Something that always held me back from creating was being unaware of what ‘style’ my art was. It even goes back to art school in college. I always felt like I was the only one that had trouble deciding what I wanted to paint. I would look around at the other students who seemed to always know what they wanted to paint, and the method they wanted to use to achieve their look. I seemed to spend far too long pondering what to paint, because I was thinking of how I could paint it.

I look back now and think I was probably too much of a realist, but didn’t want to spend all that effort of making something that looked like a photograph, when you could just take a photograph. I was good at making things look realistic, but it wasn’t my heart’s calling. I didn’t want to get bogged down in the details.

This fear, if you will, or uncertainty, did delay me from starting up my art again, for 15 years. That wasn’t the only reason of course, but a big deterrent.

As you know if you have been reading along, I just got to the point that I couldn’t keep avoiding or pushing off what it was that I wanted to do. The need to create was too strong, and growing.

So at the beginning of this blog and the start of my art Instagram page, I truly felt that I didn’t have a ‘style’. Now, I see that I do. Over 500 posts later, 3.5 years later. I don’t know how I would describe it, but that’s ok with me. I just had to start. I found that if I found inspiration somewhere (very often Pinterest), then I just had to put brush to paper to create my version of it, thus, stumbling on my style. It just comes out. You see a tree that you like the shape of, use colours that speak to you and paint it as only you can, and the style emerges. Then it’s a matter of trying something else that speaks to you. And keep going.

I do want to find my acrylic style as well. That will be a focus in the next year. I would love to create paintings of scenery and landscapes and since I realized recently that I did find my style here, there is hope, I can find my landscape style as well. The realization is a very exciting prospect.

I am just thankful I went for it and worked on it and developed my own way. If you relate to this, just start. And keep going. It’s fun to just try and draw or paint such a variety. Then eventually, you see it.

Sending Love,

Devon