Have you ever had a sleepless night, or if you're like me up till the wee hours painting? If you answered Yes, you've probably seen an infomercial or 2. In that hour of t.v. magic you are convinced that you can have fuller /straighter/shinier/curlier hair, look 20 years younger, have sparkling floors and be 20lbs. lighter all for the low, low price of $19.95. Have you ever noticed the fine print? *Results are not typical! Do you know why that is? Because there is no magic pill, no magic product :( Just like everything in life it takes hard work and perseverance. I know not what you wanted hear!!!
I've recently been re-listening to the podcasts of Artists Helping Artists radio show. I've been listening to all of the artists interviews. Leslie and Dreama do a fantastic job of grilling, I mean politely asking, these artists those questions that inquiring minds want to know. Do you know what these artists have to say when asked the question, How does an artist find their artist style? These master artists, Kevin Macpherson, Scott Christensen, Greg LaRock, Carol Marine, Karin Jurick, etc. all had something to say. Guess what they all said, they all had a common thread--They just weren't that focused on finding a style!!! In fact some of them weren't even sure they had a style, that's right folks, these artists, that we love and adore and can spot one of their creations from a mile away, weren't even sure if they had a style!!! It just wasn't a priority!
What was priority was painting, painting with passion, painting what they wanted to paint and not what they thought would sell, and doing a lot of it. Painting miles, and miles of paintings, painting daily, just showing up and doing the work! Paint, Paint, Paint and then Paint some more, and guess what your artistic voice will emerge. Just like everyone has a unique fingerprint and their own unique handwriting, that style will emerge! And just like we evolve and change in our life our style will evolve and change with us! So relax! Problem solved, just take that task off your plate! Isn't that freeing? Focus on painting that is the answer!
So I challenge you to ditch this notion that you have to have a style. Let's try it together, for the next month, just don't worry about it, free yourself and the rest will follow:)))
Now maybe if I could just figure out how to paint while on the treadmill I could kill 2 birds with 1 stone:)
I'm still running my mini-print give-away until Friday! If you're interested in participating check out the Monday's blog post HERE
See you Friday Peeps:)
Carrie
Loved this post Carrie!
ReplyDeleteI didn't think I had a style either - until I looked back on past work and realised that I hated almost everything I had done for my Arts Foundation Course (all of which is on my blog), and had been totally repelled by the fact that I seemed to be being moulded in to something I wasn't meant to be. I was never going to 'lunge' at my canvas. I could never just comfortably throw paint around either. I was learning to follow a trend, a fashion. How on earth was I to find out how Sandra Busby paints when all the time I was being told to paint like someone else, or in a way which feels un-natural to me. The only work I have done which I like are the ones that had nothing to do with my course such as the Teddy Bear, the baubles in a glass, the marbles, the bubbles etc... Looking back, quite aside from the course, which makes me feel entirely lost, I realised that I do have my own 'natural' style - These paintings are all quite similar because they truly came from me. What has come from my own heart with no thought about style seems to have developed in to one quite naturally. So - the course is soon to be a thing of the past and that is when I believe my artistic journey will truly begin. So, I totally agree with everything you said!
P.S. Can you please let me in on how to look 20 years younger for just $19.99? lol ;0)
Love this post Carrie! And do you know style has been on my mind recently too? I just had a post all written up in my head before i saw yours! Strange! I heard an artist that I admire say once that she felt the need to paint looser and looser (she's a pretty awesome realist) because of peer pressure I guess you could say. But every time she tried it she felt like the work wasn't finished. Her friend told her "Stop fighting it, it's how you paint!" So she did. Happily.
ReplyDeleteIf you ever figure out how to paint and run on a treadmill at the same time I'd be very interested to know, and see it too. ;)
And I loved Sandra's comment too. :)
Carrie, I LOVE this post! That is exactly where my thoughts have been the last few days - must be "something in the air"! :) I am so glad you wrote this, as I was ready to quit painting altogether.
ReplyDeleteI love your Style Kit! Made me laugh. I'm loving other people's posts, too. Lots of thoughtful comments.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love YOUR style, by the way!
Great point! And, congratulations on Dick Blick!
ReplyDeleteSuper post Carrie. Something very much on my mind too, just recently anyway. There is no pill, no panacea, no silver bullet, no wonder brush, no magic paint. I'm just going to enjoy painting from now on and a style of my own will surely emerge. It's a lot like handwriting, playing a musical instrument, or even making a curry! Thanks for sharing your encouraging thoughts on this.
ReplyDeleteYEA!!!!! i can stop now? i don't have to find a style?? you have no idea how much this post helped me today. and i also needed a good laugh! brilliant! thank you carrie!
ReplyDeleteOh, I couldn't agree more: Especially the part about paint, paint, paint! Great post!
ReplyDeleteIn total agreement, Carrie. Finding your style isn't all the be all, end all. Enjoying the process is a good day in my studio.
ReplyDeleteI love this post...Also just had the best new name for the mason ball jars in light of what you and your husband do for all of us...How about Battalion? Hmmmm- like that...waiting to serve:)
ReplyDeleteAmazing post, Carrie!!! Something to think about!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Carrie! I'm guilty of having searched for my own style and found out first hand, that my focus was in the wrong direction. Tackling a larger surface really helped shake up the mindset I'd gotten trapped in. I was so overwhelmed by the space, I forgot to think about style! Yes, paint paint paint but it also helps to change something in the routine to shift habitual thinking. I don't have a great title but how 'bout something simple like:
ReplyDelete"Summer Memories?"
so....did you order the 'shelf genie' :D
ReplyDeleteGreat post Carrie and it is all true.......but is there a secret tip for a flat belly?