Individual Style

After carefully mixing colors from primaries to pastels, this young artist began her painting with focus and purpose.  She seemed to have a specific image in mind and worked little by little, using a small brush to make certain parts of her image more pronounced.  Moving back from the wall once in a while allowed her to check on how the overall picture was looking, before returning to add more color.  She kept her image localized and contained, before refocusing her attention to the white space that remained on the page. 



 

 In comparison, this young artist worked more spontaneously and enjoyed using a larger brush.  She used the tool to dab big amounts of paint on her paper, which she then proceeded to blob, swirl, and mix into new colors.  In doing this, she was able to experiment with texture and movement.  At one point, the thick shiny medium was too hard to resist and the artist painted her hand.  She then used it as a stamp, literally leaving her mark on the paper before washing it off and returning to use just the brush.

 

Both girls painted side by side, observing the others' work in progress but resuming to focus on their own individual styles.  One worked more slowly, planning out what came next before touching her brush to the paper, while the other worked quickly, following her brush to see where its strokes took her and allowing her to fill her paper quickly with color. 

Meanwhile, this young artist was still working with determination on mixing her colors and getting them just right, to make sure she had what she wanted when she was ready to paint.  This is an important step in getting prepared to make art, so that nothing can impede the creative process once it begins.  She took her time and didn't let anything rush her, as she enjoyed the ability to make her own decisions and experiment with the paints, coming up with new colors that she'd never seen before.

 Soon, all three artists were at the wall, working at their own pace.  Though the girls continued to have their own independent process and style, they were also inspired by each others' works and seemed to try new things in their paintings that followed.  Trying these new methods opened them up to new possibilities and allowed them to incorporate creative experimentation into what had been comfortable for them.

None of these styles were necessarily right or wrong.  They were merely what emerged during the creative process and worked for each individual artist.  At the end of our class today, the girls were very proud of their pieces and had learned a lot, not only about each other, but also about themselves.  Just as individuals grow and change over the years, so too do their perspectives, methods, styles.