Finding your style
A student mused about how to find their style and I replied: “When it feels like cheating, you’ve found your style” – creating, naturally, can feel like that. Orson Welles said: “Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.” The German-British modernist Frank Auerbach: “Real style is not having a program – it’s how one behaves in a crisis.” (Oh, I have quite a lot of style then!)
For the American artist and educator Robert Henri: “Your style is the way you talk in paint.” And Bert Oudendag, “Style is what you’re doing wrong.” (I like that too!)
It may be a mistake to rush headlong into “Finding your Style”- save some time for the road less traveled too. Picasso summed this up nicely with: “The different styles I have been using in my art must not be seen as an evolution, or as steps towards an unknown ideal of painting. Everything I have ever made was made for the present and with the hope that it would always remain in the present.”
…and a couple more perspectives:
“I had to develop my own style. I began to dig out places of my own… I loved to paint villages, and I’m glad, because they’re pretty much gone now. They’ve all changed, fallen down or been destroyed.” A. J. Casson
“Fashion fades; only style remains the same.” Coco Chanel
Fall Course Schedule
We’re looking forward to a full program of courses and workshops with the Ottawa School of Art: downtown, in Orleans and on-line!
Details and direct links to each of the the Course Registration pages are on our website at: https://www.davidkearn.com/workshops/
Instructor’s Exhibitions – downtown and Orléans
Hope to see you at one of the vernissages, I’ll be at both!
OSA Open Houses
Sunday, September 7, the Ottawa School of Art’s ByWard Market and Orléans campuses will come alive with a celebration of creativity, connection, and community. The Online Program will be streaming select live demos from both campuses and beyond! Whether you’re a first-time painter, a lifelong art lover, or simply curious to see what happens behind our studio doors, the OSA Open House is your chance to dive into the city’s most vibrant art experience — and it’s free! All the details: https://www.artottawa.ca/event-details/open-house-2025
Something about the Beatles
The older I get the more I appreciate the Beatles. Somewhat before my time – I was all about Yes, Pink Floyd etc – I saw the enduring impact of the fab four but did not live them live.
Should you want to see what they were really like – rather than the Ed Sullavan show-style, curated, appearances – check out this live set from 1964: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtZBNMt8LjQ&list=WL&index=1
Break-a- Brush!
David & France