My Artistic 'Resolution' for the New Year

A gentler way to start 2026

There’s something about the start of a new year that can feel quite hopeful - and quite overwhelming at the same time. Big goals, plans and resolutions are being announced everywhere by people who seem to be a lot more confident and organised than I feel most days 😆

This year I’m trying a different approach. Instead of piling on the pressure or setting myself strict resolutions, I’m focusing on feeling free - leaving room to breathe, change my mind, and just see what happens, while still heading in the direction I want to go.

Why I’m skipping strict resolutions this year

Part of it is that I think that too much rigidity brings out the hidden rebel in me, both in life and in my art. As soon as I feel like I 'have' to do something, I suddenly don't want to! Maybe it's childish, but I've realised that it's better to find another way...

I’ve learned that my best work (and my happiness) doesn't come from forcing things into neat little boxes.

Painting for me is an intuitive process - layers built slowly, ideas changing along the way, and plenty of times where I don’t quite know where I’m going yet.  My abstract paintings are guided more by feelings and instinct than by a fixed plan. So it makes sense that the way I enter the new year feels the same - open and a little bit loose around the edges 😁

I'm not going to be setting hard rules or ticking off targets. Instead I’m choosing an approach that feels flexible, gives me freedom and supports my creativity instead of stifling it.

What I’m hoping for in my art this year

I'm now working full time on my art, so I really want to be the best artist I can be. This means lots of experimenting, without any pressure to make every piece 'good' or sellable. I really enjoyed this when I was dog-sitting in Spain, and want to keep it up.

It also means feeling free to invest in myself and my art practice without feeling guilty about spending the necessary time or money to do that.

Because I have a tendency to feel guilty a LOT. I often think I should be doing something else whenever I'm enjoying myself. So if I'm out for a walk I'll feel like I should be doing more painting, and if I'm painting I'll feel like I should be working on my business, and if I'm working on my business I'll feel like I should be getting more exercise... You get the idea 🙄

My only 'resolution'

Sooooo... my only resolution for this year is not to feel guilty! To enjoy whatever I'm doing while I'm doing it, to have the freedom to spend time and money on myself, my creativity and my art business with a clear conscience, and to stop the self-reproach!

I'm still trying to incorporate some good habits, and reduce some bad ones, but with lots of flexibility and without any guilt or shame when life gets in the way.

This freedom has made me a lot more excited about the coming year 😃 - it's calmed down my inner rebel and so far I am enjoying painting as much as possible, making (loose) plans for my art business, and even working out!

I'm sure there will be plenty of days when this isn't the case, but I've stuck a post-it note on my computer to remind me that even then I don't need to feel guilty 😁

I'm really looking forward to seeing what 2026 brings!