Artist Advice - Part 3
The final few bits of advice I came up with when asked by a young artist who was just starting out.
Please do share these posts with anyone you feel may benefit from them or be interested.
Don’t worry about developing a style!
I hear so many talking about wanting a ‘style’. This is totally valid as we all want our own artistic voice.
The one thing I have learnt is that your ‘style’ will come naturally over time.
and it will change and develop a lot (a lot!) to start with.
As you continue you will refine your craft, your medium, your subject matter and your paintings. Out of this your own voice will develop.
If you know what your passionate about and have a direction then follow this, but don’t box yourself in to early.
Your style will evolve continually anyway so don’t worry about jumping to the finish line of a certain style.
Stay open, leave room to let it flow and see what happens!!
When I first started out (and at various points since) I have attempted to emulate other painters style that I have been attracted to, ort at the time thought aha.."that's how I want to paint!!". Whilst I will have learnt something it is not authentic in the long run.
What I learnt to do though, was go back to the fundamentals of painting, be very concise about what it is I wanted to achieve personally and then sit down and paint, over and over again, and see what develops.
I analyse each painting at the end:
What do I like?
What do I not like?
What was in alignment with my focus?
Where did I drift off from my core objective? Did it 'work'?
Where did my core objective stop me from being brave and taking a risk?
I answer all of these questions and more, and then take what I've learnt into the next painting.