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Have you ever heard of an impatient artist? Let me introduce you to one: Hi I’m Jill Tyler-Dolan and I am an impatient artist. For the longest time, art was a hobby and never something I spent much time on. I was the art student who handed in half decent work to the teacher after every class, when the assignment really should’ve taken a week. The teachers would typically lift a judgmental brow, and ask if I was actually done, considering the project wasn’t due till next week. Sure, I enjoyed doing art, but only to a certain extent. And when I got bored of one project, I’d move on to the next. I tried for years to spend a bit more time on each piece. I hadn’t even tried to reach my full potential yet as an artist. But I decided to make a commitment to my art, and a couple years ago I found a style that works for me. Here are some steps I took to get there.

1.       Find mediums you can fall in love with:

In high school, I tried so many art mediums, I had fun with it, and though I wasn’t great at everything, I learned art really is an explanation. I love doing mixed media work. It’s given me so much freedom to try different techniques, and it's less restrictive. Here are some ideas of mediums you could try.

-            Pottery

-            Watercolour painting (paints, pencils, pens)

-            Charcoal

-            Pencil

-            Stamping

-            Digital Art

-            Acrylic paints

-            Oil Painting

I was never that great at pottery, but if you embrace the mess of it, you can look past your mistakes. I also commend anyone that can take the time to do layers of digital art. For whatever reason, I can’t seem to create anything that resembles art. Don’t worry, I’ll keep trying. Art exploration is really self exploration. I think once I understood that, it became easier to find art styles that work for me.

2.       Never put yourself into a box

Some of the greatest artists in the world didn’t stick to one theme or concept, or even technique. Van Gogh didn’t always paint sunflowers or use short quick strokes. And he used different mediums. What really gave his art style was the emotion portrayed in each piece. Find what emotion brings out your best art, and learn to apply to your work. But never force yourself into one specific category. 

3. Take your time, and care about the work you produce

For me, learning to take my time on my art pieces was difficult. I didn’t care about how my art turned out. I just wanted to get it done. But once I began to take my time, and put true emotion and pride into the work I was completing, my art turned out better. Having an art style is about feeling proud of every art piece you produce. Not everyone has to understand it, but if you do, and if you are happy to see the pieces you’ve completed, then you have found your style. 

4. Keep practising

It may seem obvious to practise as much as you can, but half the time we don’t really put that knowledge into action. At least I know I don’t. In high school, in my last two years we had to create something called a visual journal. I’ve actually continued this practice. It is about trying new mediums and subjects to learn and improve. Keep notes of how to improve whatever piece you completed. The great thing about a visual journal is not everything needs to be perfect. It’s actually great to keep all your mistakes in the book. Another tip to keep practising is to keep multiple sizes of sketchbook. I keep four sizes: for travel and when I have more time to work on a piece. You don’t need the most expensive sketchbooks or supplies either. You can even get some from the dollar store. Or, if you have a medium sized budget, Artist Loft is a great starting brand. Their products are high quality and budget friendly. If you have multiple sketchbooks it allows for artistic flexibility. There will be no limits to you practising your skills. 

5. Don’t take your mistakes too seriously

I think artists always have moments or pieces where we think to ourselves, “How do I call myself an artist.” It’s usually after a piece doesn’t come out the way we wanted or envisioned. Honestly, most pieces don’t manifest perfectly into what I envision. But the mistakes made in any artwork you produce is simply a learning opportunity, and whether you continue that piece with the flaw, or start over. I think learning to laugh at those mistakes while also being confident in your ability makes for happy artists. One flaw, one screw up does not define you as an artist if you don’t allow it to. 

6. Become a true student art

I don’t mean go to art school, that’s expensive and it seems like art school would be like dementors; suck all the joy from art. Seriously, what I mean by becoming a true student is to take your free time, and enjoy all the art world has to offer. Go to art museums, research different artists and then try those styles. Stack your bookshelf with art books of every genre. Go crazy. It means you have true passion. I would never want art to be my main source of income; I want all the passion and joy I can get out of it. By studying it, and going to museums, I had the most fun and it brought my art to life. Instead of doing art for assignments, I did it to learn and grow. It really helped me to figure out messages I wanted to portray and what my art means to me. Explore your favourite artists, and learn from them, and their styles, and it could inspire your own style.

7. Use Ai tools to get inspired

The art world is saturated with Ai generated art. You find it sold on different marketplaces and businesses. I think that while Ai is becoming advanced in producing art, human produced art is something that cannot be reproduced with code. Ai struggles with human hands, animal tails, and other features. Mind you, hands are so difficult to do, they’re the bane of my artistic existence. But typically, I don’t draw hands with 50 extra digits. Ok, so it may seem like I’m raining on Ai’s parade, but I want to say that though Ai isn’t perfect, it can most certainly be used for artistic inspiration. I love technology, in fact it is the career path I’m pursuing, and I believe that if used in certain ways, it can aid people. As artists, we get artist’s block, much in the same way a writer gets writer’s block. It’s as if someone has ripped all your ideas from your head and you are literally left empty. Ai generated art can help with that mental block, providing you with endless ideas and possibilities. There are plenty of free ai generated software both online and downloadable that are easy to use. And like I said, FREE! Being an artist is expensive, okay? Any way to save is exciting. Give it a try and see what happens. 

Listen, art journeys are lifelong. And you aren't going to find your art style immediately. It’ll take time as all good things do, but the reward will be great. Stay passionate, and believe in your ability. Take up new skills and keep learning. If art brings you joy, keep doing it no matter what. You deserve joy. Remember, life has more in store for you.