Discover Your Art Style For Long Term Growth

Too often professional artists can find themselves burnt out or lost in the creation loop. Knowing how to find your art style can be critical.

Discovering your art style can plague artists in various transitions of life. In turn our most important element, artistic expression, can suffer.

We begin on the artistic path yet often where we arrive is not where we intended to go. Outside forces influence our direction and impact our passion.

It is too easy to get caught up in the pressure to perform. Whether this be our job or in selling art, our genuine expression and style becomes lost in the noise.

“There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”

Nelson Mandela

Definition Of An Art Style To The Artist

Each artist must define their own art style. Nevertheless what this style is to the artist can be quantitatively defined.

An artists style is defined by the culmination of the development of the artist towards their authentic creativity within the art content. It is through the recognition of why art is important and their influence to that meaning where genuine impact is to be found.

It is through this definition that we can understand the scope and gravity behind discovering your art style. It is about who you are as an artist.

Problems Artists Have In The Creative Cycle

The most significant problem many have is the perception of what an artist is. We tend to treat that title as a noun, such as a position or career path. In truth it is more of a verb.

Being an artist is something that is lived. Why is this so? Allow me to point out the purpose of art.

It is through our eyes that we capture the world around us. It is a historical record, the emotions of our life, and the struggles we face.

We are storytellers through visual arts. We are not the producers of products that merely exist for profit.

Our next greatest problems arrive when we stray from this path. The unfortunate part is that our life will often dictate that we stray. Few have the luxury of creating for themselves alone to have others appreciate that work.

This though should never end our purpose, cut short our growth, or prevent us from giving art to the world through our eyes.

An art style is not something we find. I never have believed that we arrive at a style we like just for the sake of who we are, or what preferences we hold.

Rather I believe it is an evolving process that changes with time, experience, our struggles, and often can be framed by our environment. As we grow so does the style of what we become.

Indeed there are aspects which influence our work such as the inspiration we obtain from others. Yet in the end these pieces are not the determining factors.

What shapes an artists work is tied to who they are and how they see the world. Our creative ideas are fueled by the paths we have walked as we seek to express our work.

This is genuine art which is created in a purist way as an extension of who we are.

Understanding Life As An Artist

We all live what I call and define as the “Artistic Life“. Each of us will share some common themes. Likewise each of us will have very different experiences within the artist community.

How many times have we traded our true art style for the sake of what others think? How often have we given up our style in order to pay the bills?

We need to go back to the fundamental basics. Recognize that who we are was meant to be lived as a verb, not a noun.

Ignore the trends. Chasing trends within art or life is a herd mentality. Being safe within our position may be needed such as our job.

Nevertheless that does not mean that we should stop or give up.

Our true art style cannot be found within the beaten paths of the herd. It will never be found as long as we create for others and not our true self.

Monet, Picasso, Van Gogh, these names dared to walk a different path. Famous only after death and their art became invaluable when they could no longer create. Yet they changed the world.

As artists we must at some point make a choice. We will either be artists, or producers of products. Looking at the market today it is as if artists have forgotten the difference between art and craft objects.

What Is Failure To An Artist?

If we were to ask every artist what failure is we would arrive with many different answers. Ultimately for many this centers around why so many fail to make a living.

Certainly this element is important. We each must survive and provide for our families. That aspect should never be made small.

Our true failure is found in not recognizing who we compete against within art. This is more often than not the reason behind why so many quit.

Our art style is defined by how we see life. If we produce for others then this style is dictated for us. If we see only product then we have lost all artistic expression.

If we give up because we have failed then we live as a noun, not the verb.

Ultimately failure is an event, not a person. It is only when we allow an event to define who we are that we have lost our true self and expression.

We have abandoned our art style and what we can give to the world.

Coming to terms with life is not easy. Coming to realize that yesterday doesn’t matter in defining who you are is not easy.

Taking all those things which become bottled up inside and knowing how to place it in a box that you control can be hard.

Yet doing so gives you a reservoir which allows you to create your world that no one can copy. It is a unique color and design that is truly your own. This… is real style.

Many artists fail for they cannot achieve this. In terms of defining an art style it becomes impossible. The best of that artist is locked away behind a door and the key is hidden.

Opening that door is too painful. Creating art is not like being an accountant. We cannot simply crunch the numbers.

If who we are cannot be accessed within our heart and mind how then can a person express what is inside?

To be successful in art it is a requirement that we are able to face ourselves and our fear while accepting failure. It is imperative that when we arrive at that break point we do not quit.

If we quit we only fail ourselves and the setback is ours alone.