There is a cool wind blowing across the garden from the North-East, scattering carmine Virginia creeper leaves across the grass - footsteps into Autumn. I did a quick charcoal drawing of my appletree a week ago, then recently worked on it with pen and ink. It looks stronger now, more elemental, textural with more contrast. I was discussing 'Style' with a friend recently. It appears to be the sum total of experience, although you can copy someone else's mannerisms. Then it becomes a homage to that artist, and not your own. So, your special marks grow gradually through life and mature into your style. It just happens. It's a similar process in music (except "classical" music). When you've found out who you are, you can be natural.
The looseness and serendipity of youthful work is hard to maintain. Sophistry creeps in and the work generally gets tighter and more overdone. Knowing when to stop gets more difficult. Also "pot-boiling" ought to be avoided: repeating ideas and ways of working you know to be good. It becomes restrictive and everything looks decent but the same . . . Working in a different medium can help.
It must always be a challenge, a novel journey. Don't do something you CAN do, do something you CANT.
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