What should I do if I am scared to commit to an artistic style?

Apr 11

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A lot of artists are multi-talented. They are interested in several different mediums and subjects, ultimately making them scared to commit to one style. This makes sense for creative people. It’s easy to want to avoid boredom and monotony for the fear of being too constrained and restricted. Finding your one thing can often feel like a trap when you consider the lifelong endeavor of creative practice.

Committing to an artistic style generally means using repeat elements (colors, shapes, lines, value, texture, space, and forms) in your artwork. It can sometimes feel like niching down in your work - a phrase that might be harrowing for artists who are explorative.

What should you do if you are scared to commit to an artistic style? I think there is a time for your artwork to have cohesion and a place for you to experiment and play. Below are a few considerations to help guide you when you’re shying away from finding your style because you are hesitant to restrict yourself from one thing.

Use a sketchbook for experimentation and play.

Before going deeper with your style, I encourage all artists to pick up their sketchbooks and let themselves just play. Use this as your refuge - a safe space where you can work in many mediums and within many subjects. Here, you can be whatever version of yourself you need on any particular day.

Pick one thing and just try it.

At some point, I do encourage you to pick one thing and just try it. Look through your sketchbook and places you found play. What are common elements that repeat themselves? What are you drawn to on a somewhat consistent basis? This could either be a medium or a subject.

Then, just try it for a more extended period of time. What does it look like if you create in the same medium every day or 1-week? For 4-weeks? Or, what would it look like to pick one subject for 1-week? For 4-weeks? Perhaps there is something else entirely that stands out to you. Whatever it is, choose it and see what happens when you practice consistency.

Take a chance on yourself.

Following the above guidance requires you to be willing to take a chance on yourself. Yet, without ever doing so in your creative practice, you won’t know how to break out of doing what you have always done. I encourage you to ask yourself what would be the harm in pursuing something for a longer period of time? Will you ever really lose the skillset built of the knowledge gained from simply trying?

You’re never locked in.

I don’t believe that in order to find your artistic style your work has to be recognizable for one thing, and one thing only. In fact, I’d almost guide you against it. Even looking back through art history, the masters rarely worked in one singular style. Degas is a great example of someone known for his ballerinas and sculptures but had an incredibly diverse printmaking practice.

If through your exploration and play a couple of ideas and styles emerge, lean into both of them. Have a few bodies of work unfolding alongside each other - constantly informing one another. This can create even more perspective to your artwork and offer you the chance to work in more than one style.

If you are scared to commit to one style, I encourage you to try one thing for a more extended period of time. Embrace experimentation and play in your sketchbook. Find commonalities in your studies. Then, take a chance on yourself. Commit to a style for a period of time and step into the opportunity to learn more about who you are as an artist.

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