What's your style?

 

Art Journal Journey has a new host as we do every month.  This month there are two hosts!  If you've already been to the Art Journal Journey blog you know those hosts are Bleubeard and myself.  Bleubeard will mostly provide support and encouragement, and I will create the art. 

We're asking What's your style?  Of course, we have lots of examples, too. 

Many of you are here because you are a mixed media artist or art journaler.  You will immediately know names like Lynne Perrella, Dyan Reaveley, Dina Wakely, Tim Holtz, and Seth Apter.  They each have a very distinct style that can't be confused with any other artist.  I'm sure you also have admired artists who aren't well known, but you still follow their blogs or web sites.  Their art is also so distinct, you would be able to pick out their style in a crowd of other images. 

What other styles are you familiar with, or that you possibly emulate?  Do you like the art of abstract artists like Carla Sonheim, Lynn Whipple, or others?

Perhaps your art revolves around architecture or travel.

 

I have a blogger friend I visit daily (or whenever she posts) who, in my eyes, is famous for her drips and splatters.  You know I'm talking about Craftytrog, aka Alison.

 

Maybe you're a nature lover and nature is what inspires you.  It is definitely fun to color in the lines of nature, too.

Could stamps and stamping be your "thing?"  I once teased one of my co-administrators, Chris, aka pearshapedchris, that I thought she used at least one stamp in every journal page she created.  It took her awhile, but she actually found a journal page that didn't have a stamped image on it.  If you prefer stamping, whether they are purchased or hand carved, this might be your style.

Some of you rely heavily on stencils, whether you are using them on a gel plate, or directly on your page. 

Perhaps you rely heavily on watercolor paints and pencils. 

Maybe words or backgrounds are what set your journal pages apart.  If that's the case, this may be your style.  

 

And whatever you choose, don't forget the sewing (whether fabric or paper) that holds it all together, just like all these index cards I sewed together that I backed with 110 lb cardstock.  Of course, we can't forget about the incredibly gifted digital artists who work their magic by cutting, copying, and pasting digital images unlike collage artists who cut, copy, and paste images from catalogs, newspapers, and junk mail.

Here is something I came across while researching various artistic styles.  The research led me to ask if an artist should try to develop a unique, distinctive style.  In his 1888 essay Thoughts on our Art of Today, John Everett Millais believed: 

A varied manner must be cultivated. I believe that however admirably he may paint in a certain method, or however perfectly he may render a certain class of subject, the artist should not be content to adhere to a speciality of manner or method. A fine style is good, but it is not everything—it is not absolutely necessary.

I wonder if "style" had the same connotations then that it has today.

Of course, maybe you're like me and don't have a specific style.  Regardless, Bleubeard and I want to see your style of pages this month at Art Journal Journey.  You could even have a different style for each day of the month, if you choose.

Chris, Erika, Valerie, Yvonne, Bleubeard, and I are delighted you joined us and hope to see you this month at Art Journal Journey with your own take on What's Your Style?

We welcome art journal pages that meet the theme requirements, altered book pages, canvases, loose or stand alone pages including fabric and digital art.  We do not allow cards, tags, index cards, ATCs, or ATCoins, unless they are part of a journal page, and as much as we don't want to, will be forced to delete your entry.