Hello hello! I wish you all a very happy New Year, hopefully full of delicious celebratory cheese boards and possibly still some Christmas leftovers.
The new year often brings a lot of hope and apprehension for me, there’s so much uncharted territory in terms of what I’ll be doing and what sort of opportunities await. I’m sure I can’t be alone in this, so I thought it’d be a fitting time to tackle a subject I’ve gotten many questions about: finding your way through the tangled wood that is artistic growth and finding your voice. Full disclaimer, I feel extremely under qualified to talk about something I still often struggle with, but I want to be real with you guys and hopefully help where I can. The following is definitely not a how-to guide, simply my own experiences and thoughts thus far. Alright then! Onward!
Finding your voice
The good and bad news is the same here: honing your skills and finding your artistic voice is a never-ending road. It’s winding, sometimes rough, and oh-so-wonderfully surprising. No shortcuts, no roadmaps, just you on your own unique journey.
Your style of art is made up of a number of factors:
Technique
Medium
Personal taste
Subject matter
And so many other elements, all binding together to make your art truly yours. It’s constantly evolving, sometimes deliberately and often on accident. For many of us, our work grows and changes without us even realizing until we look back on our old art from years ago. The reason why I avoided titling this “Finding Your Art Style” is because it’s not a final destination where we say “well, this looks pretty good I think I’ll stop now”—it’s found, lost, changed, and so on. It’s more about discovery. Discovering new ways to express what excites you through your work, discovering what makes the experience enjoyable and finding a process that gives you creative fulfillment.
Of course, we always have a certain amount of control over our own work through conscious decisions (though I’m convinced the best things often happen through accidents). If you’re feeling a bit lost and unsure of what exactly you want your art to be, some good questions to ask yourself are:
Which subjects do you enjoy drawing most?
Which mediums do you prefer to use? Is it time to try exploring new ones?
What sort of art resonates with you? What do you like about it?
Obviously practice and time play a major role in development, but there’s a lot of internal work going on as well. Introspection, analysis, and simply learning about our personal tastes is equally important as physically creating art. After I started my journey as a book illustrator, I found myself facing all sorts of internal questions like “what makes my art unique? What sort of stories do I want to tell through it? Which projects resonate with me most?” …and I’m still searching, learning, growing. The same goes for finding your path in art, both personally and professionally. There’s so much to unpack here that I could write a whole other post about it (actually, let me know if there’s anything touched on here that you want to talk more about in the future!)
Don’t Box Yourself In
I’ve struggled with this a lot, as I’m sure many artists do. If an art style is forced, it can become a trap. We start to feel unsatisfied and unhappy with our work—sure, the style is consistent, but why do we still feel so unhappy with it?? This can happen when we create too many rules for ourselves and leave no room for growth and mistakes. We sacrifice play and experimentation all in the name of having an unchanging art style (remember: you don’t need one to enjoy creating or be successful!). The pressure put on us by ourselves to be absolutely consistent can sometimes snuff out creativity, and it stops being fun and surprising. Don’t be afraid of mistakes and change!
the most helpful things i’ve learned so far
Comparison kills creativity. Again, I could probably write a whole other post about this, it’s something I struggle with most. If you’re constantly looking at what everyone else is doing, you’re going to stumble and lose what makes your art truly yours.
The finished pieced probably won’t turn out exactly as you imagined (and that’s okay).
Paint what feels like home. It’s a tiny feeling I get whenever I create something near to my heart: nature, wild animals, tangle-haired girls, fairy folk…these familiar are things reminiscent of my childhood and have become a part of my identity. It’s also why the time spent not creating is equally important, which brings me to my next point…
…life outside of your work is necessary and important. Time spent away from your desk isn’t a waste! You’re first and foremost a person, living your life and experiencing things will help inspire and strengthen your artistic voice just as much as physically creating art.
Progress isn’t linear. Hitting a plateau just means your personal taste is evolving and your physical work is still catching up to it. That’s good!
Look for inspiration in many places, never just one. This is crucial especially here in the online world. It’s okay to be influenced by the art we see and love, the internet is full of wonderful art and resources that help inspire and guide our voices…but never look at just one source or else it can become a crutch and lead to plagiarism. Again, doing things your own way and accidentally stumbling upon new techniques is one of the best things you can do to make your work more unique and more you.
Bits of Life, 2021 wrap-up
Alright m’lovelies! I think that about does it for the discussion part of this post. As always, I’ve some things to share from the month of December and some end-of-the-year notes.
December favorites
As you might have seen, my newest illustrated project, Embassy of the Dead: Hangman’s Crossing by Will Mabbitt was published in the US recently! It’s available in the States wherever books are sold, and Book Depository for international friends.
These vanilla mushroom cookies from Fare Isle. They came out so cute! I added a bit of orange zest and additional spices for some extra festive flavor.
Cinnamon wreath bread from Adventures in Cooking. I made this for Christmas, it was a long process but so much fun
This one might seem a bit silly, but even after the holiday is done, I’m still watching The Muppets Christmas Carol. It’s such a comfort movie to me, and the color palette of cool blue/grey and coppery tones is fantastic.
Hopes and aspirations for ol’ ‘22
There’s a lotttttt of unknown ahead in the next year, so many new projects yet to come into being, so many endings and beginnings. Rather than write a list of resolutions, I want to slow it down and focus in on small and simple goals to work towards once I’ve freed up some time for play.
Fresh Etsy products! I’ve several mini originals to be listed in the new year, and many works-in-progress for prints.
Explore new mediums! I’d love to try something completely new this year, maybe explore sculpting and larger canvases (literally and figuratively). Who knows, maybe it’s the year I learn how to knit as well!
Personal projects! I’ve put so many things on the backburner, it’s high time to give them more attention.
Finally, I want to thank you all for being here. For supporting my art, for all of your kindness and encouragement. I’m excited to see what the new year has in store, and to share more art with you! Have a wonderful weekend, dear friends!
Love,
Taryn