How to Find Your Art Style (and Know When It’s Yours)

Creators spend years trying to define “their style,” but what if it’s already there, just not fully formed yet? This minisode pulls together honest moments from Cyn, Alyssa Vilardi, and Lauren Hull with Olga Muzician, tracing the real path of finding your style: evolving through client work, pushing through the “ugly phase,” and slowly recognizing the patterns that make your work yours. It’s less about discovering something new and more about noticing what’s been building all along, and having the confidence to follow it.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

• Why your art style is already forming (even if you can’t see it yet)
• How pushing through the “ugly phase” leads to your best work
• What experimenting across projects teaches you about your style faster than waiting
• How recurring elements and influences make your work recognizable over time
• Why sharing the messy, behind-the-scenes process builds a stronger audience connection
• How confidence with clients helps protect and refine your creative voice

Hit rewind on these episodes:

• Landing Paid Art Projects with Major Brands & Finding Your Creative Voice with Cyn of Chalk & Brush
• Turning DIY, Motherhood, and Mess Into a Creative Business with Alyssa Vilardi of The Things We Built
• The Messy Middle of a Project... And Your Career as an Artist | Reflecting on Creative Beginnings with Olga Muzician & Lauren Hull

Welcome to Brush & Banter—the podcast where creativity meets real-life hustle. Brought to you by Zibra, we go beyond perfect brushstrokes to explore the messy, magical, and meaningful side of being an artist. We’re here to bring you conversations with working artists, practical tips to grow your creative business, and a built-in painting companion for your next project. 

Brush & Banter is co-hosted by Brie Hansen, President of Zibra; Annie Bolding, Founder of It’s a Disco Day Designs; and Lauren Cooper, Founder of Rosemont Lane Design Studio.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:11

Welcome to another special episode of Russian Banter. I'm Bree Hansen, president of Zebra, and co-host of the show. This week we're revisiting some of our favorite conversations to pull out the moments that really stick. In this mini sode, we're diving into a question we hear all the time. How do you actually find your art style? And more importantly, how do you build something that feels like you and recognizable to others? You'll hear from Sin, Alyssa, Lauren, and Olga as they talk through the messy middle of figuring it out from the ugly phase to experimenting with different ideas to eventually landing on a style that feels true. If you've ever felt like you're still trying to find your thing, this one will remind you that you're probably closer than you think.

SPEAKER_00 0:55

When I started out, my sort of vibe was nothing like it is right now. In fact, I felt for a lot of years like I didn't have a visual identity, I didn't have a recognizable style, and I would see all of these other artists and you know get super jealous, to be completely honest, about the fact that I could instantly spot their pieces and I didn't feel like I had those qualities. Now, hindsight is 2020. When I look back, I totally did. If you go back to when I first started, especially since I was strictly doing uh sign painting and lettering, so like chalk lettering, hence the name chalk and brush. No, the vibe was very dark, it was very like black and white, woodsy. Um, and it wasn't until I began to to be able to secure murals, to be honest.

SPEAKER_06 1:44

I literally was going through your Instagram again, just like revisiting some of the past work, and I'm like, oh, like I've literally have that saved on Pinterest's inspiration for the longest time. Yes. Was there something that you did that started to like in shift shifting that intentional style for you? Or like did you take that project and the work that came out of it and said, like, oh, this is kind of what I want to do moving forward?

SPEAKER_00 2:07

As a as a kid, and in my own practice, my art, my illustration, I've I've always been like a big illustrator before getting into any of this, just for my own fun and because I also studied fashion, so I did a lot of fashion illustration. There were a couple of clients, particularly a local brand called Night Owl Cookies, that um I started working with the owner right as he was opening his first brick and mortar store. Previously, he was using his grandma's oven and delivering cookies. And that was one of the first projects where I really got to go big and have fun with color and be a little silly. And I definitely was like, wait, I really like this. This is really fun. The serotonin that the wall gives back to you is kind of unmatched.

SPEAKER_05 2:51

Yes, I can agree to that. Like feel seeing like a full, complete wall staring back at you, you're right, is like such a high, such a dopamine hit to the brain of like, I did this, I painted this.

SPEAKER_00 3:05

Um, especially after the middle portion where you're like, this is horrible, what am I doing? And then it's like, wait, am I good?

SPEAKER_06 3:14

Am I a magician?

SPEAKER_05 3:16

I did this. The ugly phase is truly the worst part about painting murals, is you're in the middle and you're like, this is hideous, and I should just quit. I don't know what to do with this. So I feel like every mural is literally. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:30

It's a it's hard. How about cheer that I do in my head? Oh, tell us. I go, trust the process, trust, trust the process.

SPEAKER_05 3:37

Well, I am curious. Obviously, we're talking about like the dopamine of seeing your your wall incomplete. Um, for you visually, do you feel like there are certain colors or shapes or elements that show up again and again in your work that do give you that like feel-good feeling? And that's why you keep revisiting those specific, almost branding moments?

SPEAKER_00 3:57

Yeah, for sure. I have um, we joke around in the team that we have something called the chalk and brush special. And definitely living here in Miami, that ends up being the ocean, some palm trees, the sun, a flamingo, and you know, a catchy little phrase, but definitely references to like Miami and Latin culture. And definitely I'll tailor that if I'm working outside of Miami, you know, I'm not gonna put flamingos in my mural, but I think here we have with the Cuban diaspora, we have a lot of like little Easter eggs that we always insert into our murals, like dominoes, um, our Cuban little coffee maker, which is kind of like the Italian, like little mocha pot. It's the same thing.

SPEAKER_05 4:36

I love that. I feel like yeah, the the Miami vibe does feel similar to like the Soquel vibe. Like, I I do a lot of palm trees, lots of ocean stuff. People want to see the same, you know, type of um iconic moments. You do such a good job of incorporating those very seamlessly into your work.

SPEAKER_06 4:53

Do you have a formula for when you're reaching out to clients or clients are reaching out to you of trying to say, like, hey, this has worked before and this is how it looks, but like I want to do it a little bit different next time for you?

SPEAKER_00 5:05

Yeah, I mean, I think more so than a formula, that's just something that comes with time and with the confidence that you gain from talking to more and more people. Um working commercially, I'm sure you too know, it's a little bit of a tug-of-war between what the ask is, what you want to do, and what you know is best, because those aren't always even the same thing, right? And I've definitely gotten more comfortable with just letting my client know, like, I really don't think this is the way to go, or let's try something different so that you don't look like the, you know, the Airbnb that's that's two blocks down. I do think my work, and I think yours too, from what I was seeing, has gotten a little more abstract as the time goes by, where we don't necessarily need to see like a palm tree and a flamingo to know that it's Miami because Miami is a feeling, it's a color palette, it's a vibe, it's movement. So that's just I think it's something that has come with time. There was definitely a time when I was doing whatever the client wanted, and that resulted in a lot of edits and a very unhappy Cynthia.

SPEAKER_01 6:07

From the very beginning, when I started sharing what I was doing, and in the beginning, when I was sharing what I was doing, I was not even like trying to be a content creator. It was just at that time I was still doing furniture restoration and furniture flipping and you know, small business. You gotta put your stuff out there so that people find you. And that's just kind of how it started. But from the beginning, the goal was always like to be authentic because I found myself going online and looking at, you know, Pinterest boards and other Instagram pages, and you know, this is like all pre-TikTok as well. But like I think part of the reason why I thought all those years ago why I was supposed to do these things as a mom was because of the things that I saw on social media. So I've always been very authentic about that and very intentional about being upfront about the mistakes that I make and upfront about how challenging some things can be. Um, because I don't ever, ever, ever want somebody to come onto my page and think, why am I not like that? Why can't my life be like this? Why can't my stuff look this good? I want people to know, like, yeah, I'm messing up, but I'm messing up a lot. You know what I mean? And I think in showing up that way from the get-go makes it less embarrassing when I have to mess up, or when I have to come around and, you know, just a few weeks ago, I had to take a week off for some personal reasons. And I was able to do that and be like, hey guys, took a week off, so sorry, we're moving on because people understand at this point when you come to my page, it's kind of what you're gonna get, you know.

SPEAKER_06 7:33

I'm imagining that your DMs are full of people who are like coming to you and feeling seen. Was there a specific moment or person that's like coming to mind right now through your DMs where they like thanked you for being so authentic or like shared like how it changed their life?

SPEAKER_01 7:49

So I had a woman a couple years ago who was in her 70s and said to me, I I don't remember the exact words, but basically along the lines of, I love watching your stuff. Thank you for sharing this. I want to share with you the piece that you inspired me to do. And I was like, Oh my gosh, you know, it was so sweet. Like it was the sweetest thing, and it was one of those moments where I was like, okay, we're doing the right thing. I might get hate from people because you know, people can be miserable sometimes, and sometimes I'll get random negative DMs of like about how I look that day or whatever, which at that point that's their problem, not mine. But it's those things that make up for it because that's the whole purpose of this. That that is my I want to inspire other people to do this too because you can. You you can.

SPEAKER_05 8:41

Do you guys have like one piece or one project that taught you you feel like this is the one that taught me everything I know, or this project taught me so much? It was like such a learning project for you. Do you have any of those examples?

SPEAKER_02 8:54

Honestly, like all of them. Um every single project, I learned something different where I'm like, oh, I should have done this this way. Okay, next time I'll change that. I can't pinpoint a specific project, but with the content that we create, I'm also able to go back and look and see at, you know, all of the photos and videos taken of my projects, and I'm like, you know, it allows me to see that I have come a long way from you know those projects over the years.

SPEAKER_04 9:26

I agree with Lauren. I I I was gonna say that you know, it's it's every project teaches you something new, and it's not one specific project that teaches you this big lesson. I feel like there's always something, something goes wrong every project. For me, I mean, I do have one project where my the biggest lesson that I learned in my business was that I had this uh wall that was really, really high up. It was a brick wall 30 feet up in the air, and from the very beginning, from the transfer, it was just kind of a disaster. It was they they brought me like a cherry picker truck instead of a lift for the transfer. And it was dark outside, and I was trying to transfer this thing with a projector, and the brick it kind of absorbs light. So when you're transferring to raw brick, you can you can't really see the image up close, even if it's dark, it's it's very hard to see. Plus, it was so far away from the projector. Um, so I couldn't see anything, and I had to kind of like keep backing up on this thing that I couldn't even control. It was really hard to control this cherry picker to see the image and like remember where the lines are, quickly go to the front and like draw the line where it was just it was a disaster. It took me hours, and I had all these people watching me because they were there watching the truck and watching me do it, and I I'm pretty sure I was in tears. Nobody knew this, but I was just I was ready to give up and just go home. I just that was the one time in my whole career so far that I was just I just didn't think I could do it. Um but I did it, it did work out in the end, and the biggest lesson for me was that no matter how big the problem that I face, I know that in the end it will work out. Like I know I will figure it out. I don't know how yet, but I will. And so that kind of helps me now because when I am faced with a problem, I just kind of have to take a moment and breathe and think about it. And I I know that eventually it'll work out. I'm stressed out right now, but somehow, you know, it'll be good in the end.

SPEAKER_06 11:19

Oh my gosh, that sounds like a lot of muralists worst nightmare. But you know what I was thinking when you're saying that is like, I mean, speaking of the teacher comment, like how kids will get like participation awards like for showing up. Like, I feel like all of us artists deserve like just a like a right out of the gate, like problem solving award that no one like really knows how much goes into the work that we do, whether it's on a piece of furniture, on a brick wall, wherever it may be. Like, there is so much mental math and problem solving that our clients put trust in us for, and like I mean, props to them because it's true, like each wall is different, and and we can be in the beginning of our career or at the end of our career, but like each wall tells us a new story or each piece of furniture gives us a new lesson. And I guess I'm just recognizing the fact that like we do so much behind the scenes that like doesn't get seen ever, and tears that are shed or blood that is shed, and just final note like it is so frustrating when the client is there. I'm like, go away, like do not watch this part.

SPEAKER_05 12:27

Don't watch me.

SPEAKER_06 12:28

I've had clients literally come up to me and be like, Are you gonna get that spot? I'm like, no, no, actually, I'm not. It's a work in progress. Like, come back when it's done.

SPEAKER_04 12:37

I know. I always wish I could like cover it up before anybody sees it because it's always a disaster in the middle because it's just a mess. And then and in the end, like at the very end, that's when it gets perfect. Totally.

SPEAKER_05 12:51

Thank you for listening to the Brush and Banter Podcast, brought to you by Zebra. We're so grateful you're a part of the creative community. Gearing up for your next project? Head to enjoyZebra.com to grab your new favorite brushes. Designed for comfort, precision, and serious creative flow. Be sure to follow Zebra Painting on Instagram for painting tips, artist features, and more. If you enjoyed our banter, subscribe on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts, and don't forget to leave a five star rating and review. Now, go make something beautiful. We'll be here when you need a little banter.