It was so interesting for me recently when I held an open studio event for the Whakatāne Art and Garden Trail to get so much feedback, from people that I don’t know, about my artwork. Until then, most feedback had come from people who knew me well, and from family. Obviously they are mostly biased about my talent, 😊which of course I love them for!
While I received lots of lovely feedback, which was a great boost to my confidence, that’s not the point of this post.
Before the event I thought about how I would answer people's questions about my inspiration and style etc. Interestingly, I got lots of questions that I didn’t expect. One of the more interesting questions was “is this all one artist’s work?” I have often reflected on the fact that my paintings come in many different styles and shapes but hadn’t really thought about the incoherency of my collection of work. My explanation to people was that I had been painting for only around 18 months, and I was still doing a lot of experimentation to find my “style”. It also made me realise that despite the various styles, there is an underlying style that is uniquely mine! Even when I try different brushstrokes or colour palettes, there are habits and forms and things that make my paintings uniquely mine.
Even when I’m inspired by something I’ve seen on Instagram or another artist’s work, my resulting work is never a copy, it is immensely different because I bring my own unique flavour and style to the work. It has made me realise a couple of things. Firstly, that a cohesive style is important, and I believe it is the sign of an established artist. While this can change and evolve, there is an underlying thread to all the work. Secondly, it made me realise that I’m not ready to settle down into one thing yet... I have more exploring and experimenting to do! I’ve recently started experimenting with alcohol inks and I love them! Having less control over the medium is very liberating and is teaching me to go with the flow and think differently about creativity. So, while I’m still working towards my “style” I will continue to have fun and create different and unique works that don’t always fit together but are all part of my process and my learning and growth.
Another reflection, based on comments from the open studio, is that my work is almost exclusively inspired by the sea and the harbour that surround me here in Ōhope. Water features in almost all of my paintings and is usually the focal point of them. Understanding this, another comment also make sense, that my work is very “blue”. Which reflects the nature of my subject matter but also my love of all aspects of the colour blue and the peace, calm and harmony that it brings to my work and to any room that features my work. While not all of my pieces are calm and peaceful, again this is an underlying theme that is important to me, and I feel the need to bring this out in my work. The underlying moodiness is a theme through most of my work too, and this probably reflects some of my own personality and my own preference as well. Creating pieces that inspire a sense of calm and harmony is what drives me, as well as creating order out of chaos, and works that inspire peaceful reflection.
So, I am constantly inspired by the beauty of nature surrounding me with every walk along the beach and every day on the harbour, seeing the sunrise, sunset and all the light variations in between. In fact, a problem I have is capturing too many inspiring photos on my phone and having to spend hours going through them to figure out which one will be embodied in my next artwork. Light and colour both fascinate me, and I am constantly trying to capture these and do nature justice in my photographs and my paintings.
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