This is a question that’s been with me for so, so, oh so many years. I was always a creative child; I loved to draw, paint, create. Be that in kindergarten, school or as a hobby. My favourite gift, for many years, was a box of Faber Castell coloured pencils I got when I was around 12 years old. I still have them. Some of them barely a few centimetre long and incredibly difficult to sharpen.

As probably many, I stopped as I got older. University, starting to work, not being brave enough to turning my then passion into a potential career. Well, at some point, I did get back to it. Because I missed it. Missed the freedom it gave me, the outlet it provided and the countless possibilities of a clean sheet of paper. And as I created more, tried out more, used more mediums, I eventually got frustrated. Because everything was fun, but nothing really felt like it was me. But I wanted something that felt right, that felt like my style. So I tried finding it.

How do you know it’s your style?

There are so many absolutely amazing artists on this planet – some you will see everywhere, some you might never stumble upon. So the question in between all of them is, is it really possible to find something that is unique to you? And the answer is yes! The good news is that you’ll know it when you see it, even if it’s not always easy to put your finger on it. But after years and years of drawing as an adult, at some point it was just… there. And the way I knew that I’ve arrived was that it just felt right. When I drew, it came easy, it just flew onto the paper – it relaxed me. I always felt that when I used mediums that wasn’t the one I am most comfortable with, it was an exercise. It was still fun, of course – but it didn’t come as freely. But the more I puzzled and the more I tried, eventually I was able to see the entire piece and everything just came together. But this took me a good decade.

How can you look for it?

That doesn’t mean that your journey has to take that long. Or maybe it will. Maybe it’ll take even longer, who knows? Important is that you try, if you want to. It can help to think about a few things to narrow things down: what art do you enjoy? Techniques, mediums, subjects? How colours interact? Fluidity of lines, texture? What is it that makes you stop and think?

A lot of art, to me, is grounded in my feelings and my instincts. It’s not a thing of the brain, but of the guts. When you draw or paint, hear into yourself and see if you can pinpoint the things that draw your attention and that seem to be something important to you. I’ve always found it’s way more important to listen to what you feel when you see what you’re creating.

It might help to breach out to what you’re used to, too. As I mentioned at the beginning, I’ve loved my coloured pencils as a child – and even though I’ve done countless drawings with them, they aren’t included in what I determine now my art style. In fact, I stumbled over my favourite medium purely by chance. So go out and try something new, be that medium or focus. Maybe you’ve always tried people – how about buildings? Maybe you always work in black and white – how about colour? The more you try, the more you’ll learn and refine and be able to draw conclusions of what feels natural and, in a way, very intimate.

And soon enough, you’ll see patterns.

But don’t forget to be patient with yourself. Sometimes, it’s super easy to get frustrated when things don’t come together in the right way. And if you find yourself struggling, step back and give yourself some space. Art, as so many things, is often a process of trial and error and there is absolutely no rush. It should be an exploration, nothing forced.

Be gentle with yourself – it’s your hobby, a passion – give yourself time to discover.

[Picture by Buse Doga Ay – thank you!]