PART 1 :: WHAT TO LOOK FOR

• As you are reviewing your work through the year here are a few things to make note of:
  • Subject matter. What subject matters did you explore this year in your work? Did you paint alot of faces? landscapes? abstracts? affirmations? animals? buildings? nature? etc. Why do you think this subject matter was so prevalent? For example I've been known to have periods of falling in love with pods!! What about you?
  • Color palette. Are there certain colors or color combinations you leaned towards more often? How do you use color -- is it bold and bright? earthy? muted? etc. Why do you think that is? I noticed that in 2016 I was all about blues in some of my work -- and grey in others -- but bold all the way through!
  • Composition. Is there a certain composition you lean on more often than others? For example, I have a thing for drawing a horizon line in many of my pieces -- even if there is no need for a horizon line like in an abstract. Maybe you always paint a face on the right side of the page or you love a more minimalist approach to things.
  • Patterns & motifs. Are there certain patterns or motifs that you repeat in many of your pieces? Do you notice any repetition?
  • Line. What's your line doing during 2016. Is it loosey gooesy or tight and neat? Are you venturing into shading or do you keep things more flat?
  • Medium. What were your favorite art supplies and mediums to work with? What times of the year did you use them and which times did you stray from them? Did you try anything new?
  • Energy. What is the overall energy of your art? What words or emotions would you use to describe the feel of it?

PART 2 :: INFLUENCES

• None of us create art in a bubble. As you look over Your Year In Paint consider some of the things that were impacting your creative process. Here are a few examples.
  • Workshops or classes. Was any of your work created by studying with a particular teacher or program?
  • Health. Was your health challenged or supported in 2016? Did that impact your creative process in any way? Did your energy fluctuate during the year -- how does that show up in your creative process?
  • Work. Did work influence your art making? Are you a teacher? Were you inspired by the classes you taught? For example, I created a lot of work in 2016 based off my workshops MOODY , POETIC, and BOLD that I taught. Maybe your work got really busy for you and you had to alter the time or way you spent in the studio. How did your work impact your creative process?
  • Family and Relationships. Did you find your relationships to be supportive of or disruptive to your overall creative process this year? Were you a caretaker for a loved one? Were you going through a divorce? newly married? death of a loved one? illness? gave birth? How did your relationships impact your creative process? How are your boundaries with others?
  • Travel. Did you travel during 2016? Did you move residences? How did the change of scenery influence or impact the things you see in your art?
  • Community / World Events. How did the state of affairs in your community and world impact your art? Did the elections impact your art making? Do you find that your art work was impacted by the war in Syria, #BlackLivesMatters, Standing Rock, issues on gender, or racism? How does your feelings about these issues impact your art?
  • Other Artists. Were there certain artist that really impacted you this year? Maybe you fell in love with a certain visual artist's work -- or you read a book, saw a movie, or listened to a cd that totally rocked your world. How did the influence of another artist impact you creatively?

PART 3 :: WEAVING THE TWO TOGETHER IN A CREATIVE NARRATIVE

• This is the part of this process that I love. This is when you take what you excavated about your actual creative process for 2016 (Part 1) and combine it with what was influencing you in 2016 (Part 2) to craft a narrative about who you were as an artist in 2016 (and to give you clues of who you are becoming as well!).
• Here are some prompts to help with marrying the two.
  • Creative Flow. When was I the most in the flow creatively during 2016? What was supporting this period? When did I find myself out of the creative flow or in resistance? What was impacting this period? How are these phases related to my own creative seasons?
  • Art and life. How did my art making mirror what was happening in my life? Are there certain subject matters or ways of expressing myself that best reflect what I was going through?
  • Outside Influences. Are there periods of my creative process that were being nourished by other things/events that may not seem directly correlated to my art making -- such as traveling, seeing a powerful movie, having a life changing conversation, or witnessing world events?
  • Tenderness & Strength. Where in my creative process did things feel tender and vulnerable? Where did I feel the most confident and empowered?
  • Interests and curiosities. What was I interested in creatively during 2016? What got my curiosity going or my passion ignited? Maybe it's something as simple as a color combination or a certain art supply. Maybe it's a whole genre or way of expressing yourself.
  • Highlights and achievements. What are the things you are most proud of creatively? What type of artistic growth occurred in 2016? What did you do that initially scared you? What accomplishments can you list?
  • Challenges and obstacles. What challenges and obstacles did you face creatively? What have they taught you about being an artist? What have they showed you about your creative process?
  • Nuggets of wisdom and advice. What nuggets of wisdom did you learn about your creative process? What type of advice would you give another artist based on your year creatively?
  • What's next? What feels really juicy to you? What do you want to explore more of in 2016? What do you want to do less of? Where can you tighten up or loosen up? Where can you embrace more of who you are as an artist? What outside influences (Part 2) do you want to be more of aware of incorporating into your creative practice for 2017? What goals can you set for yourself creatively?

from: http://www.dirtyfootprints-studio.com/