Finding my personal painting style

Jun 22

June 22, 2019

I’ve always wanted to search for and find my unique painting style. Find my voice—the style that’s just mine, a true expression of me.

But how the heck does one even begin to do this?! What if I can’t find it?! What if I have no personal style?! Eek! A terrifying endeavor rife with a mountain of insecurities.

Not knowing the answer, last year I simply sucked it up, put my big girl pants on, and decided to just start painting. Paint something. Anything.

I started with what I knew and had been successful with before. Oils in a realistic style. I started this way, knowing that my end goal was learning abstraction and playing with new mediums, especially acrylics. On my own I experimented, taking itty bitty steps away from realism. Just barely. Or maybe hardly at all, really. I was trying hard to break out of the realism box on my own, but falling flat.

Fast forward to today… So much has changed in six months! I’ve been making huge strides in learning abstraction and using new mediums. AND! AND I’m actually starting to see the beginning of my personal unique painting style!!!! Eeeep! Oh, so exciting!

So what changed? How did I get here? I’ll tell you how! By being open to failure and being ok with discomfort. With strong determination, hard work and the best mentor I could ask for, Wyanne Thompson. I’m still amazed at the wild set of circumstances that brought us together!

It all clicked for me, though, when I took her in-person workshop. Her intense, 3-day workshop where she opens her studio up to her students. As in, Wyanne invites us to use her materials! It’s like painting in an art store! (But, I digress.) It’s her class that is specifically designed to help you “find your style”. And, wow, she’s figured it out! She knows just how to push you into finding your style and finding it quickly. She breaks all the “rules” and launches you into an amazingly scary, wildly fun and completely exhilarating discovery process.

Look below… See how much my work changed in just 3 days with Wyanne? And the work feels like me! I absolutely LOVE painting now! It’s finally a fun, playful process. It’s no longer laborious, intimidating or stressful. I’m full of energy and confidence now! And I’m ready to experiment and push in lots of new directions!

Since taking Wyanne’s workshop, my work has changed completely! And totally in the direction I want to go! Yes!!! I think my true voice is finally coming out in my work. I feel like I’m finally in a groove and ready to paint, paint, PAINT!

Thanks, Wyanne, for being such a fantastic teacher and mentor!