Not having an Art Style, is still a Style!
As an artist for almost two decades, I have never thought or doubted my artistic style until I started sharing my work publicly on Instagram. This was around two years ago.
As my community was growing over a few months, I came across and felt a few “expectations” already set for artists on the platform by other artists/people. For example an artist must:
- have one style (e.g. landscape, seascape, abstract or still life)
- work with one medium (e.g. oil, watercolor, pencil, or ink)
- post pictures/videos of new artwork on social media everyday
- sell their artwork at cheap prices
- have an aesthetically pleasing feed on Instagram with coherent grids & colors
- be ok with their work being stolen & posted on other pages by other people with no credit to the original artist
- and many more…
Facing these unspoken expectations, slowly started to make me doubt myself and my work as an artist. I felt stressed to create and did not know how to manage, let alone reach the expectations already set out for artist s— just so you know, there was and still is no rule-book coming along with opening your social media account.
Painting for me has always been a refuge from the world. This is where I did not have to worry, be anxious, or feel judged. However, I started to spiral down into a place where even the thought of painting or picking up my brush was demotivating. So at that point, the next best thing for me was to avoid it. I went into an art-block for a few months. I had no creative thoughts, and if I did, I was getting judged by myself based on some arbitrary standards and expectations of social media.
A few months passed, and I really started to miss the freedom I had before social media. The sole freedom to paint! That was the moment I knew I should do something about it.
I like to think that I am a problem solver, so I looked at the issue at hand as a challenge and set myself up to resolve it. I talked openly about the issue with people I trusted and read about it online. The following is what I decided to do: found a quiet place in the house, made myself a nice cup of tea, picked up a pen & notebook, and wrote down a few questions for myself:
- Why do I paint?
- How do I feel when I paint?
- What do I want to get out painting? What are your milestones and goals?
- Why did I start sharing it on social media?
- Which style & mediums gives me the most joy and energy?
Answering these questions honestly made me realize that I tend to feel suffocated when I force myself to use one medium or paint one specific thing (e.g. water using oil) for a long period of time. I have immense respect for artists who do stick to a specific style/medium, but at the end of the day, this is a personal choice and we should follow our heart and do what makes us happy.
Over the past two years, I have explored many new mediums and even started learning new styles. Practicing and documenting what I like/dislike, helped me get perspective on what is important for me and now I can safely say that:
- I enjoy painting landscape themed artwork using reference pictures of my own photos taken while traveling
- I enjoy joining the Urban Sketching group in the Netherlands once a month while meeting new creatives from around the world
- I learnt that I have a stronger affinity and really enjoy using oil, acrylics and watercolor paint
- I enjoy making process videos, upload tutorials on my YouTube channel and share my experience & tips via writing articles for my community
On the other hand, I am learning how to draw & sketch portraits, how to paint with oil pastels and Ecoline watercolor brush pens, how to manage my social media accounts while growing my network and adding value to my community.
After writing the answers to those questions, I declared for myself that:
‘Not having an art style, is still a style; MY style!’
From then on, it truly became easier for me to get back to painting and do what I enjoy. Honestly, it was a slow start but I was constantly reminding myself along the way that this is a journey and not a magical overnight decision to be made or action to be taken to help me reach my destination. I believe that reaching one style or using one medium, should not be an end goal of an artist. That can add a lot of pressure, specially for beginner artists out there. I know many artists out there that are their most creative self when they use many mediums and paint what inspires them in life.
Explore, experiment, and have fun while doing so. Lastly, I would like to leave you with a few tips that have helped me in the past few years:
- 🌻 List the questions above and honestly answer them for yourself. This helps you to gain perspective and will show you what is most important to you in your journey. Remember, it is YOUR journey!
- 🌻 Put up your answers to the questions/milestones/goals somewhere you can see; e.g. above your desk, on the fridge, next to your mirror. (Are you struggling to set up your goals and milestones? Check out my article about goal setting)
- 🌻 The old cliche statement saying ‘practice makes perfect’ is true. Keep on practicing and document your experience with the medium you use or style you try. See how it makes you feel, if it gives you energy, and most importantly if it puts a smile on your face
- 🌻 Ask for help/advice. Don’t be afraid to speak to someone you can trust in your community about how you are feeling.
- 🌻 Have fun with it! If it feels forced and exhausting, then probably that is not something for you. Try to take a step back, re-evaluate and re-think your choice.
I hope that these tips were useful and helped you in your journey. I am planning on writing more blogs about my experiences, tips and tricks as a hobby artist this year. If my blog interests you, please consider Buying me a Coffee. Thank you for supporting my passion. This way, I can continue to provide you with free content every month!
