Finding a Signature Style

    Robert Henri often told his students,

    "An artist who does not use his imagination is a mechanic."

    Artists working today feel pressured to develop a signature style.  We hear it in multiple marketing messages.   We hear it in feedback that comes with rejection. 

    But what, exactly, is a signature style? And how does an artist develop one when every technique or approach has been done before?

    There is no secret to a signature style: it's the result of the way you think and respond to what you want to communicate.   And the more that you work in your chosen medium, the more you will find those ideas that make your work unique.

    As an art student, we learn first by copying exactly what we see, and then by copying the work of other artists to learn a little about their style and genre.  The hope is that, by replicating the successful art from a master, the student learns something not easily taught. 

    But at some point the student must seek out ways to create his own language.  To start his own conversation with the world.

    Think of your signature style as the lens that focuses your work.  It can be identified in the medium you use - textile, glass, clay, metal, paint on canvas or ink on paper.  It's in the way you divide your space, your favored compositional arrangements, your subject matter and treatment.  Some artists rely on a particular mannerism or mark, while other artists paint hundreds of paintings of the same subject.  Your color preferences, the way you might use line or perspective - all these elements play a role in what you create.  They emerge in the form of your signature style.

    I believe there is a distinction between what we are taught in the traditional method of learning – copying the masters and learning from them – and copying a contemporary artist’s style.  One is based in your desire to learn and understand your craft, and the other is based on your fear that your work won't succeed if you use your own voice.

    But if you never use your own voice, we will never hear what you have to say.  Only your impression of what you think some other artist had to say. 

    Paint or create your art every day.  Art is a discipline, and like other disciplines, to be successful you need to practice what you do consistently.  If you find your work too heavily influenced by an artist you admire, analyze what it is that you're doing.  Look for ways to use the concept with a different subject matter.  Or use the color combinations in a different medium and compositional arrangement.  Working "in the style of" an artist is a long-standing tradition, and I've seen many artists use artistic influences to their advantage.  But if your work only mimics a more prominent artist without your own stamp of originality,  you risk constant comparison - not only by your peers, but by your potential clients, who won't be shy about dismissing your work.

    The art industry wants high-quality products and innovation. They look for credible artists who can demonstrate not only their ability to use time-honored approaches but do so with a fresh voice. 

Robert Henri also said,

                         “Know what the old masters did.  Know how they composed their pictures, but do not fall into the conventions they established.  These conventions were right for them, and they are wonderful. They made their language.  You make yours.”

                  

Comments

[Susie Monday]

When you work from strengths and personal perception, your own sensory alphabet as it were, you will begin to find and develop that personal voice and style. Technical and compositional and draftsmanship are the tools that we all use to refine and define and uncover.

[Clifford VanMeter]

Good advice. When I was an illustrator, I often adopted (at the behest of various editors) the style of other artists. This kind of meta-morph ability served me well in getting jobs, but in the long run didn't help my career. Now, as a wildlife painter, I'm working hard at having a unique and identifiable style.

Clifford VanMeter
http://cliffordblog.com

[JoAnn Sanborn]

How funny that we both used Robert Henri quotes today. He's just the very best! It's a great post and one I'll share with pleasure. Jo-Ann

[Lori Landis]

Thanks Sue, for the timely advice. I've been going through spiritual and mental growth and now my paintings have shifted from serene to lively. So I'm working on who I am with this new look. It hasn't really hit my website yet. It is a process and my gallery hasn't accepted my new look yet. Maybe because I'm not sure of the new look yet myself.

[Dawn Blair]

Good comments.

[Katherine Tyrrell]

One for my post on Sunday Sue!

I learned something about where my signature style was going when I put my website together for the first time. It was seeing all the work I'd done sorted into galleries which really helped me to understand what was 'me'.

For example, it was a real revelation to find that I like doing 'big views'. I'd been doing them for ages without actually realising quite how many I'd done. Plus once I had them all together I began to understand that it was the patterning found in the landscape which attracted me. Now I actively look for patterns in a landscape.

[Ana Tirolese]

Well said!

I thoroughly enjoyed your post. I will be sharing a link to it with some of my art groups. It is well thought out and well written.

Thank you.