Link: Strive to Not Have a Style | FineArtViews Blog by FASO

Keith, love your words of wisdom!

So often during my art life/career, other well-meaning artists have tried to push their style in me. I'm not angry about that, but I continually seek to find my own natural way.

Sometimes I have to block out thoughts like "what will so and think if in paint in acrylic instead of oil?

To follow my true individual voice right now, I'll continue to experiment with acrylic, in a traditional style of painting. I enjoy fast drying media, and have much more fun with it than with oil. It really suits my personality.

Thanks for your reassuring words. Keith. It helps me to explore my individual path without guilt.
Lori

Striving to have or not have a style is a pretty good way to distract you from getting into a good "zone" for painting the picture.

I wonder how many people focus on handwriting when they are writing a letter? Unless they are practicing calligraphy, they just write and their style is so unique it can be used in court to convict them or not!

Self consciousness is, IMHO, a deterrent to creativity. Be a child. Your fingerprint will prevail in any case.

I agree. Style just "happens".
But as Michael touches on above, so many of these discussions are based on whether you are a "marketing" artist or not. I made my living as a freelance artist for twenty years, then took a break, and am now creating again - but this time just for my own pleasure. It really is a whole different ball game when you are not worrying about selling and marketing.

I've always been baffled by the statement "Exhibit only the best work – period ". We've all heard it many times.
But how many times have we done shows where we have one super, knock out, never-better piece along with our lesser pieces. Which sell quickly and which piece lingers? Yep, my "Best work" (same price, same size as the lesser pieces)seem to take forever to sell. So, I for one, have given up on trying to decide what my "Best Work" is. I just do the best I can and let the buying public decide.

In order to stay on the "growing" edge of our passion, and not lose our style...or our collectors, we clearly must pay attention to our DEVELOPING STYLE....over a lifetime. So what happens when something new or unexpected comes out of the end of one's brush. Do not be too quick to censor or discount what is there.

When I do something new, or unexpected, as it relates to style, I do two things. FIRST, I look for something this new look has in common with what I usually do? In what way is it a departure? Maybe it is a shift that can, over time, be incorporated into work I would do for gallery sales, or even consider an upcoming exhibition in which I show specifically how and why I want to be on a growing edge in my career. Collectors will respect that if they understand WHY it is important to growth...and after all, did not VanGogh, Mondrian, Renoir etc. do just that? The big question is do you want to keep growing...or do you just want sales? They don't have to be mutually exclusive.

The Cocteau quote is very apt. To stamp your work with a style is too artificial. You can develop your own true style by studying great painters, as long as you "take only what you need" and study a lot of different painters. Also work some things out on your own.
The same is said in the theater, Don't Get Caught Acting. When we look at a work of art, performance or canvas based, we shouldn't see the artists gear wheels turning, it should feel naturally expressed. It should feel True. That makes it believable.

Pat,

Amen to that! Sometimes those masterpieces look a little different after they're off the easel for a week or two!

best,

Michael

Keith, I was closing out tabs of articles I saved on my browser and just found this article by Barney Davey who interviewed Milton Glaser being very relevant: http://ht.ly/d6VK5
Here is what Milton Glaser said about style:

"STYLE IS NOT TO BE TRUSTED."
"I think this idea first occurred to me when I was looking at a marvellous etching of a bull by Picasso. It was an illustration for a story by Balzac called The Hidden Masterpiece. I am sure that you all know it. It is a bull that is expressed in 12 different styles going from very naturalistic version of a bull to an absolutely reductive single line abstraction and everything else along the way. What is clear just from looking at this single print is that style is irrelevant. In every one of these cases, from extreme abstraction to acute naturalism they are extraordinary regardless of the style. It's absurd to be loyal to a style. It does not deserve your loyalty. I must say that for old design professionals it is a problem because the field is driven by economic consideration more than anything else. Style change is usually linked to economic factors, as all of you know who have read Marx. Also fatigue occurs when people see too much of the same thing too often. So every ten years or so there is a stylistic shift and things are made to look different. Typefaces go in and out of style and the visual system shifts a little bit. If you are around for a long time as a designer, you have an essential problem of what to do. I mean, after all, you have developed a vocabulary, a form that is your own. It is one of the ways that you distinguish yourself from your peers, and establish your identity in the field. How you maintain your own belief system and preferences becomes a real balancing act. The question of whether you pursue change or whether you maintain your own distinct form becomes difficult. We have all seen the work of illustrious practitioners that suddenly look old-fashioned or, more precisely, belonging to another moment in time. And there are sad stories such as the one about Cassandre, arguably the greatest graphic designer of the twentieth century, who couldn't make a living at the end of his life and committed suicide.
But the point is that anybody who is in this for the long haul has to decide how to respond to change in the zeitgeist. What is it that people now expect that they formerly didn't want? And how to respond to that desire in a way that doesn't change your sense of integrity and purpose."

Great article! Thanks!

So many galleries want an artist to produce only the tried and true. But a true artist creates what he/she thinks they should; by whatever means.

I see so much wonderful art, sometimes I think how wonderful it would be to use thin glazes and then I thin gee whiz I would miss my thick sticky paint. Some artist are meant to paint in great detail that is the way their mind think others like me have to get it out before we lose that thought. Sometimes I think I don't have a style but people say they know it's mine as soon as they see it.
I buy videos and take class' just to make sure I am not missing out on some fun. Painting is such a joy.

I enjoyed reading this article, Keith!
I just returned from an amazing painting adventure to the Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California with 25 or so wonderful artists and fun people. At the end of the trip we each shared ONE of our paintings and I was really struck by the wide variety but terrific quality of those artists' styles.
Painting alongside people you admire is a great way to push yourself into new experiments.

Karen, I'm probably stating the obvious, but, your first criteria or "guideline" is to decide whether you're priority lies in a "show" or a "sale". In a sale, you want to show what sells best, and in a show, your creative whims rule. I personally would recommend showing your best in either case.

In my own experience, I have not been able to judge the success of a show by the ratio of Wall Space VS. Paintings. There are just too many variables from space to space and show to show. Much open space between paintings lends a clean, classy, "museum like" appearance to your show, but I've seen shows AND sales that I considered very successful with works occupying nearly every square inch of display space. If it is your own space, try it both ways and use your own judgement. In all aspects of your art, YOU are the artist, so make it YOUR show, it will be YOUR style.

Oh, great question, I hope more working artists chime in on this because I have deliberated on that myself. I believe on a website, it can be overwhelming and boring - at a show, I feel it can be impressive. I would love to hear other artists opinions.
Keith - that sounds like an excellent subject for another blog post...

I found out that people love to dig around in the booth of people whose art they are drawn to.

I had a show once where my product was limited to small framed works. But I enjoy talking ( as you perceive), and if people ask, I tell them about my other disciplines, and I like to have a portfolio behind the counter, sort of, to show them what I mean. I've sold nice drawings and sketches out of such a portfolio. People like to drag out what other shoppers have not seen. Treasure hunt.

I like the idea of the digital presentation being available, too. As a talking tool.

Donna, I don't blame you for feeling discouraged.
Sometimes dogged industriousness overwhelms the creative spirit.

I venture to suggest that coming at your painting from a different angle altogether -- taking a plunge into a completely different medium, for instance, and learning to play joyfully, and try your own experiments. Stay away from photos, and other people's artwork until you find your own mark/style.

It has amazed me how much my wood carving sideline has taught me about my painting. I am simply amazed when I go back to my easel at how much more of a vision and intent I find in my 2-D colors, forms, and compositions. It's me! Bringing my carving play into my painting!

Clay would do it, or even something like batik printing, or something that doesn't have pictorial necessity. Play! Try stuff! Invent things and ways to use the medium! No rating system or special pre-set goals.


What matters most to you? Is it excellence? Is it sales? Recognition? Awards in competitions?

If it is finding your uniqueness, you will not find it in doggedly participating in all the excellent organizations and projects that others offer. It will be in playing with your own designs, for the love of it.

That's my input.

Donna, I certainly relate to all you say. If the "magic" is what you are reaching for, you have found out how to find it! Good for you!

I wish you happy painting, and enough sales to sustain your art pursuits. I wish me the same thing! :)