Paint Who You Are

“Every good painter paints what he is.” -Jackson Pollock

Have you ever seen an artist drastically change some aspect of his or her art? It may have been something major, like the style, or something that just stood out, like the color palette. Generally, when this happens, the artist is going through something.

I personally dove off deep into charcoals when I was going through a dark time in my life. The color seemed to be out of my world, and it seeped out of my art. Does this mean every charcoal painting is a symbol of a trying or difficult time? No. After going through the darkness, I learned to appreciate the growth and find beauty in the struggle.

Art is meant to be expressive, and to create art, you must imbue a sense of yourself within it. When a painting starts off one way and then completely transforms, think about how your life and your mood have changed to impact that.

Are you blossoming? Shrinking away? Overjoyed? Depressed? Content? Unsatisfied?

You might be surprised how much your stages in life and these emotions pour over into your artwork. Each stroke of your brush is you in that instance, that minute yet real and raw moment.

Feel it. Be it. Paint it.