Maturing my eye

Finding my voice Part 2 (read part 1 here)

I am working to create a recognizable style and approach to my work, to find my “voice”. The artists that i admire, can be recognized without seeing attribution. I am hoping to develop my own unique style (or at least not so derivative).

My initial work tended to be more classic, illustrative and mostly realistic. What i really admired were artists that were not afraid to paint with courage in the composition and how they apply the paint.

The artists i was watching

I first was longing for a style like Monet or Cezanne, the early impressionists. I loved the way that color and light and texture was used, especially in the way that Monet painted the same thing over and over and over again but never the same. The post-impressionist and expressionists piqued my interest, and Turner’s abstractions started pushing the boundaries of recognizable shapes and narratives.

But i was torn. The craft and eye required to do more realistic work appealed to me. So the North American painters who were doing more familiar locations and themes in their works became more important to me. The American Impressionists and western artists. I was drooling over Winslow Homer, Metcalf, Tamara Lempicka, Thomas Hart Benton, Maynard Dixon, Charlie Russel, Remington and even Georgia O’keefe.

Can you spot those influences in my work? These were not big shifts in my work or subject matter, but you are what you eat (or what you see).

My work most closely resembled Andrew Wyeth i think over the years. I kept going back to his texture, light and narrative nature of capturing a scene.

Next: Starting new