Journey Toward Finding Your Style

Journey Toward Finding Your Style 

(Part two of our visual style project is at the bottom)

The way I see it, discovering your style compares to a slow simmering pot of chili, an aging wine or cheese (yum! I’m getting hungry), a tree growing or a marathon. Style takes time, even gets better as time passes.

If you’re looking for a sprint to the finish, a 10-minute weeknight meal, or a fast food drive through, this isn’t it. Style doesn’t materialize in an instant or overnight. It takes time (the no pressure kind of time), self-discovery, the application of it, and mistakes (the kind that push you to try again).

Slow and easy does it with a little bit of paying attention stirred in and as much practice as you can get … not a nutty, race-around frantically kind of practice. That will only leave you breathless and tired. I don’t know about you, but my brain shuts off when I’m tired. Then, I’m only good to the book I’m reading.

No, on a journey, you let go of the finish line and embrace learning not just a destination. Are there rewards at the end? Sure, but rewards appear along the way too. Each one better than the one before. Cheddar tastes delicious after a year or a few years or a decade.

If I go on a hike only to finish it, I miss seeing the beauty as I walk. I rush my hiking partners, I get irritated at meanderings and all loss of focus, I don’t hear the jokes or see the new flowers blooming at my feet. I just want to finish, to say I did it and go home. What a miserable hike! For me and those with me.

Style changes and grows with time as I do. Each moment creates a new experience. I hope I always want to learn and experiment. It’s what makes life exciting for me … I know I can continue to develop my strengths and face my weaknesses. I can try to understand them and make them better for myself. I discover myself as I journey and that revelation will reflect in my art because my art shows my perception of what I see.

The style journey has seasons of focus and interest as well as seasons of rest where it appears as though not much happens. I may explore something I think I love only to find I just like it or I explored it trying to please someone else or the interest dwindles completely. I may put my art supplies down for months at a time, not knowing what to paint. But all of these things contribute to my perspective and, by default, my style.

What would I do with it if I found that one perfect style quickly? Repeat it in slightly varied ways until it turned stagnant? That doesn’t appeal to me as much as enjoying the myriad of experiences that make up the journey. I don’t really want the exploration to end.

What about you? Are you ready to commit to the journey? To explore life and learn from what you find? To grow and develop your art as you grow and develop yourself?

Write it. Draw it. Dream it. Dance it.

Oh … one small reminder … be kind to yourself learning self. Criticism, judgment and name-calling never grew or changed anyone though it can be blamed for many a death of joy and searching.

 

Visual Project, Part Two:

Let’s continue the visual project. (Last week, you gathered pieces of your style and made a collage with them).

1. I want you to find your style collage from last week and keep it accessible for reference. I have my pictures on my board, Developing style … a collage, on Pinterest. You can see my small collage on last week’s post here. 

2. Choose a focus. I chose Trilliums because they are an overlooked spring flower. Fun fact: If you pick a trillium, it damages the plant so much that it may take years to recover and bloom again.

3. Divide a piece of watercolor paper into four sections and tape it down. I love watercolor and ink, so those will be the mediums I use. Feel free to choose whatever mediums or tools you prefer. If you aren’t using watercolors, you won’t need to use watercolor paper.        

4. Begin sketching some different styles to get a feel for your subject. Think about the styles you want to try. Do you like a whimsy style? Do you like to draw realistically? Are you prone to abstract? Black and white or color? I find it helpful to write a few notes about what I’m thinking. They keep me focused when I do my finished work. The goal is to have four different styles of the same subject when you are done. 

5. When you’re ready, begin with color. I needed to add layers to mine. Here are some of the first pictures to give you some examples of different styles.

I’ll show you my finished product next week. Until then … enjoy the process and Make It Yours.