Finding Your Own Voice

As we develop as artists, it’s natural to examine the work of others. You’ll note that what attracts you to those paintings isn’t anything technical but more likely the passion that went into those paintings. 

You can apply all of the theory that you know in a painting, but the energy transmitted by your painting will be based on the feelings you have about the subject that you choose.  When a skilled painter finds the right subject, he or she can normally feel the vibe from the painting. Values are important and so is good solid design skills, but none of these seem to matter if the artist cannot connect with its subject. The painting ill lack pizazz.

After painting a few years our techniques improve, but after a while we might start to experience an identity crisis.  Something is missing.  That’s probably the time to think back on what attracted us to art in the first place. What paintings most speak to us? We must find our guiding light.  The combination of increased skills and finding topics that speak to us will only help us progress as artists.

Most of us have tried our hand at a variety of topics with no commitment to any.  However, I’m sure that you probably know instinctively when you are connecting with a topic.

The Art Tutor gallery contains some paintings that were made with heart while others were exercises for practicing techniques. Most likely, you can spot the differences.  It addition, we can all see how some artists have started to develop their own recognizable style in communication their passion.

Not only have the paintings matured in the gallery since we all signed up, I’m also noticing a wider variety of discussions between artists, including the groups. The topics of discussion are much more advanced.

We are all fortunate to be on this journey of finding our own voice with paint.

Here is a painting by Jan Palmer who won first place in the recent “Adirondacks National Exhibition of American Watercolors”.

 

Danielle