Today's Post is by Lori Woodward Simons, Regular contributing writer for FineArtViews.  Find out how you can be a guest author.

Several blogs that I subscribe to have been recently arguing that making New Year's resolutions is useless and sometimes downright depressing - especially when listed goals are never met.  But since I'm a natural born list maker, I just can't help myself when it comes to writing down and revising my goals. In other words, for me... it's fun.

This year, I'm doing something a big different... I'm simplifying all my wishes into one or two main goals that come under what I've coined an Umbrella Goal. If I can reach this all encompassing goal, the underlying goals will have been satisfied.

So what is my UG (Umbrella Goal)? I want to make a decent living by my creative talents.  By decent, I am aiming for $50K, net. Many of my artist friends make way more than that. With my artistic abilities, along with my teaching and writing experience, I see no reason why this goal should allude me if I force myself to focus on one or two main tasks.

Working hard is a given, but the operative word here is "FOCUS". I can't possibly do all things well at the same time, so now - and for the foreseeable future - I will teach myself to focus my work. I want to increase my income, so I'll dedicate my time to those tasks which are most likely to get me there. Like many of you, I have learned to do dozens of things well, but at some point in life, it becomes imperative that I willfully place some things I enjoy on the back burner, so that I'll be able to master at least one thing.

I'll need to get a bit more selfish with my time. I'll put aside: teaching classes and workshops, trying to paint everything for everybody (especially gallery owners who make conflicting requests), working with individuals via personal mentoring, and portrait commissions. I believe that artistic skills grow faster when artists specialize and become masters at their medium and subject matter. 

So here it is, the two areas I'll focus on for the coming year: writing and painting. Writing for FineArtViews and Watercolor Magazine, and painting for one gallery, and then perhaps adding another -- when and if I have enough work to supply two. Although I love painting landscapes, I also enjoy floral still life. Since two gallery dealers are currently asking for my still lifes, there's an open opportunity for me to sell these. I'd be a fool not to take advantage of this situation.

I'll leave this post with a summarizing statement that I intend to make my mantra for 2009:

The time has come to get serious about my work -- by sacrificing my many interests so that I may master one.

For the time being, I intend to master Floral Still Life.  I've already got a decent start, have sold many still life paintings over the past decade, but I intend to build on the skills I already have. Feel free to follow my progress this year by watching my website:  www.woodwardsimons.com 

If I meander off course,do me a favor and gently point me back to my original path.

[Ed Note: Lori hits upon an important point here - it's important to have only one or two big goals so that you can get really focused on the things that will really make a difference.  One exercise that can help you get crystal-clear is to really put some thought into your artist statement.  Your statement is an opportunity to define yourself. It is a chance to assert, with facts and with clarity, the current direction of your work. Your statement is for a greater purpose than just words on a piece of paper. You will develop a method of putting your thoughts together in language you can use again and again throughout your career . . . . Now we have a resource that can help you develop your statement:  Learn More]