Thursday, November 5, 2009

A strong sense of style


Look at these two pieces of art. Do you know who created them? If you're familiar with the artists, you will know them without peeking at the answer below. Even if you don't know the artists, you can see the differences between the two and easily believe that each has a style that is instantaneously recognizable as their own.

I am fascinated by artists who have developed such a strong sense of style. I wonder if they revel in it or feel boxed in by it. I am sure it helps "brand" them and make their art more salable. It also seems to make them more of an Artist with a capital "A" because you can recognize a Van Gogh or a Monet when you see it. In many ways, they have created their own signature "look." I know I'm not quite there yet. I have some sense of my own style. My collage, "Wings," which I feature on my blog, includes many of the elements which make up my style. But I haven't settled on or created a unique signature style - one that people look at and say, "That's a Maria Ontiveros." I have one in mind, but it's still in the incubation stage. I'll be sure to share it when and if it works out.

In the meantime, here's a list of artists who I think have a strong signature style:

January Hooker (a local artist, without a website, but you can get an idea from this picture)


And, oh, here's where you can peek at the answers:

4 comments:

humel said...

Thought-provoking post - I can certainly see something of your style from what you've shared so far :-)

nancy said...

Enjoyed this post! I've been working on my style for a couple years now and like to think I'm getting to a place where people would recognize my work.

Kimberlee said...

I love Kelly Rae Roberts's work. I guessed wrong on the other one. I thought that it might be Liz McGrath. I took one of her classes at Artfest (2006). I think Michael was teaching that same weekend. :) I love all of the other examples you gave. Dina Wakley is a new one for me, so I'm excited to see her stuff.

Good luck with developing your own signature style. It will be fun to see it progress!

Unknown said...

Great topic... I totally don't have a style to any of my creations. At least I don't think I do, and I want to find one. Good luck with developing yours and wish me luck on mine! ~Kai