Diversifying media: a diluted identity, or a creative awakening?

One way, or another?

I made a tentative foray into diversifying media by introducing colour pencil in June 2019. I haven’t looked back since. The move seemed balanced on a sharpish edge. One side argued “keep specialising!”, the other yelling “expand your skills!”

Without a control scenario, it’s never easy to tell which would have paid off more. Being boxed in by one medium seems to have its pros and cons. I know people who have made a sustainable living as a result of being known for one particular thing. I’m also sure they love their work.

But, let’s extrapolate the “con” side of diversifying media; try doing the same thing thousands of times a week. There’s often a meditative quality to repetitive work. However, if I don’t feel personal growth, difficulty or variety, I can easily lose the appetite for it. There were moments in my time as a postie I nearly lost my mind, and maybe I will again! As I say, I extrapolate – I don’t mean this to sound reductive at all.

I felt I’d reached a sort of zenith (by my standards) upon completing “Woman” (pictured below). I drew the image upside down. This helped me focus only on the shapes and patterns, instead of my own interpretation of things. I used around 140 hours tending to every last detail.

Where was the extra smidge of growth I could hope to look forward to ? Scale up and tackle enormous pieces I just didn’t have the room for? I’d just have to settle for an awful lot more recursive, tedious practice. I decided to future-proof against any potential feelings of boredom or stagnation by branching out instead.

As I might covertly joke now and again, “I’m not in this for the money”. This is actually as true as I can afford it to be. I’d sooner enjoy variety every day than anything else. Also, since this is my career, back-burner or not, I always look to the medium- and long-term. Intentional plans need to continue to take shape over the next 30-40 years.

Decision

There is recent evidence circulating the topic of “neuroplasticity”. It proposes we can spread the natural apex of our learning abilities through brain training. One thing I want to ensure is I also take full advantage of the tail-end of that traditional apex. It’s something I’ve thought a lot about during my long sabbatical from standardised education, or any form of professional development. It tipped the decision firmly in favour of “expand”, and commit to diversifying media.

I found myself waiting for a full set of Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils to arrive. There’s not much “trying it out” where I’m concerned – make the decision, and stick with it! While my fingers itched for the chance to practise, I scoured YouTube for all I could learn about colour pencil.

This proved very useful indeed. Just like at school, though, there was no substitute for good old-fashioned first-hand practice. I took to it fairly well, using those tutorials viewed but leaning heavily on whatever graphite skills I already had. The spoils of all this can be seen in the drawing below (European Kestrel):

I also branched out into dry-brushed charcoal, pastel and acrylic.

Advice

I’ve spoken to several people who were on the fence about diversifying media. My advice here is to ask yourself:

• how much you want to learn,
• how much space you have for new supplies,
• how much variety you’d like,
• your attitude towards being an “expert/specialist”.

[I’ll cut into this with a note on diversifying your services themselves. You might wonder whether to start a Patreon, offer workshops or other forms of tuition. Make sure you have enough regular time to spin those plates, as it really is a commitment. Successful Patreons in particular are subscription-based, so your patrons will expect regular, compounded content as their skills progress. The only reason I haven’t made a Patreon (…yet?) is that I want to be absolutely certain I won’t under-deliver. If I’m being trusted and paid for such content, I’ll be doing it all the way. A Patreon channel needs a strong base of content from the off, regular updates, and no half-measures.]

Maybe sitting at the drawing board lets your mind wander. It might allow you to be present with your chosen medium, or even switch off, free from daily stressors. If so, it might be worth securing your perimeter and sticking with one medium.

Perhaps you’re enjoying healthy levels of paid work and recognition in your existing space. I can understand the worry about diluting that. At the same time, I’ve found there to be no drop-off in demand. Most new customers actually opt for my recently adopted mediums. It’s certainly also opened up glorious avenues of discovery in my portfolio work. The most vibrant or iridescent reference photos of the natural world would be a little wasted on renditions in graphite.

You can keep wondering, or you can at least give it a go. It won’t break the bank to buy 12 pencils and a few sheets of different paper.

If you’re like me and want to cauterise your proclivity to under-commit, buy a big box of the best tools. An attitude I’ve always found helpful is “jump, and the net will appear”. I won’t reverse a decision if I make such a thing unaffordable!

If high skill enhances your enjoyment of making art, just erase the idea that you’re a beginner. Yes, even if you are one! I’ll never forget what a barman said to me one sweltering evening down in Bath in June 2017. I was considering a sheepish foray into home-brewing beer and pecked at him for info. He said “just start at expert level”. I’ll take that sentence to the grave as it nearly made me fall out of my chair. Pioneering, spirited, iron-willed. Kind of unforgettable, isn’t it? There’s a lot more you can do, if you just believe 🙂

Tighten the learning curve by finding out everything you can, get out of your own way and stride along confidently. That said, make sure you do as much as time allows. Don’t let the theory of something get in the way of actually taking action. This has been an all too common mistake of mine. 

Final thoughts

When diversifying media, just apply yourself with a healthy regard for what you haven’t tried yet. Go at whatever speed suits. It’s never, ever a mistake to tread lightly when using dry media. You’re almost guaranteed to recover from any bloopers, if they’re noticeable at all!

Enjoy the feeling of accomplishment, however quickly it comes. And it will indeed come if you keep at it. Your skill level, regardless of the discipline, is a function of how much time you’ve spent building it. Have faith in this above all else 🙂