Developing your Artistic Style
Tanya Powell
Learning new skills is important yet overlooked part of growing as an artist. Inspired by fellow artists that showcase their works using new techniques they learned attending workshops or through artist subscription classes I thought it would be a good idea to dig into this topic a little deeper. My research took me to articles written by contemporary artists on the best ways to tackle this.
Martha Marshall's blog article (link below) defined some ideas about why this is a good idea for artists. She wrote, "in order to get people's attention, it's necessary to be recognizable, and it's just not possible to do that with a portfolio that's all over the map". I let that sink in for a bit and began to think about my favorite artists and their body of work. My favorite artist is Claude Monet, his work speaks to me because of the subject matter, color and his stylistic way of painting. No one has quite the same style as Monet, in my opinion he is a master painter.
How do you begin to develop your own style? Marshall outlined steps to begin this task. She recommends building a body of work. A body of work is something that takes a lifetime to create, yes but this too begins with a first step. She recommends taking one subject that you love, and paint it every way possible. Narrowing down that one subject is very important. I love nature, outdoors, trees, flowers, etc. That is still too broad for the subject matter. Get specific, trees, even this subject is still too broad. Think on an even narrower topic, maple tree leaves. Paint this leaf in various seasons, colors, sizes, close up, far away, from the bottom, dead leaves, and new leaves. You get the point, you need to really know your subject matter.
In my own practice to develop a unique style I have chosen to paint pink flowers in a vase that sits on a table. Partly due to my friend who has breast cancer and is fighting the fight. In honor of Lisa, this is my first painting:
If you want to share your topic, send me an email, pastelpaintedhouse@gmail.com.
References:
Martha Marshall
https://www.liveabout.com/developing-distinctive-style-as-an-artist-2577986
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