How do I find my style in my art?

Possibly the most asked question I receive from artists is, “How do I find my style?”

It’s pretty common for us to get stuck into a certain way of creating art. It’s probably something that was taught to us when we were kids in school about the “painting in between the lines” rule. Maybe it comes from people teaching art that didn’t really know a lot about it and just taught it the way they were taught. It’s a pretty traditional thing, and quite narrow thinking that there is only one way to make art and we can get stuck in it for sure.

The truth is there are so many ways to express ourselves when creating art. The trick is to find yourself in the art so that you express the way YOU do naturally. But….how do you do that?

Well, just like anything, it takes practice. But ask yourself some questions first of all.

“Do I enjoy the way I am creating art now?” if the answer is yes, then keep developing that way you are creating. If you’re content with it, keep going!

But if you are frustrated, ask yourself why.

If you are, in most other areas of life, not a super detailed person and are generally a mess maker when you are doing other things, maybe your detailed style of painting, the way you have been, isn’t really who you are. If you are trying to be something you are not truly, then allow your true expression to come through in your way of painting and creating.

Think back to maybe when you first started painting as a kid. Did you just have fun with colours and shapes and different paints and weren’t so concerned with the outcome, but you just played with the paint? Maybe you need to access that inner child again and go back to the reason you created art in the first place. If you are painting now and are frustrated and are starting to hate it, you’re dong it wrong! No but really. If you’re not enjoying the process, switch things up.

It will definitely be an exploration and it will not happen overnight. But just like anything else, the more you put into it, the more you will get out of it. If you are painting once a month, your expectations of discovery should match the time you are putting into it. And there’s nothing wrong with painting a few times a year. But just like learning piano, for example, if you are playing it 12 times a year, your development and skill rate is not going to be as high as someone who plays piano everyday for several hours a day.

So when you are painting, and have set that time aside, be intentional on why you are there. If you sit down to paint a masterpiece, that’s a lot of pressure. But if you sit down to play with the paint and really get lost in the joy of the process, you will start to discover what your art looks like by playing with it instead of trying to master it.

And whether you are a high detailed super realism type of painter or a super messy impressionist painter, the point is to create art that is genuinely you.

Xox, G