In February, I made a post about my goals for 2026 and my general approach of how I plan to achieve them. Today, I want to dive deeper into my strategies and the vision I’m building towards.
Where I Am Right Now
As we approach the end of March, that July due date is starting to feel very, very real. It is no longer a distant concept. I have 3 full months left before the baby gets here and my life changes forever. Again.
So not only do I have some “ambitious” work goals but we are also undergoing some major house renovations. We live in a 200 year old farmhouse which I love but needs a lot of attention. The roof is older than I am (and possibly even my father) and we’re finally getting it replaced this April. On top of that we are renovating 2 bedrooms which will be our master bedroom & nursery. These renovations are functional and important for the safety and well being of our new baby.
Here is an important reframe that is keeping me sane and optimistic: Everything that is happening right now is a good thing. These are all things I want and that I am happy are happening. Even if it doesn’t happen on my perfect deadline, (we really just need one bedroom complete) we’re adaptable and capable.
The same logic applies to my work. My life isn’t over after the baby gets here. Once I find a groove, I will be able to work slowly on projects if I want to. All of my goals are self-inflicted.
An Unexpected Win
I’ve mentioned before that I’m keeping my monetary goal for 2026 as bare bones as possible, just covering all my business expenses for the year so I don’t have to worry about it while in the newborn trenches. That amount adds up to around $1250.
My main focus was output: creating paintings, writing blog posts, & posting on social media. I have a series of small oil paintings I’ve been working on that I plan to release this April in a Spring launch. My thought was that the launch was going to be the thing that got me to or close to my goal. However something interesting happened.
Because of these blog posts and videos, for the first time since the Kickstarter campaign last year, my tarot decks started selling organically! In March (so far), I’ve sold 8 tarot decks bringing my income to $400 without having sold a single painting or advertising a single deck. I’m already at 32% of my goal.
It makes sense and I understand why it started happening but it was never something I expected or planned for. I ended my last post talking about how your work ends up compounding on itself, and this is exactly what I meant!
This Tarot deck was a labor of love and a year and half of my life, however that was all work past me did. Now that I am 7 months removed from the bulk of work, every time I make a sale it feels like free money.
That’s the beauty of a creative career. You put your heart and soul into a project, put it out into the world, and it lives on without you. Even while you start working on your next thing.
The Next Thing(s)
The ultimate goal of Art & Whimsy is to be a profitable business based off of my ideas and artwork. This is going to encompass a couple different income streams all still under construction. These will probably take at least another year or 2 to build up properly, but my general hope is that they will be full steam ahead by the time my 2nd child enters school.
Oil Paintings
Oil Paintings have captured my heart. I’ve been having a lot of fun making them at night. They feel like an extension of “me time.” This painting series has been fun because I am free to do whatever I’d like. There are no prompts or rules I have to follow. Just cute whimsical paintings.
My main goal is to simply create a lot of them. This year is a skill-building year, and the best way to learn something is to do a lot of it. I have until July to make as many as I want and see which ones resonate the most with people.
Prints & Products
Next, I want to take the paintings that people connect with and turn them into some fun designs. That way I can transfer these ideas into something usable. That was the whole idea behind the Tarot deck. I wanted a way for people to interact with my art besides just looking at it.
Manufacturing is great because it makes things accessible to a lot of people at a lower price. I will continue to go that route in the future because making things by hand is not worth it (I’m looking at you Cricut). In my experience, the small amount you save in profit margin is not worth the time and energy of doing it yourself. Time will always be the most valuable and scarce resource.
My one exception being prints. I am interested in upgrading my printer so I can make them on demand, instead of guessing how many people will want. At least in the beginning, until I’ve gathered more data.
Picture Books & Illustrations
As a parent you read hundreds of books, millions of times. So I have some strong opinions when it comes to children's picture books. Luckily, my sister-in-law is a wonderful author, so I can help her bring her ideas to life. Hopefully we can make books that are as fun to look at as they are to read!
Our current goal is to pursue traditional publishing first, so I can purely focus on the art rather than the gauntlet that is crowdfunding and self publishing.
Social Media & Youtube
As of right now, I am not monetized on any social media platform. My Youtube channel is currently at 871 subscribers so there is a chance that I can become monetized in the next year or so but that isn’t really my main drive for posting.
Youtube specifically is a great creative outlet. I have found a lot of value by just expressing my ideas through my videos. As a stay-at-home mom, I have a lot of thoughts jumbling around in my head that often do not get expressed, (unless it’s under my breath while I talk to myself while doing the dishes.) Writing these posts have given my brain the structure & outlet it desperately needs.
And as I’ve stated before, doing this has the fortunate side effect of people finding me and my work. Win-win, and I don’t plan to stop anytime soon.
Art Shows & Events
This is the thing I’m working towards, though the baby does throw a bit of a wrench into the timeline. Realistically, this might be a next year project. I really want to start with local markets to build experience and meet a ton of people.
I won’t lie, the logistics and fear around just starting is the thing that is holding me back the most. But I think once I can overcome the inertia it will be really rewarding.
In person events are honestly where I thrive. I used to be a hairstylist, and my secret weapon is that I love getting dressed up and talking to strangers. It will also be really fun to see Art & Whimsy come to life in a physical space. I might be overconfident, but I think once I get that ball rolling, I will be good at it.
And ultimately, this is the route I need to pursue to get to where I want to go.
The Vision I’m Building
The best financial strategy a couple can have is one partner that has a stable income that pays the bills and provides benefits, and one volatile, flexible career that periodically brings in large influxes of cash.
As an artist, volatile is my middle name. You can make $0 all Winter only to pop out in the Spring and make $20,000 at a single event.
I am a big believer in speaking things into existence, so picture this 5 years from now:
My children are in school and thriving. I spent their baby and toddler years present, watching them learn, grow, and play. I’ve spent the last 5 years drawing and painting so I am a much better artist with a strong collector base interested in supporting my creative projects. Along the way, I’ve met countless cool and inspiring creative people who are now my friends. I make at least $50,000 a year and happily shovel money into a retirement fund, while I slowly fix up my house and yard to be paradise on earth.
I throw 2 big art events every year (okay, maybe not EVERY year). One that is a Springtime Garden Tea Party perfectly timed when the flowers are at peak bloom and the other is a Spooky Halloween Bash. A celebration of my favorite times of the year and all things beautiful & fun.
Or maybe not. Idk. I can’t predict the future but that definitely feels like one worth building.
