Art Style Stress Made Me Do It
Googling "how to find your art style" and desperately forcing yourself to be visually consistent is NOT IT. Didn't magically solve all my problems, 0/10 do not recommend.
Something I’ve always felt insecure about with my art is my tendency to jump back and forth between styles. I’ve made a few actual 180 turns through the years, and I’m currently jumping between a) outline heavy “doodles”, b) painterly and loose flowers or landscapes, and c) painted paper collages at an almost weekly basis. Sometimes I don’t mind, and sometimes it weirdly makes me feel like a failure.
Having a visually mega-consistent art style seems to be seen as the be-all and end-all of art making. I see so many people stress about it, worry about it, and make themselves and their art small in the pursuit of consistency. (Honestly, I think that the grid overview an Instagram profile gives us of our recent work is responsible for that to some extent. Anything different or new sticks out like a sore thumb on there.)
“How to find your art style” would be in the official artist FAQ, if such a thing would exist. People have asked me that question a few times, not realising I’ve been desperately googling the same thing just a week earlier. (Which just goes to show how much of this is just us being overly critical of ourselves, but that’s a topic for another time.)
I think many of us feel like if we only find that exact visual style that is truly ours, our dreams will come true. Skin clear, crops thriving, sun shining and depression gone, and so on.
And of course, there is a possibility I just haven’t fully found my art style, and when I do I will finally feel true happiness! Maybe I will draw that one true art style in a few years and magically my life will just work out. Or maybe - just maybe - I’m a multi-faceted human being who is constantly changing. Maybe I have several “art styles”. Maybe I will never settle down into a single and super-cohesive looking style. Or maybe what I am doing is already more cohesive than I think.
I have watched many videos with art style tips, listened to podcasts, read blog posts and just in some frantic state of stress done some almost good research. Some fairly recently. And while the posts can be inspiring, the desperation to be consistent sometimes means artists rob themselves of experimentation and growth. (Spoiler: I’m artists.)
We all know it though - the feeling that “everything would be better if I was just consistent” is so hard to shake. In my very own mental torture chamber, I sometimes imagine what my life would’ve been like if I had just acted differently. (It’s actually a horrible pastime, so do as I say not as I do.) The imaginary, alternative life path where I had a perfectly visually coherent style is one I often revisit. Of course, in my brain’s version of my visually consistent, super aesthetically pleasing life I also tend to make some minor adjustment. Just tiny ones. Nothing big.
Just that my crops are THRIVING, my depression is GONE and my hair always looks GREAT. Also I have a fantastic art studio now? AND I’m no longer chronically ill, and have way more spoons and energy. It’s GREAT. Can’t believe visual consistency helps with all those things! Who knew the best haircare was being super coherent with what you make? (That was sarcasm. If you know a way visual consistency actually does cure chronic illnesses, please let me know!!)
This wonderful pastime has resulted in me doing what I think is one of the worst art style mistakes. Thinking “Oh wow I’m so inconsistent and it’s ruining my life!!! I’m gonna put these strict limitations on myself and my art and then it will all be better.” This has resulted in three things for me: art block, joyless art making, and way less art. Don’t let the pursuit of coherency kill your creativity.
Also, the fact of the matter is that the things I’m the most proud of making are things I made when I was brave. When I did something new. When I wasn’t afraid of change. So, go out there and be a brave artist. If you find consistency comes naturally and joyfully for you, go ahead. If it doesn’t, just allow yourself to experiment. Make the art you want. Draw silly things, draw ugly things, or draw things that are stunningly beautiful if you want to. Whatever feels right. You got this.
Hugs,
Jessica
If you want some inconsistent but fun art for your walls, check out my shop. There’s currently a huge sale going on as well as cheaper international shipping.
Love this read! I’m a big fan of variety in work, for me, it keeps my interest & allows me to be consistent when I need to be. For example, I can be wildly experimental doing one thing, throwing lots of energy into it which then lets me be calm and consistent illustrating a book alongside it. I really enjoy having different facets and flavours in work, it all feeds each other I think.
I quit worrying about "style" decades ago especially after reading a number of biographies of well known artists. I look at any well known artists work and there's a wide variety of styles and they used a wide variety of materials. That's how they kept their creativity and curiosity alive by changing methods, materials, subjects.
It's the public relations marketing aspect of capitalism - particularly when computers are involved- that wants a simplistic one-thing definition of a complex artistic person. Slavish devotion to algorithm keywords etc may be easier for marketing but for living humans it's very boring. Human minds want variety.