December Challenge: Reflect on your Watercolor Journey

It’s the end of the year, we’re all making our top-nine on Instagram (why I post painting pics I’ll never know, because it’s always family pics that make the top faves).  We’re thinking about what we’re grateful for, we’re wrapping up our fiscal years, we’re making plans for 2023.  Let’s harness all that end-of-the-year-wrap-up goodness and make it watercolor.

In last month’s challenge we were intentional and made time to paint, this month it seems only fitting to take time to reflect upon our artist journey. 

Every year, I always find myself thinking about all the things I didn’t get to do, or how quickly the time passed by.  Often I forget to pat myself on the back and appreciate all the hard work I did too! So here are a couple of activities that I’ll be doing throughout the month that I encourage you to try too! 

1. Look back at all the things you painted this year.  What has changed? What did you learn? Has your style changed? Instead of being hard on yourself for earlier work, can you take a moment to cherish the hard work past-you put into your craft?
2. Make a list of all the new things you tried in your art.  Did you discover a new type of paint or a new technique? Did a tutorial change the way you approach art? Did you start to look at your art in a different way? 
3. Look at the connections you’ve made! Have you made a new friend through sharing your art? Did you get to collaborate on a project? Have you gotten to know someone who’s art you admire? 
4. Make a list of appreciations.  Okay, I know this one can sound a little hokey, but sometimes just seeing it listed out can really help concretize how much there is to be grateful for.

Now, once you’ve done this reflection (mentally, written it in a journal, chatted about it with a friend--whatever floats your boat) take a moment to answer these four questions about next year:

1. How would you like your art to grow in the next year?
2. What is something you would like to try artistically?
3. Who would you like to connect with in the upcoming year (a specific person, a brand, a type of artist, other?)
4. Make a list of things you’re excited about in the upcoming year. 

Any and all folks are welcome to join this challenge at any time! Feel free to use the hashtag #paintwithkatechallenge and tag me @splatterandbloom so we can cheer you on! 

Want to stay in touch and follow along in these monthly challenges? Join my newsletter and you’ll get a new low stakes, do-able challenge each month!