[Today’s featured artwork for Day 42 of the 365 Days Project is by Vanessa Hadady.]
Rather than developing a singular creative style, many artists prefer the freedom of working in multiple styles and busting the “Golden Handcuffs.”
#42 – The Artist Mind knows no boundaries. Developing a singular creative style can stifle innovation.
Emerging artists are often encouraged to “find their style and stick to it.” Galleries, record labels and publishers prefer to build an artist’s fan base on past successes, so a solid portfolio of similar work attracts a loyal customer base, facilitates marketing efforts and guarantees sales. Hence, the Golden Handcuffs for the artist who must continue to create in a certain style or theme to maintain their revenue flow.
An artist should not have to limit their style unless that sort of focus is part of their creative research. Many of today’s artists are busting out of that mold and finding ways to market to a multiple customer base, even though everyone keeps telling them to “pick just one.” Famous artists such as Gerhard Richter have allowed their creative styles to shift throughout their careers while keeping their art relevant. Pablo Picasso‘s work changed as the world and his life changed: he had a Blue Period, a Rose Period and an African-influenced Period. He later turned to Cubism, Neoclassicism and Surrealism.
Working in multiple styles may not always be the easiest road, but it is the road of the highest creative integrity.
“I like everything that has no style: dictionaries, photographs, nature, myself and my paintings. (Because style is violent, and I am not violent.)”
Gerhard Richter
“The different styles I have been using in my art must not be seen as an evolution, or as steps toward an unknown ideal of painting. Everything I have ever made was made for the present and with the hope that it would always remain in the present.”
Pablo Picasso
“…Bonnard at times seems styleless. Someone said of him that he had the rare ability to forget from one day to another what he had done. He added the next day’s experience to it, like a child following a balloon.”
Franz Kline
“As you grow older, it dawns on you that you are yourself – that your job is not to force yourself into a style but to do what you want.”
Beth van Hoesen
Vanessa Hadady’s artwork can be viewed at: V. Hadady
Description of the images included in this post:
Stone House Supper Club Trees
Vanessa Hadady, California
Acrylic on stretched canvas
Lobster Sky
Vanessa Hadady, California
Acrylic on gessoed watercolor paper
The 365 Days Project
In 2012, Serena Kovalosky committed to writing an article a day for 365 days as an exploration into the lives of artists and the value of creative thinking in our society.
Experience the full evolution of the project! Click below to read the entire collection of articles.
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