For months now I’m wondering about my artistic style. You know, this touch that makes people recognize your work immediately. This thing that you can play with but is always here as “you”.
I don’t have a style. At all. I mean… when I look at my journal for examples, all my girls are totally different from one to the other, it’s stunning. None look like the others.
Searching my own voice. I know what I like, I know what I dislike. I have so many sources of inspiration, and it’s very ecectic.
Many years ago, I fell in love with Mark Ryden work. I know why, it’s only my Spleeny me that speaks through it. And it’s a part of me, I don’t ignore it at all now. That’s surely why I also like Anne-Julie Aubry‘s work so much. And Gorjuss‘s one as well, and Benjamin Lacombe who makes awsome books’ illustrations.
They all reflect a big part of who I am, you know, deep inside of me. This part I fought against for so many years before accepting it. Acceptance is a hard thing. But now, I got it and deal with that better than ever.
BUT I also love Bright. Do you know Lindy Longhurst ? I LOVE her work. So rich in symbolism. And Mara Friedman too, I knew her thanks to her illustrations for the Triple Goddess Tarot (purely awsome).
It’s like I’m torn between two opposites. They used to fight a lot, not so long ago. Today, they just almost peacefully coexist together.
But I can see it in my arty work. Light versus Darkness. Always. But it makes me wonder: is that a bad thing to create in such different styles ? How extern people see this fact ? Bad or okay ? If you see that an artist makes creations that do not look like each others, how do you feel ?
I absolutely don’t want to copycat others work, even when I like something sooooo much; it’s not me to copy.
I look at what I create and begin to find a kind of coherence, but just in my recent paintings. I continue to sketch, to do what my Heart & Soul tell me to get out of me. I like it, after all: it’s all that matter, isn’t it ?
BUT I won’t lie: I’d like to make people heart giggle and resonnate when they see my Universe (not everybody of course, we’re all different and what speaks to someone does not necesseraly speak to the neighbour ;)).
What do you think ? Did you struggle to find your style ? Do you always create the same kind of things (some cohesion in your art) ?