Summing up the round up

To help me find my style, I looked at the following art movements:

• Prehistoric
• Ancient
• Medieval
• Renaissance
• Baroque
• Rococo
• Neoclassicism

My applications may include:

• Rock textures
• Symbolism
• Mythology
• Technique innovation
• Use of the meanings of ‘grace’
• Contrasts in value and hue
• Asymmetry
• Playfulness
• Irreverence in a cheeky way

Inspiration for my style:

• Carvings. Stone arrangements.
• Mythological stories. Symbolism.
• Catacombs. Runestones. Crypt. Antiquarians. Abby. Relic. Gothic. Stained glass.
• Grace. Harmony, Naturalism.
• Dramatic. Contradictory. Illusory effects. Illusionism.
• Playfulness and irreverence.

The bee image represents what’s to come. My name means ‘honeybee’, and there’s so much more about bees that appeals to me. Has this journey so far helped me? Yes, it has. I chose a way to find my style and am still researching, but I’m already finding my way.

See below for the fuller summary of the last several months if you so wish.

The round up 2025

Green is ‘Yes, this is me.’

To find my style, I began to delve into the Art Movements that included using a photo of what I thought was a weed in my backyard and applying it to various styles:

Art movement No. 1: Prehistoric art

The Cave drawing

Possible Summing up

Who knows what cave people were thinking when drawing animals or people on their cave walls or piling rocks on top of each other:

• Next prey
• Worst enemy
• Warnings
• Possible bride or bridegroom
• Best meat
• ‘Here be water’
• Hardest prey to kill
• Easiest prey to kill
• Art for art’s sake – the ‘righteous hunt’ or ‘the noble animal’

Words that jumped out at me: Carvings. Stone arrangements.

The materials they used

• Rocks/stones
• Blood
• Mud
• Sticks
• Animal hair
• Rock walls
• Animal skins (?)

My Process

• I really wanted to be authentic to this entire finding my style, but examining and replicating what I found with each art movement, but the nearest cave was miles away and protected, so…
• I took a photo of a rock, coloured it, and added my chalk weed.
• I did, in fact, learn and gain some insights so that I can live with my cheating.

Takeaways

• Use of natural canvases, whether for real or digitally created, has some appeal.
• Use of natural pigments, which I know I can buy to make my paints.
• Thinking about drawings for the sake of art or some practical purpose, such as trying to make a living out of it or recording for younger generations, is worth pondering. Will my motivation to make art be enhanced or wither if trying to make money?
• The texture of rock walls for a background texture appeals to me.

Art movement No. 2

I skipped this because I’m a child.

Art movement No. 3: Ancient art

The weed on a pedestal

Summing up

• Religious
• Symbolic
• Utilitarian decoration
• Mythological stories
• Brutality

Words that jumped out at me: Mythological stories. Symbolism

My Process

• I had a choice from ‘Egyptian, Greek or Roman’ art.
• I could choose from any of the Summing up.
• My interest in creating the above image for real bombed, so I cheated and made it using Procreate.
• I researched on the internet, found sculptures on pedestals- idea! It was as religious as I could get.

Takeaways

• Not a fan of religious imagery or brutal scenes
• Symbolism, yes, this appeals to me.
• Mythological stories

Art movement No. 4: Medieval art

The weed

Summing up

• Religious
• Social influences
• Symbolism
• Cultural exchange

Words that jumped out at me: Catacombs. Runestones. Crypt. Antiquarians. Abby. Relic. Gothic. Stained glass.

My Process

• I chose insular art; however, I did a gothic artwork stemming from this research.
• I added text about my weed, which I discovered wasn’t a weed.
• I made it again in Procreate, realising that I didn’t have the time or money to be recreating art authentically.

Takeaways

• Insular art would have appealed to a younger me, but I’ve moved on.
• Gothic art would have been a yes, but not in the way of this era, but the interpretation of all things gothic today.
• Nothing really stood out to me aside from the gothic architecture but I’m not sure how to incorporate that into my art…yet.

Art movement No. 5: Renaissance art

DaMelinci

Summing up

• Natural studies – the observable world
• Realism – subjects put into realistic surroundings
• Humanism – enter daily life subjects
• Individualism
• Anatomy
• Linear perspective
• Grace, harmony and beauty

Words that jumped out at me: Grace. Harmony. Naturalism.

My process

• Apply what I learned and try to break down my plant in a natural study and seek patterns or designs to inspire
• I’d said ‘Not my thing’ but since keeping a Nature Journal I see this being of quite a bit of use to me

Takeaways

• Innovation in techniques – a goal of mine to explore and find what works for me
• Thinking of grace in the ‘non- conventional’ way – think outside the box of what ‘grace’ means and its application in different scenarios

Art movement No. 6: Baroque art

Plant and pearl

Summing up

• Contrast between light and dark
• Rich colour palettes
• Ornate
• Grandeur
• Complexity
• Dramatic

Words that jumped out at me: Dramatic. Contradictory. Illusory effects. Illusionism.

My process

By now, I had given up any attempt to replicate art as done in a specific period and happily used my software. But I rather enjoyed the Baroque study.

• I used contrast and light
• I considered my subjects and colours
• I tried to arrange them with the focal point being my plant and pearl
• I used Procreate but I brought the images in from previous work so while my time for the overall image was 49 minutes each flower took time to draw and paint.

Takeaways

• I like this period of art, and it did inspire me to think about incorporating light and dark rather than only gradients.

Art movement No. 7: Rococo art

No art.

Summing up

• Lightness
• Elegance
• Natural forms
• Asymmetrical design
• Subtle colours

Words that jumped out at me: Playful.

My process

• I’m already applying the painterly style
• Thinking of applying asymmetrical elements

Takeaways

What I like is:

• the idea of playfulness resonates with me, but not in such a naughty, sexy, Rococo way, more of a cheeky, irreverent way
• mythological concepts
• use of nature to frame the main subject or to model elements
• asymmetry.

Art movement No. 8: Neoclassicism

No art.

Summing up

• Harmony
• Simplicity
• Proportion
• Renewed interest in classical antiquity

Words that jumped out at me: Neo.

Takeaways.

It’s okay to revisit other art movements and styles.