I have one big problem: my standpoint on issues is volatile and I often empathize with both sides in a debate. The result is that I don't seem to have well-defined taste in art or music. I love Bach as much as Takemitsu and love Vermeer as much as Tapies. Perhaps my scientific training has conditioned me to be fluid, since in science one starts out with the assumption that one is wrong and ideally one has no loyalty to any hypothesis. So, one is able to switch sides in milliseconds when new evidence comes forth. It does seem, though, when it comes to producing my own art-related stuff that there must be some kind of inherent personality trait that predominates. I have so often thought that I should become more spontaneous, but I when I try to break out of my control freak mode, I fail. I value your opinion, so perhaps you could give me some pointers to become looser. Or perhaps I should just accept that I have my "style" and grin and bear it!
I suspect that what you describe is the reality for many artists. We love Art... painting, sculpture, film, music, literature... and the broad spectrum of Art that can be appreciated. Like yourself, I love Bach and Mozart... but also Stravinsky, Bartok, Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk, The Rolling Stones, and the Louvin Brothers. I love Botticelli, Rubens, and Degas... but also Medieval art, Japanese prints and paintings, Islamic Art, Matisse, Max Beckmann, Paul Klee, Francis Bacon, Joseph Cornell, Richard Diebenkorn, and a vast array of illustrators and "low brow" artists. I'm probably a bit more focused when it comes to the visual arts than I am with regard to music and literature simply looking for Art to feed my own work... but then again, I've drawn inspiration from not only "classical" Western figurative artists... but also from Japanese prints, Islamic design, the surface of abstract paintings, collage and assemblage, architecture and design, posters, comic books, etc...
Over the years I came to accept that my artistic "style" is not something that resulted from a focused preference or point of view let alone an artistic theory... but rather it simply resulted from all of my experiences and all the works of Art that I appreciate... and quite likely also all the works of Art I dislike. I is something like my signature or handwriting and will remain visible whether I'm drawing the human figure, a still life, or landscape... or working on a collage. I remember years ago starting the latest painting with great enthusiasm until I reached a point where I thought, "Oh crap! That looks like something I would do... again!" I wanted my art to look like the work of someone else... someone I admire. It was only after some time that I came to realize that a unique style or visual signature is something artists all strive for... something that makes Vermeer or Tapies immediately recognizable and stand out.
