FINDING A VOICE - and using it

For quite some time now, I've wondered if I have "a voice", something that distinguishes my work from others; that elusive 'something' that immediately says that this is a Heather Anderson painting.  It can be hard to know, because I am up close to the painting and the inspiration behind it.
I've come to the conclusion that now I can say Yes, I do have a voice that makes me an individual, not just one of the crowd (where ages ago, we all started out).  My animal paintings are consistently light, bright, and even the ones that are filled with action, have a sense of peace or fun. 
Recently, there appears to have been some ridicule directed towards me because I choose to use a lighter hand with color - light and bright as opposed to vivid, and because I choose to draw my images instead of tracing them.  Vivid is good, it's exciting, and I long ago accepted that many people prefer to trace. If that's what feels right, do it. It doesn't feel right for me.  I need to draw the image in order to feel connected with it and I need to create a light, bright, clean image  where, when it comes to color and detail, less is sometimes more. ( This doesn't mean I don't use many layers of color or that I don't love using detail - it just means I'm selective about which details I use and which colors I put together and how intense I let them become.)  I was always taught to leave a place for the eye to rest, and even when I'm painting action, I make some small peaceful spot to rest.
  I know where I'm going, and I like the path I'm on.  I have every right to be here and talk about my art journey.  In short, I'm comfortable in my own skin and painting with my own voice. And really, isn't that what it's all about?


The painting I've used to illustrate this blog is APPALOOSA SPRING, a 14 x 18 watercolor on Arches 300 Hot Press.

WINTER DISTILLED

It's one of those typical winter days that happen more often than the sparkling, bright days that turn winter into magic. The clouds hang heavy and grey, and the world seems to be painted in shades of black and white. I think of it as Winter distilled - the very essence of winter. And it has a beauty all it's own, so I wanted to celebrate it in a painting.  When I saw this group of horses that were so completely in harmony with their surroundings, I knew I had my painting. Actually, there were two groups of two black horses and one group of two black and white horses, but this painting needed to be simple, so I was selective in what I put in.
The whole painting is deceptively simple. It's more about knowing what to leave out as it is about what to put in, and that takes experience and skill. I've been painting long enough to have achieved those things. I love detail, but sometimes, the advice of Thoreau must be followed: 'Simplify, simplify'.
This recently completed painting, "WINTER DISTILLED", is an 11 by 14 watercolor on Arches 140 hot press, and it is available.  $625.  Also available are notecards and small prints.
http://www.heatheranderson-animalart.com/
anderson.animalart@sympatico.ca