This month, my main tasks have been to paint, embroider and sew baby blankets, and my e-zine, “We´re in Panama!”. I´ve had other projects, too, but these were the ones most present during the past few weeks. The variety of mediums I have been working with has made me think about the style discussion, omnipresent in the illustration world.

(If you´re not aware of it, the discussion goes about the advantages and disadvantages of an illustrator having one specific style. This discussion is highly ambiguous, because “style” fails to be defined and it is very often confused with “medium”.)

In the light of said confusion, I think that one personal style may show through different mediums and techniques. It shows by gestures, by choice of colours, by kinds of lines and textures used, by combinations of patterns. Style is not limited to one medium, as it can show through different materials, due to the differentiating characteristics that show that one piece was made by a certain person.

This has no easy answer or definition, I know. But I think that all the different pieces I make have something in common, something mine that shows: choice of colour, gestures, the way objects are represented,…

What is your take on this discussion? Should an illustrator work with one medium only? Does style show through, no matter the materials used?