Artists begin working on series often without realizing it. Their obsessions are fueled by an emotional attachment to a concept or to a place. We want to learn all we can about it and to do our best.
We start our artistic journey developing skills and techniques which are necessary to express ourselves. As time evolves we develop concepts creating a mood or conveying an idea. A concept can be elusive, but by painting a series that keeps you captivated, you will begin to explore and broaden your ideas and concepts. Continue to explore the series so that you find your own emotional voice rather than following someone else’s path.
Steps to Find Your Artistic Voice
- Choose Your Subject. What appeals to you? Landscape, Still Life, Figurative?
- Paint the compositional elements of the subject as they appear.
- Rearrange and compose the elements.
- Rearrange again.
- Choose a format that you wouldn’t ordinarily use. Do you think of a long horizontal first? Then mix it up, use a square.
- Play with the composition
- Play with the color
- Play with the paint, brushwork.
- Use new tools
- Use new foundations, canvas.
- Give yourself time limits.
- Experiment. Do SOMETHING different. Keep pushing the theme.
Eventually, your imagination will take over and you will soon find that you are painting an idea. Each time you paint a new idea in a theme, you will find new ways to express yourself and explore, broadening your possibilities.
I have always been interested in the effects of light, which is what usually draws me to a scene. I have painted sunsets for several years, but it wasn’t until about 18 months ago that I decided to paint a series of sunsets, painting 100 skies. Eventually, I started using more colors in my skies and created different moods. It became a way of stretching my horizons and finding my own voice.
Experiment. Do SOMETHING different
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Enjoy the process,
Becky