(Sharon) As an oil painting artist, I struggled for years with finding my own style and little did I realize that the more I photographed nature and contemplated the things that inspire my soul and make me happy, I was developing a unique style.
It begins with your environment, so the home where you spend time painting supports your soul's vision. Here's what I went through to realize how vital my surroundings are to my art mission -
It was a simple plant stand at a window that became the focus of my "style."
Elements that appear to be repetitive for me - water, colored glass, blues and greens like the sea, citrus colors of orange, lemon, lime, pink grapefruit, plants, seashells, sea glass, light going through water, and sunflowers.
My oil painting art? My focus is sea and sky, surfers, lakes/ponds, sunsets, clouds, boating, and blues/greens, citrus tones.
I am beginning to oil paint again with focus on larger canvases such as sizes that fit above sofas or fireplaces with scenes of vast sky, water, happy bright colors, crisp clear scenes.
It's the blur of white and sand color, blue sky and green sea as I raced barefooted to our summer home's cabin cruiser at the dock. It's sand grass, blue crabs, translucent jellyfish, sails on a boat....
I hope to take my mad love of this subject to a new level now that I have had a decade of photography and spiritual awakening to infuse that youthful excitement about arms wide open as you view the sea and possibilities.
It's not just visuals that move an artist to paint. I often play 60s surfer music, Sade, Beach Boys, Sheryl Crow, Jimmy Buffett, and others that give the vibe and energy that comes from my heart.
Scents are another fantastic thing to incorporate. Clean crisp sea scents, ginger, Hawaiian flowers, lime, and green tea are some of my faves.
Sunlight is critical for my art, but at nighttime, my artist's soul loves candles and hurricane lamps.
For decades I was forced to drag my easel out and oil paints, turpentine, brushes, and a tray to work from and then hustle and paint and put it all away so there was no smell or mess because I was with someone who liked pristine environment. It made the prospect of painting another "chore" to rush through instead of a process.
Now, I love to keep it all out where I can step back, see it, go about my day and glance over at it and gestate on what to do next. It also makes it possible that a late night I can't sleep or a Sunday afternoon when I'm bored, I can just pick it up and work.
If an office worker needs a neat desk and organized paperwork and a planner, a coffee cup and comfortable chair, an artist needs the right atmosphere too.
Take your art as an expression rather than a product and it captures you in a moment in time and that is genuine work.
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