Developing Style one Brush Stroke at a Time

"First Daffodil" acrylic on canvas

If you’re like me, you keep your eyes on trends: What are people buying? What’s the new hot color? How long will this geometric craze last?

When circles, lines and shapes were popular in the 60s and 70s, I grew tired of them within a few years. The revival of this psychedelic conglomeration of zigzags and prisms hit me at a time when my home is full of traditional furniture. But one thing I’ve learned about trends and fads, they never last.

Today driving to an appointment, I noticed that new white cars are multiplying as are white vans and trucks for business. Even the latest auto ads are featuring white and chrome.

(Picasso's Blue Period 1903)

(Picasso's African Period 1907)

In the September Better Homes and Garden (BHG) and Woman’s Day magazines, white walls are making a comeback. These virginal surfaces allow bold and bright accents to add zing and a bit of flare to an eclectic mix of modern and traditional.

Recent issues featured vintage finds that tone down and anchor the bright colors and soften the angular lines and shapes they bump into. Designers call it a “happy blend.”

Kishani Perera, who loves traditional finds from the past, is a designer, author, and owner of the LA boutique and Rummage (featured in BHG Sept. 2015). She said: “So many pieces from earlier times were made to last forever. That’s the beauty of vintage.”

VARIOUS STYLES OF FINE ART

So, dear friends, don’t give up. Use those old pieces your mother left you. Incorporate those interesting and universal items gleaned from garage and estate sales and relax. Surround yourself with what makes you happy.

The same goes for your own artistic skills. If you do what makes you happy, eventually you’ll develop your own style. Don’t get sucked into every fad that comes along unless it becomes a part of your style. Your work should be unique and recognizable.

According to definition: “In the visual arts, style is a ...distinctive manner which permits the grouping of works into related categories."^[1] or ..any distinctive, and therefore recognizable, way in which an act is performed or an artifact made or ought to be performed and made."^[2] It refers to the visual appearance of a work of art that relates it to other works by the same artist or one from the same period, training, location, ‘school’, art movement or archaeological culture: "The notion of style has long been the art historian's principal mode of classifying works of art. By style he selects and shapes the history of art".^[3] (Wickipedia)