Finding Focus

I thought I had focus in my art but in reality I don't. I've never analyzed what I like and what I don't like. It's all kind of been scattered in my head. I am a big fan of the artist Wyanne. I have taken a couple of her classes and she is a guest teacher for Life Book. She is wonderful in helping you find your own style and reminding you to play in your art. Some things she said in an interview for Life Book made me realize I had never really sat down and thought about what I like in art. What excites me? What moves me? So, I decided to do a little exercise to help me focus. This is something I learned in creative writing class. It's a brainstorming method. You take a word and put it in the center of your page. Then from that central word you draw lines and write the first thing that comes to mind. Then you continue branching off from those secondary words. I did this exercise for three catagories; Painting, Drawing and What Inspires Me.

 

After I did that I looked at common words that popped up and I have discovered the kind of art I would like to make; Whimsical Paintings that Tell a Story.

The above image I did on my iPad. It is my roadmap for the kind of art I want to make and the media I enjoy using. Ironically, while I was writing this post I started a new e-course called Paint Your Story and we are doing a similar exercise. We are creating inspiration boards with art/colors/critters/marks we like and then we have to note why we like the things we chose. This course's exercise is all about finding your own style. Do you think the universe is trying to tell me something?