What Does It Take to Become a Professional Artist? – Part 3: Your Own Style or Theme

Why having a recognizable artistic voice is more than just a trend—it's your presence, your identity, and your invitation to be remembered.

This is Part 3 of our series on what it takes to be recognized as a professional artist. If you missed the previous parts, you can catch up here:

👉 Part 1: The Difference Between Artist and Professional Artist 👉 Part 2: Why You Need a Website

Your Own Style or Theme

Think about Michael Jackson, Kanye West, Lady Gaga—or BTS from Korea. Even before someone says the name, you just know it’s their song. Their voice, the melodies, the atmosphere, and even their visual world on stage all shout: “This is me.” That’s style. That’s a world that’s unmistakably theirs.

And visual art is no different. There are works you see and instantly think, “Oh, this must be so-and-so.” That’s the artist’s visual language—something that doesn’t feel forced but emerges naturally or intentionally as part of who they are. You could even say it’s the color of their soul.

Why Is Having Your Own Style So Important?

Having a recognizable style isn’t about drawing beautifully. It’s a visual answer to the deeper question: “Why am I making this?” It’s the artist’s personal way of interpreting and reshaping the world.

🌸 Art critic Jerry Saltz once wrote in New York Magazine, “Great art has presence; and presence comes from a distinct point of view.” In other words, a piece becomes powerful when it reflects a clear and personal vision.

🌸 Art historian Ernst Gombrich put it another way in The Story of Art—style, he said, is “the accumulation of habit and choice.” True style comes not from trends, but from your lived experiences, worldview, and visual exploration over time.

🌸 And in contemporary art history, “style” is more than just aesthetics. It’s also about how an artist’s concerns are shaped and structured through form and medium. In her famous essay Sculpture in the Expanded Field, art historian Rosalind Krauss argued that even when artists are breaking genre boundaries, you still see a recurring visual language and critical inquiry. That’s what makes a style.

Many curators emphasize that an artist’s unique visual language and consistency should never be overlooked. According to Art Criticism and the Role of Curators (CalleArteMas), curators often select artists based on their originality, sense of identity, and the progression of their work.

Likewise, Beyond the Head: The Practical Work of Curating Contemporary Art explains that curating isn’t just about lining up artworks—it’s about creating a visual conversation between the artists. That conversation only happens when each artist brings a strong, coherent voice to the table.

Style doesn’t have to be some innate genius trait. It’s often something you grow into—through trial, error, conversations, and reflection. Sometimes, someone else sees it in your work before you do.

Why Your Style Matters (A Lot)

1. It makes you memorable.
People will start saying, “That looks like your work.” It sticks in the minds of curators, collectors, and viewers.

2. Curators tend to prefer it.
When planning group shows, curators look for artists with clear yet unique perspectives. A defined style helps your work both complement and stand apart.

3. It builds trust in the market.
When there’s consistency—even with room for evolution—collectors feel confident that you’re committed to your practice.

4. It helps you clarify your own thinking.
Working toward coherence in your work forces you to ask the deeper questions: “Who am I, and what do I want to say?”

Many curators have noted that an artist’s unique visual language and coherence should never be overlooked. According to Art Criticism and the Role of Curators on CalleArteMas, curators tend to select artists whose voices and identity show clear evolution. And as Beyond the Head: The Practical Work of Curating Contemporary Art (SpringerLink + ResearchGate) points out, curating isn’t just about showing a mix of works—it’s about creating a visual dialogue. That only works when each artist brings a strong and distinct point of view.

Is It Something You're Born With—or Something You Build?

As mentioned above, some artists do show a striking visual voice early on. But for most, a personal style is forged through experimentation, failure, feedback, and lots of repetition.

Take contemporary artist Julie Mehretu, for example. She began with a wide range of drawing styles but eventually developed her signature large-scale, architectural, abstract city-map-like works. Her pieces are now in major collections like MoMA and the Whitney.

Or think of Mark Rothko. He started with expressionist tendencies, but evolved into his iconic color field paintings—deep, emotional abstractions of almost pure color that invite you to get lost in them.

Your style, in other words, is the product of deep self-examination and ongoing creative practice. It can come naturally, or it can be deliberately shaped—but either way, it’s yours.

One Way to Find Your Style: Dialogue and Community

Sometimes, we don’t even see our own patterns until someone else points them out. That’s why things like artist critiques, exhibitions, portfolio reviews, or just talking with peers can be so powerful.

In the past, exhibitions and juried shows were the main ways to get your work out there. But now? There are countless platforms for showing your art and hearing what others see in it:

• Instagram

• Behance

• Substack

• Your own website

• And don’t forget communities

All of these give you a chance to see how your visual voice is coming across—and how it might evolve.

Next time, we’ll talk about how to make your style visible—through your portfolio, your exhibition structure, and the way you frame your own work.

So—do you feel like you’ve found your own visual language? Or are you still discovering it? Either way, I’d love to hear about it. Drop a comment and let’s talk. 🙂