The #1 Year-End Question Every Artist Should Ask Before 2026

As the year closes, ask yourself what practices you want to bring forward into 2026 and what you want to leave behind. Looking at old work revealed I spent 3-4 years coloring inside the lines, staying controlled, and plateauing. Now I’m bringing forward three game-changing practices: varying how I start (collage, paint, charcoal), being wildly bold in the beginning stages, and staying in the additive phase longer before refining. This reflection can help you identify what serves your growth and what keeps you stuck.

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The Discovery in Old Work

I was looking back at some old work recently. Really old work.

And I noticed something kind of extraordinary.

I used to have this habit where I would color inside the lines. I wouldn’t color outside the lines. And it really shows up when you look at this work. The way the larger shapes were painted and worked on, they were just really controlled.

I was doing freer things in the background areas of the picture, which were actually interesting. But because I had this set way of doing things, the work just kind of stayed the same for a long time.

Looking back, I realize that I spent a good three to four years doing that kind of work. And everything just plateaued for me.

I wish I had asked myself this question back then.

The Year-End Question That Changes Everything

As this year’s closing, I want to offer you this prompt.

What are the things around your practice that you want to bring forward into 2026? And what do you want to leave behind?

 
Because in doing that, you might notice some things you don’t want to bring forward. Things that have been keeping you stuck or playing small. Habits that served you once but don’t anymore.

This is one of those deceptively simple questions that can reveal so much about where you are and where you want to go.

 

Three Practices I’m Bringing Into 2026

For me, there are three specific things I’m bringing forward around my art practice. And definitely, there are things I’m leaving behind.

1. The Way I Start

Number one is the way I’m starting.

I have given up starting the same way every time. I will start with collage, I will start with paint, I will start with charcoal. The starting for me has become the most interesting thing.

I used to think I needed this process, so I’d make sure I’d get a result. But what I’m after is an exciting result, something that’s unexpected even for me. And that comes often from the way I start.

So keeping that working. That’s working.

2. Being Wild and Bold in the Beginning

The second one is being really wild and bold in the beginning.

Like really, it’s almost offensive to look at. It’s just so out of control.

Because I know when I get all that going, once I start editing, it gets more contained, more reserved. And it kind of like, so I’m pushing the boundaries of what’s possible for me in those early stages.

And luckily no one’s here to see it. It’s hard to post on social about it, but I’m doing it anyway.

3. Staying in the Additive Stage Longer

The third thing is to stay in the additive stage longer.

Just adding things, adding things, and just doing that almost half to three quarters of the time.

The problem with doing that is it doesn’t really look that great because it’s not very refined. But the more that I have down, the more that I can be self-expressed and free in that way.

Once I start refining, which by the way, once you start to refine it kind of caps the possibility a little bit, the potential for the work. At least that’s how I see it.

I’m extending that period. I used to do just a little of that, and then I got to the business of let’s get this thing done and finished. I’m kind of flipping that.

 

What This Means for Your Practice

Those are the threads for the practice that I want to bring forward.

And I hope that gets your wheels turning as to what you might want to bring forward. And in doing so, you might leave a few things behind that don’t serve you anymore.

 

Questions to Ask Yourself

As you think about your own practice heading into 2026, consider these questions:

• What habits have kept you playing it safe? Maybe you always start the same way. Maybe you move to refinement too quickly. Maybe you’re afraid to be bold in the early stages.
• What’s working that you want to amplify? Think about the moments when your work felt most alive, most surprising, most like you. What were you doing differently?
• What would you do if no one was watching? Sometimes our biggest breakthroughs come when we give ourselves permission to make work that doesn’t look “good” yet.
• Where have you plateaued? Like my experience of coloring inside the lines for years, where have you been stuck in a pattern that’s comfortable but limiting?

 

The Permission to Leave Things Behind

Here’s what I’ve learned about leaving practices behind.

It’s not always dramatic. Sometimes it’s just quietly deciding you don’t need to do things the way you’ve always done them. You don’t need to prove yourself through control. You don’t need to rush to the finished piece.

Sometimes growth looks like giving yourself permission to stay messy longer. To be wilder in the beginning. To surprise yourself with how you start.

Making the Shift

The beautiful thing about this year-end reflection is that it gives you clarity. Once you identify what you want to bring forward and what you want to leave behind, you can make intentional choices in your practice.

You can catch yourself when you’re falling back into old patterns. You can give yourself permission to try the new approach, even when it feels uncomfortable or looks terrible in the early stages.

You can remember that plateaus happen when we stop challenging ourselves. And that breakthroughs come when we’re willing to do things differently.

Your Turn

I hope this year-end reflection gets your wheels turning about what you want to bring forward into 2026. And in doing so, what you might leave behind that doesn’t serve you anymore.

What’s one practice you’re bringing into 2026, and one you’re leaving behind? Share in the comments below.

I hope you get out and make some art today.