I am a big fan of marketing guru Seth Godin, and have been thinking about how one of his recent blog posts might apply to an artist. It’s called “The Hierarchy Of Success” and has some great thoughts about how our approach to our work can sometimes be backwards. You can check out his post here:

“The Hierarchy Of Success”

Here’s his list of how we should approach our work:

1. Attitude
2. Approach
3. Goals
4. Strategy
5. Tactics
6. Execution

That order is not how we usually go about reaching a goal.

Mr. Godin believes that we get it backwards . . . in his words, “We spend all our time on execution”. In his case he is talking about marketing, but what would that mean from an artist’s viewpoint?

I have thought about this subject lately as I contemplate a “shift” in my artistic focus. I will be using Mr. Godin’s inspiration as I make this change in my work.

Stay tuned to see how I take this way of thinking to help me create a completely new focus for my work.

One of the best things I ever did as an artist was develop my own style. This means having a recognizable “look” to all your artworks. This has helped my in many ways:

1. It helps when I market my art. There is a lot of artwork out there for people to look at. If you paint in different styles people will have a hard time defining your work. Then they might just pass on by.

2. Chasing my own style has actually helped me improve my work. This may come as a surprise, but focusing your work will help it improve.

3. It helps me decide what to paint. Another part of focusing my work has been this – I am drawn to subjects that lend themselves to my style. While not being tied down to one subject, limiting my subject matter has helped me to increase my talents in that area.

4. Painting is just more enjoyable, too, when I’m taking my own path.

You may think that focusing this way will hurt you because it will limit your potential. Actually, the opposite is true! You are limiting yourself and the growth of your art by being all over the place with different styles. Copying other artists, or going after the latest trend or technique, will never set you apart from the crowd.

So . . . . how do you go about developing your own style? Here are a few suggestions:

Concentrate on your stengths . . . not your weaknesses. What is your strength as an artist? Write down some of the best thinks you do. It could be a technique, and eye for design, a subject you are strong with. Then pick the strongest one – that’s what you should focus on now. One of my favorite quotes is from Marcus Buckingham’s book “The Truth About You”. He says, “You grow most in your areas of greatest strength”.

Manage your weaknesses . . . just like we all have strengths, we all have our weaknesses too as artists. Don’t spend too much of your time trying to improve in an area that you are weak in. Just manage those areas by spending enough time on them to make sure they don’t bring you down. Marcus Buckingham also says, “Working on your weaknesses will drag you down and, at best, will lead to small improvements. Instead, you should call your weaknesses what they really are, “things that weaken you”, and then you should figure out ways to manage around them”.

Set up your own show . . . don’t worry – I’m not talking about a public show. But do this – set up several pieces of your work in an area where you can review them. Then take some time to honestly look at your work with this one question in mind – what is my strength? Sometimes it can help for a friend to look at your assembled works too and help you out with this.

Concentrate on what you enjoy painting . . . this may seem pretty obvious, but some artists miss this when they choose a focus. You will probably do your best work painting what you most enjoy! And that doesn’t always just apply to the subject. I most enjoy playing around with negative shapes in a close-up format, so that’s what I concentrated on to build my style. That meant I sould use a lot of different subjects and still have it say something with my “look”. However, I have been drawn to subjects (like flowers and other close-up items) that lend themselves to this style. See how that works?

I’ve seen my work really blossom ever since I decided to go after my own style. In fact, years ago I made that my number one goal as an artist! Why don’t you try this, too? Don’t forget – you don’t always have to stay with one style or subject. You can change your focus to something else later, and watch your artwork grow again.

If you want more of my thoughts on this, I have a free package on “Finding Your Own Style” here on my website:

http://www.learnwatercolors.com/webcast_style-order.htm

For more information about going with your strengths, check out Marcus Buckingham’s website: http://www.tmbc.com