I touched on this here, and spelling it out will help me have clarity. In 2026, my art goals are:
As I play in my small Fabriano art journal, with zero expectations, I can see a change happening. I’ve got the urge to complete the shapes, replicate colours and patterns. This isn’t what I normally do, so I’m going with it to see what happens. It’s most likely a step on the way to something else. It doesn’t feel like something I’d pursue in its own right.
I’ve been talking today with Pen Kirk who I’ve been creating collaborative art with for a number of years now. Pen is exploring resin at the moment. I won’t try to describe her process, that’s her story to tell, but she’s happy for me to write about today’s chat.
Pen commented “I think that’s part of my process. Learning my way through and making at the same time”. She said “Interesting aspect… I really like to have to sand them right back and then shine them up… which means taking multiple steps through grit 150-10,000”. When I asked if it was about the physicality of the process, or transformation, she was clear straight it’s the transformation.
When we explored further Pen commented her process is about adding, taking away, and adding hidden aspects. She said “It’s just too bloody easy if you don’t go through all the steps and (it) has no meaning. Like a person with no souls, who hasn’t experienced”.
Like Pen, my art is process driven. For me, it’s about connecting random parts to create meaning and visual harmony. This morning I randomly glued bits of collage onto approx 30 pages in a small Fabriano art journal. Then I go back and use the collage as the start of pieces, using paint, water soluble media, pencil, and oil pastels.
It’s rare for me to work on a piece from start to finish, or to start with the end in kind. Working on one piece at a time makes it feel precious and creates anxiety about messing it up. Working across multiple pieces brings me freedom to just do what I feel in the moment. That doesn’t mean there’s no thought in it, but it does mean I’m not super invested in each piece of paper.
Below you can see some very quick photos of a few pages I collaged onto this morning, and a few finished pages, which might not be the ones I started this morning.
I love the latest Dina Wakley journals. The paper is thick watercolour paper, it’s a nice size to work in and they hold up well to cutting or tearing. With this journal I decided every layout would have something different: maybe a shaped edged, a cut out, or waterfall edges.
I had a lot of fun doing this. Normally I share the layouts as I go but the process I used made that difficult – I worked in batches, prepping all the pages, then colouring the pages, and so on. Some of the writing isn’t ideal for sharing. Here’s a few completed layouts to give you a feel for this completed journal.
I’m not sure what to call it, but I’m taking 2026 off from selling my art, perhaps even from exhibiting. There’s a number of factors driving the decision, which has been forming for a while.
I’ve been selling on Felt for a couple of years and love it as a platform, but it does best when you drive people there via social media and I’m on social media less and less.
Sales this Christmas have been poor, which makes the time and effort involved not worth it. There’s other things I’d rather be doing with my time if the payback isn’t there.
The rise of AI, image theft, and all that bad stuff, has seen me deactivate FaceBook, delete Instagram and TikTok, and so on. I’m still on Bluesky as it feels safer, for now anyway. Leaving those sites decreased my audience, but it’s at a time when TikTok is changing art marketing so it’s performative, which I hate.
As a side note, there’s increasing online dissatisfaction with how TikTok is making adult colouring, reading and other relaxing hobbies into performative over-consumption.
What’s my plan for 2026? It’s loose yet, but my main goal is to spend the year exploring new directions, rediscovering what I love most when saleability isn’t a factor, and create for the joy of it. I’ll do online courses, explore various media, fill endless journals with experiments. Who knows what directions I’ll discover along the way.
Cath Sheard Art 