Uncover Your Art Style
You have a deep relationship with your artwork, but have you ever truly studied it? I want to share a powerful technique that will help you define your art style and articulate it to the world.
I want you to pretend that you’re an art historian who is preparing to write about your art. Gather all the pieces that you have on hand and place them all together in a room.
For artworks that have been sold or are otherwise no longer physically present, print a color photo of the artwork. Surround yourself with an essentially complete retrospective of your art. I hope seeing all of your work like this floods you with feelings of pride and delight!
Next, spend a deep 30-60 minutes per day for several days in a row looking closely at the artwork, making notes on what you discover.
If you were an art historian studying these works, what would you say?
Consider:
Colors
The colors that come up most commonly. Do you have a signature palette or color? If you were a stranger seeing this collection of work, what colors would you guess are the artist’s favorites?
Recurring Themes
Do you notice that many of the paintings fall into two to four categories? Determine the recurring themes and group the artwork by theme. What do you notice within the themes? For example, if florals are a theme, are half of the florals made up of roses? That would indicate that roses may be a theme of its own, like a sub-theme under florals.
Your Mark Making
What materials or marks do you see over and over? Do you love to finish a painting with a spatter of paint or some oil stick marks?
Shape
Are there certain shapes that recur in many of your artworks? If so, what significance do those shapes have for you?
Size
What are your most common artwork sizes? What reasoning is behind that: is it random, or do you have a strong preference for a certain size and shape of canvas or panel?
Substrate
Similarly, what substrates do you use? If you have works on paper as well as on more rigid surfaces, how are they different? What role does the substrate play?
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Really spend time on this…
You’ll be surprised at how much you learn about your work and how much more intimately you’ll relate to it.
Next, use the notes you’ve made to add to your artist statement. Most of us have one or more working copies of our artist statement, a critical tool for helping our audience look at and appreciate our art. Be sure to share your findings in your artist statement so that your audience can understand and really see your art.
Be sure to take some time to journal about what you’ve discovered about your art style. Has this exercise inspired you to take your art in a certain direction? How has it altered your view of your art?