finding your artistic voice

I’ve written about barriers to creativity before, but “voice” is a little different. Your voice in art is your point of view and how you say it through the choices you make - your colors, brushwork, style, and composition.

Sorry, no easy answers in this post. Artists just have to put in your time and, in fact, I think that may be the point.

The advice that I’ve heard and read so many times is that to find your artistic voice you just need to make more art - the voice is already there and will reveal itself with each painting. That sounds simple, right? Your voice is representative of your authentic self and distinctive point of view so if you know yourself as a person, wouldn’t your voice just come naturally… over time?

Cartoon by Guy Richards Smit

Just come out already!

Oh sorry, did I sound impatient? We live in a restless world. We have Google calendars to update. If you’re a mom of school-aged kids like me, you’ve got registration deadlines, missing socks, and growing bodies that need new cleats. 

As a professional artist, we need to know our “brand'' and have our story and strategic niche all set to go. Right? So, you know, it would be great if that “voice” could just reveal itself already and package itself nicely so that we can carry on with other things we need to do.

This contradiction - the mindful searching for authentic voice vs. the hurried demands of life - can make for a confusing ride as an artist.

The calendar is useless here and I kind of LOVE that.