Signature Style…
If a man does not keep pace with his companions… perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears… however measured or far away” - Thoreau
So we’ve found our “voice”… now how about our Signature Style? But what actually IS it? And how do we get it?
Signature Style could be described as our own unique creative DNA. It’s what’s left of our art… after we take out the years of art education (both formal and self), the influence of other artists and educators, and the styles and trends of the times in which we live.
As mentioned in the Comments section in the last topic…
“I don’t think our artistic voice ever really changes… but the tone of it will vary over time with the gained experience of a lifetime. What was there at the first… our creative DNA or blueprint… if you like… is there innately in us. What we do… and the way we do it will change… but what motivates us and how we translate the new information into something that’s workable for us will be determined by what is authentically and uniquely already there.”
“There is nothing new except what has been forgotten” - Marie Antoinette
Therefore… signature style is more than us having an original thought or idea… and it also transcends our choice of subject, technique or method. Signature style is the way in which we “say” it… the way in which we “express” the idea, subject, technique or method.
It is the unique way in which the paint goes on… and the words go down!
And I guess… somewhere in our hearts… the hope would be that someday (maybe) in making our own unique and authentic mark… we will be leaving behind us our own indelible and unforgettable footprint!
“It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation” - Herman Melville
March 12th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
Well thought out jean. I do have a signature style,but I don’t worry about leaving footprints . I started doing drawing and painting very late at age 70 and my style,which is rather sketchy,derives from wanting to do as many images as possible in the short time left to me. It is interesting that one of the paintings which sold at my pittsburgh show was a traditional watercolor which was in the show only because the young woman who owns the gallery insisted that it was worth framing. I had to promise her that I wouldn’t throw anything out until she had seen it. On th other hand four of the sold paintings were in my pen and ink and wc style.
March 12th, 2007 at 9:03 pm
Roger… my cousin’s mother in law turns 100 next week and they are celebrating in style at the Sydney Tattersalls Club… a swanky cocktail event for friends and family. She still plays the piano beautifully and is as sharp as a tack… (we should all be so lucky! LOL) The secret (my humble opinion) is to keep doing what we’re already doing for as long as we can do it… and hang the consequences. Age is irrelevant… as we each only have “today”
As for leaving footprints… I think you have underestimated your shoe size young man!
March 13th, 2007 at 5:37 am
Signature style….footprints,hmmm! I think that mine obviously derives from being a professional gardener for 24 years, however the need to “immortalise” and enlarge stems from my eyesight (am short sighted) and the fact that my body is wearing out. I am still gardening, but my tools have changed!
March 13th, 2007 at 8:17 am
LOL… I hadn’t thought of that Jools… but yes… our tools do change… along with our ability to swing and manouver them! I’m short sighted too… it’s a b nuisance wearing trifocals. As I get older my close vision is actually getting better (can you believe it… God does have a sense of humour afterall) but it creates problems at the easel when I need to be constantly going back and forth from close focus to middle distance and long range in the space of a hastily laid-in wash !
March 13th, 2007 at 10:10 am
I think signature style it’s more than how we “say” or “express” it, it’s a reflection of how we experience it. To me, art is the metaphors we use to share with others our depest, truest selves, the sum total of education, upbringing, learned values, philosophy, character, etc. Learning any art is a matter of acquiring and mastering skills to the point where they’ll stay out of the way and allow the expression of our unique personality and vision, manifested in style.
March 13th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
Good thoughts John…
You are right… once a skill has been mastered the freedom of expression will follow easily… without the need for us to constantly reference what we’ve “learned” through all those influences.
But I suspect that our signature (or personal creative) style may go back even further than that. Something akin to handwriting. For instance… I write in my mother’s hand. It’s not something I have chosen… it’s just something that has happened. My teacher’s taught me the letters of the alphabet… but my genetics directed the way in which I would ultimately shape (style) those letters into handwriting. Weird science eh… (or maybe just freaky me!?) LOL LOL
March 14th, 2007 at 1:22 am
Nature or nurture? Genetics? Or do we assimilate that which we’re exposed to? Would your handwriting resemble your mother’s if you had been separated from her at birth and had never seen it? I don’t have the answer, but I would argue that genetic encoding is another aspect of who we are, along with all the other things I mentioned, contributing filters through which we process, interpret, and then communicate experience to others through our art, or handwriting. In other words, they’re the starting point, and a contributing factor, but not necessarily the determining factor.
March 14th, 2007 at 7:48 am
Believe me… if I could write in my father’s hand… I would! LOL
Thanks for your thoughts John
March 14th, 2007 at 9:16 am
It is a mind boggler - the deeper you go, the deeper you go!!!! LOL
My mother is an artist, my father and Grandfather were gardeners extroadinaire! You find something that is “easy” to do, something that makes sense and takes minimal effort and that is what you do. You love it, so therefore you do more of it and the cycle continues. My 5 yr old sits in my studio with me and paints up a storm. She also follows me around the garden and helps me with small jobs - she now walks around on her own and informs me of any changes (soooo cute!) My 15 yr old has charisma and natural presence on stage (she is so good to watch), she is also a budding artist and she plays the flute. At the moment she is discovering many things about herself - her signature is developing.
March 14th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
So right, Jools! Every thought leads to something else.
You’ve provided a wonderful corner, Jean, to kick around ideas that just don’t seem to inspire much thought elsewhere…. and I, for one, appreciate it!
March 14th, 2007 at 1:06 pm
Ditto John!
Having a cuppa with Jean has allowed me freedom and the time to explore that freedom honestly.
March 15th, 2007 at 8:15 am
Hey thanks John and Jools! I was having a bit of a “flat” day yesterday… so it cheered me up no end to see you both here…
March 16th, 2007 at 5:23 am
Aha….our shout for a cuppa. jugs on!
March 16th, 2007 at 5:32 am
Hey Jean….some exciting news!!!!
I’ve been invited to exhibit my “stuff” at another garden expo (but this time this one is huge!!!!!) There will be all kinds of Media coverage, guest appearances by garden celebrities and other exhibitors from all of the state. Yahoo and whacko - the- did! Wouldn’t it be lovely to do well?!? Its fine to have a signature ….but what about the page you write it on. I have been searching for the appropriate page/venue for months and months,,,,and then when I am at a very low ebb and feeling most sorry for myself, something like this presents itself. I am breathing in and out…………!
March 16th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
CONGRATULATIONS Jools! What can I say? You sang with your own voice… signed off with your own signature style… and now the world is beating a path to your door! It doesn’t get much better than that!
March 17th, 2007 at 7:00 am
Hmmm, I have a frog in my throat!!!!!!!!!
I had to decline the Garden Expo Jean as my hip is just way too sore and unreliable. I just could not see myself manning my site for two days, out in the middle of a paddock under a tent. I had to cut and measure the consequences of it all. Plus that……It would have cost me $700 to put the show on ($500 for Public Liability Insurance!) so that kind of helped me in my decision as well. Something else will come up I am sure, I just have to see the door as it opens!
March 21st, 2007 at 9:56 am
I’m sorry to hear that Jools. But don’t worry… something else will come up and you will be ready next time. Nothing is ever for nothing okay? Chin up young lady!