Is style needed?

I got this from Austin Kleon's tumblr:


“Don’t worry about style. It will be expressed no matter what you do. Style is part of the way your brain is wired.” —Luke Sullivan

“The problem with art today: the artist believes he must find a style (or a schtick really) and defend it with his life. And if all the schticks are already taken, he must pull one out of his ass. He must find one, invent one, fabricate one, for he can be nothing if he cannot be original.” —Eddie Campbell

“Style is a capitalist invention. It’s a trademark. It’s very useful in the world of commerce to have a good trademark, but it wasn’t my first concern. I got restless…” —Art Spiegelman

“The way to professional accomplishment: you have to demonstrate that you know something unique, that you can repeat, over, and over and over until ultimately you lose interest in it… The model for personal development is antithetical to the model for professional success….Whenever Picasso learned how to do something he abandoned it.” —Milton Glaser

“In our current cult of originality, the pressure is to have a personal style as soon as possible, and the classroom environments often have this mentality as well. Everyone is freaking out: “What’s my style? What’s my thing?” It’s too much too fast. This race for originality has, over the years, spread from that future-goal timeline to just after college to (now) inside college itself. A safety zone no longer exists.” —Dash Shaw

“When I talk to young composers, I tell them, I know that you’re all worried about finding your voice. Actually you’re going to find your voice. By the time you’re 30, you’ll find it. But that’s not the problem. The problem is getting rid of it.” —Philip Glass

“Don’t worry about a style. It will creep up on you and eventually you will have to undo it in order to go further.” —Gary Panter



Don't worry about style, instead, master the fundamentals and always draw honestly from life. By doing this, you will be open to new possibilities instead of being trapped in inbred methods that has been rehashed over and over for centuries.

I think it is better to be known not for your style but for your honesty and versatility. What will represent you will not be superficial details, rather the wide range of work you will accumulate over the years. Having only a single style is limiting anyway, it will be a cage that you have to escape in order to grow. Atleast in this path you can shake things up by having the solid foundation to experiment with anything as you please.