Where is my voice, and can it be Crimson? (re blogged from 2008)

So as an artist who has only been around the community for a couple of years, I have been discovering some very important things lately. I have determined, for myself, what is ok and what is not ok, when it comes to an artist's "voice". By voice, I mean their "style", their "look", their "thing". When you hear a friend on the phone, you recognize them for their unique voice I believe it is the same thing in art. Every artist has a voice, and as we become familiar with their work, we come to recognize their "voice" in the work they do.

There has been quite a bit of buzz in the online art community lately about an artist's work vs. their technique. For example, while you can obviously claim your artwork as your own, can you claim the technique it took to get there, as your own? If an artists publishes their technique, in a how to article, is the technique now "out there?" If they teach a class, is the technique fair game? And when does it go from a technique, to infringing on an artists personal "voice?"

I have just recently joined the ranks of marketing and selling my work. In this new forum, there are, obviously, far more "do's and don'ts" than just creating for myself. Are the pieces that I put out for sale uniquely my own "voice"? Well, I think I am still finding my own voice. So far, the only thing I notice that permeates almost all of my work is color. My undying and undeniable love for Golden's Quinacridone Crimson and Nickel Azo Gold. Sometimes together, sometimes alone, but always there.

After talking with an artist to get her views on technique and voice, her response has put this into perspective for me. My summary is this: If an artist works hard to create and develop their own "voice", then published technique or not, their work deserves to keep it's originality, and not compete in an over saturated market of copycat works. (I know the word copycat reeks of third grade tauntings, but it is the word that keeps coming to mind.)

So as I continue to search for my own personal style, I hope you will join me, and maybe be there when my "voice" sings, and is recognized for the first time.