I got no style (part 2) . . .

As I’m poking around on the Internet looking for information about developing a personal artistic style, I came across an article by Alain Briot on the website The Luminous Landscape where he says that “Style is the extension of your personality and your personality is in part defined by your childhood.”

Well, my “eclectically weird” style can indeed be defined by my childhood, which was spent moving from place to place, school to school, coast to coast, and even country to country. Being a Navy brat meant different things to see every six months to a year. Different cultures to experience. Different  climates, foods, fashions, attitudes. That was my childhood for 18 years.

One would think that, encountering so many types of people, I might be drawn to people photography. Nope. Last thing on my list. Why? I was trained to leave. Trained to arrive, to fit in, get along, make sure people liked me, that I didn’t make waves, but never to get close to anyone because hello, I must be going.

How about you? What was your childhood like and how does it affect your artistic proclivities and style? If your childhood years were spent in San Diego, you may be drawn to boats and seascapes. Growing up in rural Pennsylvania, you might be drawn to landscapes and weathered barns.

It makes sense if you don’t think about it . . .

Because why are so many photographers/artists, no matter where we grew up, drawn to barns, landscapes, boats, and seascapes?

See? This isn’t an easy pursuit, this quest to discover a personal style, or to create a personal style. And it’s one I’ll continue writing about as I do more and more research. Fair warning!

©Carol Leigh

P.S. For those of you who might be interested, I photographed the gull on the rocks here on the Oregon coast. And the fishing boat as well. (See? Navy brat? Oceans? Boats? Gulls? This makes sense.) The photo of a physical collage that I made using a variety of old papers has a Japanese vibe to it. (I lived in Japan for a year, but I was just 12-13 at the time, more interested in hanging out with my friends than exploring the culture.) And then what's with the covered bridge? Well, I lived a year in Pennsylvania . . . could this Oregon bridge be channeling from that? Somehow I doubt it. . . Like I said, this isn't an easy quest.

I got no style . . .

I’ve been thinking a lot about my own work lately (narcissist that I am) since I don’t seem to be going anywhere in particular. (I really am, but I just don’t realize it yet.) So I began looking online for thoughts about developing one’s photographic/artistic style.

At this website called The Polar Route http://www.thepolarroute.com/2013/07/finding-your-photographic-style/ the author wrote:

If you’re unsure of your style, look back at your body of work and ask yourself which images you felt most comfortable shooting. If you don’t yet have an extensive body of work, ask yourself a few simple questions:
    •    What interests you?
    •    Do you like people, nature, or architecture?
    •    Do you like vibrant colors or black and white?
    •    Do you prefer shooting bright and happy images or dark and moody ones?

He calls these “simple” questions. Go ahead. Try it. Answer some. Like “What interests you?” I can say line, design, architecture, landscapes, seascapes, macro, color, texture, creating faux postcards, making physical and digital collages, antique cars, hot air balloons, airplanes, nautical stuff, trees, etc.

And try this question: “Do you prefer shooting bright and happy images or dark and moody ones?” My answer is yes. What’s yours?

I’m being glib, but I’m also being serious. My collages do seem to have a Japanese vibe to them, as do a lot of my photomontages. And I often enjoy incorporating crows and ravens in my work whenever possible. And postage stamps.

The person who wrote the blog article encourages us to really ramp up whatever style we have. Enjoy bold colors? Max them out. Enjoy creating dark images? Make them darker. Find your style, find what you like, and then pump up the volume. It’s actually a very good idea. However . . .

What if you don’t know what your style is? And so the quest continues . . .

©Carol Leigh

P.S. For those of you who are interested, these are photos of:

(1) Bales of hay between the Oregon coast and the central valley.

(2) A physical collage I made using my own hand-printed paper, a page from a vintage Japanese book, and a postage stamp from my collection.

(3) Graffiti on the side of a railroad car. I was initially attracted to the eye. Squint and you'll see it's actually Michael Jackson.

(4) A faux postcard I made using my photos of old stamps, ink on vintage paper, faux labels, numbers from old banknotes, and who knows what else.

(5) A photomontage I made with my photos of texture from an old fishing boat, a monoprint I made using acrylic paint and rubber bands, hand-painted stripes, and more.

And finally (6) a blending of photos I took of a mural and paint streaks on the side of a building.

Maybe I do have a style after all: eclectic weirdness!

Working on a personal style . . .

Rebecca Crowell is a painter with a blog. What does that have to do with us as photographers? It’s all art. It’s all creativity. And concepts regarding painting are often valid as well for photographers.

Link to Rebecca Crowell’s blog: http://rebeccacrowellart.blogspot.com/

For instance, does your photographic work have an underlying theme to it, or is it all over the place? You go out to shoot and you return with a photo of the neighbor’s cat, a tulip, a crow on a wire, a swing set, and a birdbath.

What’s your theme? What’s your underlying idea? What are you communicating?

Maybe it doesn’t matter. Maybe variety, seeing, recording in a haphazard manner is your joy. If so, then go with it and exult in your ability to do so.

But sometimes we want more. We want discipline, boundaries, a project. Maybe we want to put together a book. Maybe we want a gallery showing. Maybe we want to create a photo essay. Maybe we want to work on a style.

Rebecca Crowell, in a recent blog post, said, “As an instructor I work with many artists who are on the path to finding a personal style, and who struggle with (to quote the singer Joni Mitchell), ‘the crazy you get from too much choice.’ "

For painters there are so many choices: oil, watercolors, acrylics, mixed media, abstracts, color combinations, portraiture, Impressionism, boldness, softness, etc.

For us photographers there’s color, black & white, monochromes, portraiture, close-up, photomontage, painterly effects, bird photography, sports, abstracts, sweeps, swoops, and swipes, color combinations, etc.

What the heck do we want to do? Well, whether you’re a photographer or a painter, the answer might be to narrow your focus, as Ms. Crowell says, “. . . what helps a lot of people is to focus down, to set parameters, create in series with defined boundaries, and in the beginning take one step at a time.”

Remember my “Parts is Parts” class? The focus was incredibly narrow. Create ten good photos of one thing. And so we saw lovely photo essays of subjects such as an oak table, a guitar, a parasol, a piano, an old camera, even a power saw. We focused. We looked — really looked. We experimented. We had boundaries. We created art.

We’re all into photography for various reasons. But if we wish to create a solid, cohesive body of work, we often need the discipline of narrowing our view, concentrating on one thing at a time, setting limits and making this a project, a goal. Once done, then what’s your next project?

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

©Carol Leigh