PROCESS, PRACTICE, AND WHAT IT ALL MEANS TO ME…

You can only understand your art and why you make it by digging into your creative process. After all, the beauty of all art is in its creator, you.

When I teach, the number one thing I get asked is, "How do you find your style?" This question always lights me up. It makes me excited to teach beginning and emerging artists how to look at style differently. 

There are so many ways the art & design industries focus on having a distinct style, and it's such a false expectation for artists' to focus their attention. Unfortunately, many artists can get lost in this land of "standing out" or "being different" in the wrong ways, and the obsession with finding your style will close you off to exploring beyond your skillset. 

I know exactly what this feels like; you go through the stages of emulation trying to see what resonates with you; thinking if you can pull out one technique from this style, another from this style, and so on, then, VWALLA!...you'll have YOUR STYLE!

The problem is that's not how it really works. Emulation can teach what skills and techniques you enjoy and whether you’re good at them, but emulating how another artist uses those techniques will never lead to your style. Why? Because you're painting with another artist's voice, it's like ventriloquism, but with art supplies, we can see someone else is doing the talking. I'm not gonna call you a dummy because it's a natural part of development for most artists, even if you've had academic art training. But, unfortunately, many new artists think they can be the next...[whoever], or presumes they can shortcut the process of development. I hate to be the one to give you the news, but there are no shortcuts to developing an authentic style.

So if this kind of cherry-picking exploration will never give you 'your style,' what will?  

Process. Developing your process is the key to finding your voice(style) as an artist. People are attracted to an artist's "style" because their work has authenticity, and authenticity is rooted in experimentation. Style is a collection of personal choices.