Alright folks, buckle up because yesterday I got this wild itch to figure out art styles. Seriously, just sitting there sipping coffee, staring at some old paintings my kid made, and boom! The question hits me: What's the actual "just right" spot with all these different art styles floating around? Like, is there one that actually feels like "me"? Time to get messy and find out.
Starting Simple, Feeling Dumb
First things first, I needed stuff. Grabbed whatever was lying around: a pack of cheap sketch paper, some dusty colored pencils I found buried in a drawer (some were broken, lovely), this crusty old watercolor set my nephew left behind, and even a charcoal stick I swear was for grilling. Not exactly pro gear, but hey, this ain't about perfection. My kitchen table became ground zero. Cleared off the breakfast crumbs and got to work.
Throwing Stuff at the Wall (Literally)
No plan, just vibes. Started trying to copy styles I kinda knew:
- Realism Attempt: Tried to draw my coffee mug perfectly. Focused super hard on every scratch, the curve of the handle... ended up with this stiff, weirdly tense drawing. Looked more like a mug suspecting murder than my morning brew. Way too much effort, got nowhere close to the real thing. Stressful!
- Cartoony Vibes: Okay, flip side time. Drew the same mug but like I wanted it in a Saturday morning show. Big eyes? Why not? Exaggerated curve? Sure! Slapped on some random bright colors. Ended up with something my five-year-old niece might think is cool, but it just felt... loud. And kinda fake, honestly. Too simple? Too silly? Didn't feel honest.
- Abstract Mess: Got frustrated. Decided "Screw the mug!" and just slammed the charcoal stick down and dragged it. Blobbed watercolors randomly. Didn't care what it looked like. Felt freeing for a hot second... then I looked at it. Just a confusing brown/grey blob. Asked my partner what it was. They guessed "dirty dishwater?" Yeah. That tracks. Too out there. Meaningless.
That Awkward In-Between Stage
Standing there, surrounded by my three weird mug interpretations, feeling kinda stupid. None felt right. The realistic one was stiff, the cartoony one felt childish, the abstract was just... a mess. Thought about quitting. Seriously, just wanted to toss the charcoal stick across the room. But grabbed a pencil instead.
Started kinda absent-mindedly sketching the mug again. Not trying for perfect realism, but not making it silly either. Just focusing on the core shape – the round body, the solid handle. Didn't stress every scratch. Used the pencil for shading, but kept it loose. Accidentally smudged the charcoal blob with my elbow – added some grey tones. Used the watercolors sparingly, just hinting at the blue ceramic color, not drowning it. Wasn't aiming for any "style." Just drawing the mug.
And... huh. That kinda worked. It looked like a mug. You could tell. But it wasn't a photo. It had some energy from the loose lines, maybe a hint of the cartoon's simplicity in the shape, and just a touch of the abstract in the smudged charcoal background. It wasn't perfect realism. It wasn't pure cartoon. It sure wasn't abstract chaos. It was just... a drawing of my mug that finally felt okay. Honest, maybe?
The "Duh" Moment (Over More Coffee)
Stared at my final mug drawing sitting next to the other disasters. Made more coffee (in the real mug, obviously). The lightbulb finally flickered on, dim but there. Maybe that "golden mean" thing people talk about in art isn't some perfect, middle-of-the-road, boring average.
Maybe it's that messy, personal spot where a bit of what you can do (even poorly), meets a bit of what you find fun or interesting, and somehow captures something that feels real to you. Not pinned down to one official style name. More like… a vibe you stumble into.
My experiment? Learned I kinda suck at pure realism. Pure cartoon feels goofy for me. Pure abstract feels pointless. But borrowing a touch of looseness, keeping the core recognizable shape simple, and letting a little unintended mess happen? That I can live with. That feels a tiny bit like "me". At least for my grumpy morning mug sketches.
So yeah. Forget strict rules. Grab your junk art supplies, try stuff at the extremes, screw up royally, and see what messy middle ground makes you go "eh, that's alright." That's probably your spot. For now, anyway. Onto the next thing.
