Own your work. I often hear artists asking when they will find their style? I don’t think we find our style. Style finds us. After hundreds of paintings, hundreds of studies, hundreds of hours at the design table, suddenly we have our own style. The individual fingerprint that identifies us and our work.

There are no shortcuts. I’ve painted for 64 years. I was 50 before I had a clue about the process of painting and I am still a student of the craft. Yes, I consider painting to be a fine craft indeed. I also consider myself to be a painter. I leave the title of “Artist” to those of loftier persuasions. 

Style is quite flexible, wandering around from idea to idea but we carry along our fingerprint on the journey. People tell me they would recognize my work anywhere without a signature. That is what style means in art terms. Whatever the subject, palette, brush or knife, style emerges from a mature painter who has worked hard. 

In this age of instant gratification, I see too many beginners trying to go pro before their work is ready. My advice is to do the hard work for awhile first.

Musings are fun for country painters.....