Just Be You

On Wednesday I hung art in the halls at school. As I was hanging the kindergarten pictures I kept chuckling to myself and pretty soon was laughing out loud.  These make me happy. The kids work is as individual as they are.  However, only one was oriented in a landscape format.  The little girl who made that one turned her paper sideways on purpose.  When I pointed out that her owl could be taller if she'd turn her paper the other way, she said, "It's a little owl."  She had a clear vision of what she wanted and didn't need me to help her see it.

Here's the lesson for me: for years I would see the style of an artist who I admired and try to paint like they did. I tried out Claudia Nice's style, then David Vega Chavez, Howard Wexler, Edward Wesson, Robert Wade and on and on.  While I learned something from each of these painters, I never felt like I was saying what I needed to say.  I just didn't know what that was or how to find it.  

Finding my own style didn't happen until I learned to hear my own thoughts. It didn't come while I was looking for it, it came while I was busy painting.  In fact, I've found the more time I spend painting, the more clearly I can hear.  When a subject comes along that speaks to me now, I know.  I had to stop trying to learn to be someone else and lose myself in hard work.  There's still so much to learn, but I am making progress.  It'll change as I grow, in fact it will be a disappointment if it doesn't, but I'm working as "me" these days, and that's a great feeling.

Thanks for stopping by! Alice