How to Find Your Artistic Voice (And Keep Coming Back to It)

When I sat down to interview Kelogsloops, I didn’t expect to be brought back twenty years—to a high school classroom, to the quiet pages of my old visual arts sketchbook, and to a version of myself I had almost forgotten. (And literally, all my 12 pieces or so I created for my first school exhibition all gone….)

But that’s exactly what happened.

Somewhere in the middle of our conversation, he casually mentioned how, in his “Studio Art” program, he was taught to research artists not just for who they were, but for why their work spoke to him.
He said something like, “I was constantly asked to reflect on what I liked in an artist’s work—and in my own.”

And suddenly it clicked.

That was exactly what I’d been taught in IB Visual Arts, two decades ago. The curriculum that shaped how I see, how I feel through art… and honestly, how I process the world. It was very concept-based way of creating art.

But somehow, over the years, I’d tucked that structure away. Life happened. I moved aroud countries is what happened. Motherhood happened. I painted with feeling, but often forgot the reflection part—the part that roots your style in something deeper than intuition.

🖋️ What IB Visual Arts Taught Me (And I Forgot I Knew)

The IB Visual Arts curriculum (and similarly, VCE Studio Arts in Australia) is built on four simple but powerful pillars. I didn’t realize until this conversation with Kelogsloops that they’ve always been with me. And maybe they’ll help you too, if you’re in a moment of wondering what your “style” really is.

🧠 1. Observation

What do you see?

This isn’t about copying. It’s about noticing. The shape of a shadow. The softness of a line. The way two clashing colors somehow harmonize.
In IB, we had to annotate artworks—our own and others. What material was used? What was the subject? How was space used?
I didn’t realize how foundational this still is for me—until I started analyzing Kelogsloops' smooth gradients and negative space hair.

💬 2. Interpretation

What do you feel?

Back then, I used to write in my process journal: "This piece makes me feel... like falling quietly into a dream."
I thought it sounded silly at the time. Now, I realize how rare it is to actually let yourself pause and feel something in front of art.
Kelogsloops said he paints emotions, not stories. I resonate with that. It’s what I try to capture too—those unspoken in-betweens.

🌍 3. Context

Where does this come from?

We were encouraged to explore cultural, political, personal, and historical context. Even if we didn’t fully understand it, the act of looking outward shaped our inner voice.
Kelogsloops pulls from anime. I pull from Japan, from parenthood, from fragments of things I’ve felt but haven’t named.
Context deepens the work. It gives it weight, even when it floats.

🪞 4. Reflection

What do you love about this—and why?

This was the part Kelogsloops reminded me of the most.
He told me what I did—reflecting on what I love in others’ work, and in my own—is exactly what he does, even now.
And that’s what gave me goosebumps.

Because that’s the compass.
It’s not a style guide or a niche.
It’s the pattern of what you keep loving over and over again—what you return to in others’ art and in your own.

✨ Your Style Is Already There—You Just Have to Notice

I think we often imagine finding our voice like some grand discovery.
But maybe it’s more like a remembering.

Maybe it’s sitting across from another artist—like Kelogsloops—hearing something that awakens a part of you that never left.

So if you’re feeling lost, if your art feels scattered, here’s a simple way back:

💭 Ask yourself:
“What do I love about this artwork?”
“What do I love in my own?”
“And what would it look like to bring that forward with intention?”

That’s it.

That’s Studio Art.
That’s IB Visual Arts.
That’s how Kelogsloops works.
That’s how I’m finding my way back.

And maybe… that’s how you will too.

🎧 Watch & Listen

📺 Watch the interview snippet with Kelogsloops
🎙️ Listen to the full episode on my podcast 'Art, Parenthood and Beyond