Your Unique Creative "Voice"

So how can you tell a Degas from a Cassatt from a DaVinci? If you have some familiarity with art or art history, you can tell the artists' work apart by a combination of their subject matter, their technique (application), and their medium. The interesting thing is that these different factorsvo are all dependent on the uniqueness of each individual artist.

Now this doesn’t apply to just painting or sculpture. In music, think about the uniqueness of, say, Stevie Ray Vaughn, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Madonna, Johnny Cash, Loreena McKennitt, Jerry Lee Lewis, B.B King, Bing Crosby, and Prince. Each has his or her own unique sound that is a combination of things like their voice, the instruments they play, the style of their music, volume, rhythm, and individual personalities.  The point is that these are musical artists that have such a highly-developed, unique sound or auditory presence that after listening to just a couple of bars of a song, you can immediately identify them. Just seeing their name in print can make their songs start playing in your head! And just try to imagine Johnny Cash singing a Prince song – while he could sing the lyrics and play the music, it would still be a uniquely Johnny Cash song – he couldn’t sound like Prince even if he tried.

What I want you to see is the value of developing your own unique “voice” in your work. You can do it, but you need to let your intuition, your inner voice, your Spirit, or even God (if you so believe), guide you. You need to be free to let your true self out in your work. You need to be courageous enough to let your true creative voice out for all the world to see. And you need to consciously think about what it is you love, and how to bring that into your work.

In my opinion, this is the most powerful work that ever gets created – it may not be technically the most accomplished painting on the wall (although sometimes they are), but these paintings have “Soul,” “Power,” or “Presence.” You know them when you see them. They almost jump right off the wall when displayed in a group of other, more "usual" paintings. Sometimes we get emotional when viewing them.

You also need to quiet your inner critic in order to let your vision out in your art. Your inner critic is that little voice that tells you “You can’t do that” or “That will never succeed.” It’s the inner naysayer, always trying to keep you “safe” and lost in the crowd of artwork that looks the same. And you may need to ignore those very real people in your life who are telling you the same thing.

The upside of developing your Creative Voice is that your work will stand out from the other, "usual" artwork. No longer will you hear people say “just another landscape” or “just another photo” or “just another floral” about your work. By developing your own Voice, you make your work stand out and ultimately may increase your sales potential.


This post copyright Nancy Rynes, 2010. No part of this post may be reproduced in any form without written permission of Nancy Rynes.

Getting UnStuck

A friend of mine who is a dancer recently asked me about how to get "unstuck" from a rut. After 10 years of almost non-stop dedication to her art, she had become slightly bored with it...certainly not as excited about it as she had once been.

She knew I'd been through this many times with my painting, each time claiming I was quitting for good but invariably returning to the brushes and paints.

What, she asked, could she do to rejuvenate her interest in her dancing?

I could only tell her some of my experiences as a painter...

• Giving yourself a break often does the trick. Take a little time off to explore other interests, be with friends, travel, or just contemplate life. Don't worry - if the muse truly is calling you, your time away from your art will make you want to go back to it all the more.
• Spend time with like-minded friends doing something other than your art.
• Think outside of your pattern - do something different with your art. If you're a painter, try a different medium, style, or subject matter. Or try sculpting! Dancers can try different forms of dance. Mix it up a little to stay interested.
• For me, taking time out to visit museums or art galleries will often shake me out of a rut. Seeing the work of other artists usually makes me want to get back to my studio and work on my own.
• Have several paintings going at one time. This allows me the luxury of switching to another painting when I get bored with the one on the easel.
• Challenge yourself - give yourself less time to complete a painting. Maybe you're getting bored because you're belaboring every square inch of the canvas.
• Expand your mind - take a class or workshop. It doesn't have to be art-related, but it should be a topic that interests you.
• Make sure you're not suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder or some sort of chronic depression. If you are, get help.

Above all, be gentle with yourself and find other creative folks to talk to. Sometimes just talking about it with a supportive friend will snap you out of it.