Finding My Voice

"The Best Adivce For An Artist"

As an Artist and Designer still trying to discover their personal style and voice, I try to be honest about the struggles I go through to work towards developing my style. I have been finding it hard to focus on one thing or idea. And once I finally start one, I would discover half way through I was not aligning with the idea anymore and would lose interest. This would leave me in a state of confusion and feeling a bit hopeless in my creative endeavors.

Then recently I came across a suggested YouTube Video that was on my side bar while watching a Ted Talk. It was of this English Artist who titled the video “The Best Advice For An Artist”. I have never seen him or his work before, but I felt he had a message I needed to hear. And I am glad I listened!

To summarize his video briefly - the advice he got from another Artist was that he was “half-assing”
too many things (I immediately related) and that he needed to “whole-ass” one thing, build a foundation. He was advised to draw one thing, the same thing, every day for a year. In the end, through this process he had a better understanding of what it was he actually wanted to create.

I have heard similar suggestions from other places, like doing drawing challenges on instagram. But those can be so open in terms of what you actually create. I would spend more time trying to think of something to do then actually doing it. Which would lead to more frustration.

So I decided to listen to this Artist across the pond and draw the same thing, every day, for as long as it takes me to have that critical break through as an Artist. When deciding what my featured subject would be, my first thought was leaves. And I thought, “Gosh, this will get dull quick”, but then changed my mindset to “Wow, this will be an opportunity to be creative”.

Here are some of my first few days of leaf drawings.