was happy all my work wasn’t for nought. The Festival sales experience surprised me because of the items that were popular. I learned a lot about my art audience and had some amazing conversations with customers, some of my students were visiting locally.

One of my long term, Acrylics 101 students, had to move from taking classes publicly to receiving private lessons because of a family situation. It was a special request, but I was happy to offer her private lessons in her home art studio. She lives in a lovely mountain community surrounded by gorgeous views of trees and mountains. Another first checked off the list! She mentioned my name to a friend who owns a business locally with an art gallery inside a beautiful wine bar downtown. Another great contact which has led to me meeting my first goal for 2025, sooner rather than later.

On the horizon this year, 2025:

• Be curated by local gallery for sales opportunities
• Publish a workbook for acrylic art students
• Stretch my ability by creating larger pieces of artwork—goal is 30 x 30”
• Participate in a juried art show locally
• Paint more series of works, by themes—subject & color palette
• Create a lesson plan for painting from Still Life Settings

Let me know what you have on your Bucket List for 2025. I’d love to compare notes.

Article written by the founder of Becca’s Green Craft Studio: R. Shuler