More than ten years after hearing this advice from an Alberta Culture designate, to a group of eager would-be-artists, I must believe it was said tongue-in-cheek. But at the time, I can remember thinking he was deadly serious.

For if the goal is to become known, then this is definitely a way... get yourself a gimmick and stick with it... people will recognize your work... "Oh! That's Farney Fitzwater, he paints pink whales!" or... "Oh! That's Mea MaHony, she does striped cats!"

I find that when I have something to say, specific techniques are most appropriate, and I don't hesitate to use them. Because my content and ideas are always changing, so are the methods. People who see my work from time to time, remark, "Oh! That's a different style!"

This comment used to embarrass me. I felt insecure and inadequate... until finding that the best artists not only kept changing, but considered it essential . Now, when people say it, I just smile a Cheshire smile.



"It would be easy to divide artists into two classes: those who grow so much within themselves as to master technique by the force of their need, and those who are mastered by technique and become stylists." (47)
Robert Henri
 

"O Victory! The field of observation grows infinite, and sight, freed and sensitive to beauty, always changes... Narrow minds demand old beginnings, identical continuations. The painter must repeat his little works, and all else is condemned. [That is the advice of certain classifying censors, who segregate our artists like oysters in an oyster bed. O, the odious meanness's that favor the conformists of art! For the shabby in spirit, the outdoor painter may not attempt a decorative composition: the portraitist must remain one for life!]" (48)
James Ensor
 

47. Robert Henri, The Art Spirit, (Toronto, Canada, Fitzhenry and Whiteside Ltd., 1984), p.p. 171, 172.
48. Herschel B. Chipp, Theories of Modern Art, (Berkeley and L.A. Cal., University of California Press, 1968)p.111