Art: Self Expression or Self Extension?

My daughter painted this watercolor painting as a recreation of Andy Warhol's soup cans for a school project. I am always in awe of her illustration style. Since she was very young she has painted along side of me, has watched me, been in my classes and was birthed by me, yet the look of her art is so very different than mine. I'm completely struck by one thought ...

No matter how much you may want to, you can never completely divorce yourself from your own style,
​nor should you try to.

As I'm working with students, I see many of them getting frustrated with their own personal artistic styles. They sometimes say things like, "I need to paint looser," or, "I always paint so (insert their frustration with the work.)" At times I have felt this way myself and said the same things, particularly when looking at the work of an artist I admire. The truth is, you can learn new skills, new techniques and even incorporate different and fresh ideas into your work, but your best pieces will always have your DNA written all over them.

Try as you might to cover up the evidence, your personal style will point back to you faster than a CSI crime scene.

And that is the beauty of art! It is an extension of who we are and how we create.

​Having done work for hire most of my career, I never could fully relate to the term "self expression." I've never had a desire or need to pour my feelings out into a piece of artwork. Now I see that "self-expression" for me is less about angst and emotions and more about creating in a way that ​reflects me. I love vintage, comfort, home, family, faith, truth and simplicity. I believe those things come across in what I create. It's not completely intentional...it just comes across. 

Here's the best part of how we were designed,
​the more you learn skills, the more your style comes out in your work. 

Jealousy of other people's styles can serve as a map to direct what learning experiences you choose, but learning, as it turns out, doesn't cause your work to look less like your own but more uniquely yours!

No matter how much you may want to, you can never completely divorce yourself from your own style, nor should you try to.

— caryn dahm (@CarynDahm) April 16, 2016