Word - Style

The word for this week is style.

Its verb meaning: name, designate; to make or design in accord with a prevailing mode.

Its noun meaning: mode of address, title: a way of speaking or writing, one characteristic of an individual, manner or method of acting, making or performing, a distinctive or characteristic manner; overall excellence, skill, or grace in performance, manner or appearance; the custom followed in spelling, capitalization, punctuation and typography.

I am teaching a class at the Society of Decorative Painters Convention this May on "Discovering your Style and Creativity" and thought it would be fun to explore it here as well. I knew a long time ago that to set myself apart I would have to be just a little different from everyone else. Since my attention to detail stemmed from my architectural rendering background, that didn't seem to hard to do. While everyone else was doing primitives, I decided to make my colors a little fresher and add a bunch of little touches to my pieces. It definately moved me into the eye of my publisher and also magazine editors. Not because I was perfect in my drawing or painting abilities but because I offered a varied style of decorative painting. Notice my attention to the details in the photo. I painted the squares in the background and put a button with thread in the intersection. Next I wrapped the tag string around the button making it believable. I then added another smaller tag and made sure it wrapped itself around the first. Not only does the design work in color but the subject is true to life. I hope you are exploring your creativity and finding your individual style - without it the world would be a pretty boring place don't you think?