On An Artist's Style...

“Rising” 33.5” x 20”

Last week I sent the image above (of my most recently completed tapestry) to my newsletter list and said I’d been thinking about the subject of Style. As in an Artist’s Style. I then asked  …”Developing a style, following a style, changing a style, worrying over a style… what are your thoughts on style? “

I got a lot of responses!

I’m posting some here, then I’ll share my own thoughts. I’ve kept all the comments anonymous. See which ones, if any, resonate with you!

“Great topic and one I have struggled with as a photographer and as a new tapestry weaver. I got a lot of criticism about a lack of identifiable style when I was doing a lot of photography, I just shot what I like how I liked.”

“…As I view more tapestries I find it easy to identify some weavers work based on their distinct style. I’m new and all over the place learning tapestry, no style or theme developed yet or maybe never. I would love to see others responses to this. “

“On the subject of style, this really resonates with me because it is something I think about a lot. I think that my previous work in mixed media had a definite style that made it recognisably mine, which has maybe made it easier to sell, in the past. Also it makes for a cohesive body of work to exhibit. However, I found over the last few years that I was getting bored, and feeling like I was churning out work that was no longer giving me satisfaction. I have now given up painting, to concentrate on weaving and am much happier. But because I am still very much exploring my way through tapestry, ( with the help of your course) experimenting and learning new skills, I find myself questioning whether my work looks distinctively mine or whether I even need to think about that yet. Sometimes I wonder if I should always have a3D element to make it a cohesive collection of work and at other times I think that maybe I am too early in my journey to worry about a distinctive style. But yes it is a subject that has preoccupied me for some time, I am glad I am not the only one. “

“…style arises out of the creative flow …it has no home except in retrospect..a stream of consciousness thought that came out of nowhere.”

“It seems unless you are trying to have a style that it doesn’t appear until you notice the connections…”

“The question of Style is one that has bugged me for ages.  I’ve always felt I don’t have a style, that I’m too experimental, easily distracted, a dilettante (so much judgement!), blah blah blah. And that this would keep me from real success because the world likes brands and identifiable styles.  Lately I’m learning just to let go of that expectation.  It’s simply not in my makeup to find a formula and stick to it.  I immediately feel impatient and itchy—“don’t fence me in”!  And as I look around at the wider art world beyond tapestry I see lots of artists who are always reinventing themselves, trying new media etc.  Learning new techniques as they go (hence, “sloppy craft” sometimes).  So while commercial galleries and Instagram may reward Style—because it’s what they already know; it's quantifiable and sellable—I’m beginning to wonder if it isn’t a kind of creative death for the artist. “

“…to my mind and experience, style is something that comes naturally if one allows it. I know, when I first started making art, I worried about style a lot. What was mine and how might I discover it? When I stopped trying to make what I thought people wanted to see, I saw my style blossom organically. It finally dawned on me that I could see and appreciate what other artists and weavers were doing but I could do my own thing. I didn’t have to conform. I could study art history and admire the skill but that did not mean I had to paint with oils!”

“…I think style is a by-product of an artist who is willing to listen to herself and make work that lights her up. I don’t think an authentic style can come from adopting work in a certain style necessarily. I mean, we can borrow inspiration. But the style comes from individual work and the artist doing that work in a way that feels natural to them.”

“Style, hmm.  I’ve always thought of artistic style as something that professional artists explored and developed after art college and a great deal of experimentation. For the curious, non-professional such as I style is fluid as I explore artists new to me or long revered as I pick up and experiment with what they have taken years of thought and practice to develop. Having said that I wonder whether style isn’t more innate? An intuitive feel for organic or geometric, pattern or line, colour or black. Possibly hobbiests are freer to play with style as they are not in the public eye?”

“I have arrived at the idea (for now) that my "voice"...my "style"...revolves strongly around colors and hues of nature along with the organic texture that we find in a natural setting.  I'm going with that for now and see where it takes me.  I am still drawn to bright colors from time and time when purchasing yarns, so I add them to my inventory.  Who knows, one day that might be the perfect fiber to once again stretch my "style".”

So what do “I” think?

I believe an artist’s “style” shines through as a cohesiveness that holds their work together.

I don’t think style involves religiously sticking to a color palette or technique, although that certainly makes your work more recognizable to those that have seen previous pieces. And as someone pointed out, comes in handy when looking for gallery representation. I’m not saying that’s bad- although in some cases it could be stifling.

And it can definitely change and evolve.

As a few have touched on above, my belief is that your style is innate. It will show through if you just do the work. If this is something you’re questioning or confused about, my advice is to keep going and then maybe a year or two or five- look back at your whole body of work. It will probably surprise you as in “Huh… I guess I do have a Style.”