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.
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.
Thank you so much! Yesss variety is such a joy honestly! And "it all feeds each other" is both SO TRUE and such a helpful thing to remember!! Thank you for reading, Holly!
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.
I'm not an art specialist but even though I can see that the techniques and styles are different I still can see a lot of cohesiveness from all the art you showcased in this post. I do think you have a style in motifs, color choices, etc. Also, all great artists have experimented a lot, think about Van Gogh and his 2000 art works. I think like you said maybe it's much more a Instagram imposition that a true one. Enjoy what you are making and be true to yourself. I think that's the most important. ;)
Love this! I don’t think I have met an artist who hasn’t wanted to find their own style. But it’s all right there -- in color choices, subject choices, your unique way of mark making. It doesn’t mean making the same kind of art over and over again, unless that’s what you love to do. I had touched on it slightly on a podcast episode a while back; have a listen if you’re interested. :) https://moderngypsy.in/2022/02/15/100-days-to-finding-your-art-style/
Think how many styles Picasso had! I think “style” as an aim doesn’t make sense. I would rather an artist have a outlook, an angle of view, an aim and the form simply follows that.
THIS: "Or maybe - just maybe - I’m a multi-faceted human being who is constantly changing" !! Maybe it's weird but I feel like art is just another feature of being a just a simple tiny human. It's like, yeah some of us like to eat the same food everyday but also some of us like more variety. Some of us read and watch constantly the same genres, while some love to read and watch lots of different stuff. To me, it's kinda the same. I suppose we feel and think different about art because it's not just another activity, it's Art with this big A, because in our culture we made a big deal out of it with lots of social capital. While doing art, I mean the fact of doing it, is a craft, a process, in our culture we tend to focus more on the visual outcome (hence maybe the focus on style consistency? idk).
Beautiful advice and work! I always feel like I don’t have a style or it’s just naturally unfolding very slowly. I know that chasing or looking for it felt so frustrating so I feel your pain from back in the day! 😬
Aah Beth! Thank you so much!! Yeah I think unfolding very slowly is the case for many people hehe! But yeah, I think I'm starting to move past the stress a bit but it really is a pain!!
I always feel I'm inconsistent mess. I've even got about 5 different instagram accounts to try and separate styles, whims and projects which is completely unpractical , lol!
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.
Thank you so much! Yesss variety is such a joy honestly! And "it all feeds each other" is both SO TRUE and such a helpful thing to remember!! Thank you for reading, Holly!
That is such an excellent point! I’d be so bored drawing one way all the time! Can’t imagine sticking with it either. 😄
Yes totally!! Whenever I've tried to limit myself to one thing I've become SO BORED SO QUICKLY haha!
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.
I'm not an art specialist but even though I can see that the techniques and styles are different I still can see a lot of cohesiveness from all the art you showcased in this post. I do think you have a style in motifs, color choices, etc. Also, all great artists have experimented a lot, think about Van Gogh and his 2000 art works. I think like you said maybe it's much more a Instagram imposition that a true one. Enjoy what you are making and be true to yourself. I think that's the most important. ;)
Love this! I don’t think I have met an artist who hasn’t wanted to find their own style. But it’s all right there -- in color choices, subject choices, your unique way of mark making. It doesn’t mean making the same kind of art over and over again, unless that’s what you love to do. I had touched on it slightly on a podcast episode a while back; have a listen if you’re interested. :) https://moderngypsy.in/2022/02/15/100-days-to-finding-your-art-style/
I believe your personal style shines through all of your art- even when you experiment with different media :-)
Think how many styles Picasso had! I think “style” as an aim doesn’t make sense. I would rather an artist have a outlook, an angle of view, an aim and the form simply follows that.
THIS: "Or maybe - just maybe - I’m a multi-faceted human being who is constantly changing" !! Maybe it's weird but I feel like art is just another feature of being a just a simple tiny human. It's like, yeah some of us like to eat the same food everyday but also some of us like more variety. Some of us read and watch constantly the same genres, while some love to read and watch lots of different stuff. To me, it's kinda the same. I suppose we feel and think different about art because it's not just another activity, it's Art with this big A, because in our culture we made a big deal out of it with lots of social capital. While doing art, I mean the fact of doing it, is a craft, a process, in our culture we tend to focus more on the visual outcome (hence maybe the focus on style consistency? idk).
Yeah I think you're right!! Thank you for reading, friend!
Beautiful advice and work! I always feel like I don’t have a style or it’s just naturally unfolding very slowly. I know that chasing or looking for it felt so frustrating so I feel your pain from back in the day! 😬
Aah Beth! Thank you so much!! Yeah I think unfolding very slowly is the case for many people hehe! But yeah, I think I'm starting to move past the stress a bit but it really is a pain!!
I always feel I'm inconsistent mess. I've even got about 5 different instagram accounts to try and separate styles, whims and projects which is completely unpractical , lol!
I dont think I ever will get a art style. Because if I come across a new or old artist on the big web, I'm like "oh I wanna draw like that!" 😁
But I guess I might take part from everything and turn it in to my own.
Ah yes, the curse of the instagram grid, and trying to make it look consistent and cohesive..