Hello and welcome back to my studio.
In this video, I'm going to be tackling the subject of the Artist's Voice.
Perhaps you've heard of that term before, or maybe you're not sure what it means.
What is the difference between an artist's voice and an artist's style?
How important is it to have an artist's voice?
And how does this impact on your success as an artist?
This is relevant not only
for professionals but for anyone taking up painting or a creative pursuit.
Just how relevant is it to have a connection with your artist's voice?
Let's look at this a little deeper and see how it influences your art.
Now, many artists ask me about success as an artist.
How do you become successful?
How do you get noticed?
All of these issues revolving around success and recognition.
But that is putting the cart before the horse.
And that is why it's important to understand what is the artist's voice.
What is your voice as an artist, as distinguished from your style?
Now, at its essence,
an artist's voice is your world view, your intrinsic beliefs, your experiences,
how that comes out in your paintings and the things you create.
Your style is, however, more about your technique,
that ever evolving practice of how you use your materials and how you put the medium
onto canvas, paper or a sculpture, all of that is a particular style.
It's ever evolving.
But it must be connected to a core,
an influence that comes from within yourself.
And it's your style that helps to convey what that inner content is.
It's that inner content that is your voice.
Now, let's answer a few questions relating to your voice and your style,
and maybe clarify this somewhat muddy concept and give you some self assurance
that you're heading in the right direction.
Or perhaps you need to reevaluate just what you are doing with your art
and whether you are being true to yourself first.
That is very important.
It's not about what other people think or your financial success or whether your
paintings are in a museum or hanging in your home.
All of those things are not that important.
However, all of those things are
positively impacted when you recognize what your voice is and use your style
to put that out to the world and communicate
more clearly and effectively, and thereby getting the benefits
of attention, recognition, and ultimately, whatever rewards you may be looking for.
So everything is connected.
We just got to get things in the right order and see them for what they are.
Right, let's have a look at some important questions on this topic.
Now, what is an artist's voice?
How do you find it and how do you develop it?
And how is it different from your style?
An artist's voice is understood as
the artist's unique perspective and way of expressing themselves through their art.
It's the underlying message
and personality that runs through your work, and it sets it apart from others.
It's also important to understand that you're going to make a lot of mistakes.
This isn't going to be an easy thing.
It's no easy job to discover your voice.
You're simply going to have to go through the ups and downs and not give up.
Persistence is the key to everything.
Now it's important to also understand
that the artist voice differs from the artist style.
While your artist voice is your unique perspective and way of expressing
yourself, your style refers to the specific techniques
and visual elements that you are using to express that inner voice.
An artist style will evolve over time, but the voice remains constant.
Now, how important is it to keep
practicing in order to nurture that inner voice and to develop your style?
Regular practice is essential for developing an artist's voice.
It allows the artist to refine and improve
their technical skills, which in turn improves the ability
to express your unique perspective through your art.
The two go hand in hand.
So while the artist's voice is primarily shaped by each individual artist's
experiences and emotions, their technical skills and style play
a role in how effectively they communicate that message.
Consistent practice and experimenting is critical.
So what comes first?
Style or voice?
What do you focus on,
especially if you're starting out and you're not really sure of what your
voice is or where you even stand in the world of art.
So typically the artist voice comes first.
That unique perspective and inner
expression is going to influence your style.
You may not have figured it out yet, and it's pretty confusing at first.
Maybe you're not even there yet.
But even at an early stage, it's important to understand what
motivates you and what you want to express, so you don't get caught up
in trying to maybe copy someone else and try to push yourself into a square hole.
You can't get the round peg through the square hole.
So figuring yourself out first and your voice is going to help you to know what
to focus on and to chip away at that until it makes more and more sense over time.
When we talk about artist voice,
sometimes it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that, does it have to be some
cause that is romantic and big and world changing?
Well, the answer to that is a simple no.
It's critical to remember that your voice
is what you find important and what you want to express from your inner self.
For instance, let's look at a few famous people.
How about Claude Monet?
Obviously, the supreme impressionist.
Now, what was his motivation? Let's look at that.
Maybe compare him to Vincent van Gogh and see how that helps us.
Claude Monet's voice could be
characterized as his deep love of nature and his fascination with capturing
the ever changing effects of light and color in his paintings.
He's known for bold, expressive brushwork,
vibrant color, and his ability to create a sense of atmosphere and mood in his work.
Recognizable works include his
Water Lilies, the series of Haystacks, and Rouen Cathedral paintings.
All of those paintings showcase his unique perspective and his style,
the way he communicated that perspective to the world.
Now, Vincent van Gogh, on the other hand, his voice is the intense emotionalism.
And his vivid, expressive color conveys his innermost thoughts and feelings.
That inner turbulence.
And he's known for his distinctive use of impasto and thickly layered paint
and vigorous, almost violent brushwork, adding texture and depth to his work.
And of course, making his unique voice come forward and be clearly understood.
So we recognize the artist's voice through
their style, how they use color, how they use brush work.
All of those things tell us
what the artist is going through, their world view, their experiences.
And we find out a little more about
what is going on in that artist's head and heart.
So when you look at a master artist
painting, you can get a very good idea of just what person that is.
And when you have an idea of that,
then you are connecting with that artist's voice.
And there's a conversation
and a communication between you and that artist.
That's the special thing about the artist's voice.
Now, each one of us has that, and you need to look at your work.
Also, look at other artists' work and see what really resonates with you.
As I've said before,
from my point of view, I immediately took notice of the Impressionists
and loved the work they were doing because it spoke to me and my love
for nature, light, big skies, bright sunlight,
all of that thing which really made that style of painting so appealing to me.
And of course,
the exciting colors and brush work, all of that is straight to my heart as
an artist and alerted me to what my voice was going to be in my painting.
Finally, what about the issue of success?
What is financial success or recognition?
Is that important for developing your voice or is it a distraction?
Now, financial success can be
a distraction or even a misdirection for an artist because it can shift
the focus away from the development of the artist's unique voice towards
creating work that is designed to appeal to a particular market or audience.
In blunt terms, you're just selling out for money, or you're so desperate
for recognition that you've forgotten who you really are.
Now, that is an extreme, of course,
but that is where this misdirection can take you.
So simply trying to conform to popular trends or styles is not the answer.
Rather focus on your own creative vision
and voice and then develop your techniques and skills in that direction.
Or maybe you've never considered your artist voice as being particularly
important, or you thought it just came across through your style naturally.
But getting to know yourself and your purpose behind your art is really
going to be very important and open up a lot more for you.
Well, I hope this video has helped to clarify these concepts and perhaps give
you something to think about and just churn a few ideas around and then maybe
inspire you to pursue a particular avenue of your painting with a lot
more confidence, knowing you're now on the right track.
And who knows what may happen in the future as a result
of you connecting with what is true to you.
Well, if this video has helped you and you think it may be helpful to someone else as
well, please feel free to share the video with them.
And as always, don't miss the next video coming up.
So please ensure you've subscribed and hit
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And always, I just want to remind you, I have a free course for you up here.
If you're not familiar with my painting
school, that's a good place to find out more.
Well, until next time, enjoy your painting and cheers for now.