Can AI pin down my art style? — part 2: the origin story

Well, it took one more experiment on Google Gemini to humble me after cloud nine last week.

After running my body of work through the system and the AI bot telling me what a great artist I am, I decided to go back in time to when I started making art and see what the robot thought of my artwork.

I first started becoming interested in art during school. Teenage me took her first official scheduled art class in 2009, my freshman year of high school. I loved it so much that I joined the art club and took the class again my senior year. (I’m not sure how I convinced my guidance counselor to let me take it twice.)

In art class, we had to keep a sketchbook, and I took that as an opportunity to workshop painting ideas. Each page was a mini version of a painting that I would have loved to create on a bigger canvas. None of them made it out of the pages, and for good reason, as I discovered on Google Gemini.

Buried in the depths of my Facebook are all of the old pages from my first sketchbook. Many pages are just concepts, but it was still interesting to see what styles I gravitated to as a teen with zero formal training.

So, as I did with my more recent works, I uploaded each page to Google Gemini and asked it, “What does this painting look like and what style is it?”

Oh, how quickly was I humbled. One of the first pages in my sketchbook was a drawing of a cup of coffee.

“This artwork has a charming, almost childlike quality, depicting a steaming cup of coffee in a playful and expressive way. This piece leans towards naive art or folk art. These styles are characterized by a lack of formal training and perspective, resulting in simplified forms, bold colors, and a direct, almost innocent approach to representation,” Gemini said. “Overall, this artwork is a delightful and unpretentious depiction of a simple pleasure. It’s likely created by someone who enjoys expressing themselves through art without being constrained by strict rules or techniques. The naive style enhances the sense of joy and spontaneity, making it a fun and engaging piece.”

Thanks, Google. You can throw in all the nice words you want, but let’s face facts. My artwork was not very good.

My first painting fared the same:

“This artwork is an interesting mix of naive and outsider art styles with a theatrical theme. Here’s what I see. Naive Art: The simple shapes, lack of detailed perspective, and somewhat childlike rendering suggest a naive or outsider art style. These styles are often characterized by a lack of formal art training and a direct, intuitive approach to artmaking.”

Childlike rendering? I was 19 when I painted that!

Out of 55 sketchbook pages and 10 finished works from my senior year art class, Gemini tagged 34 as abstract expressionism (not to be confused with expressionism,) 15 as naive art and 12 as surrealism. Sprinkled throughout the pages are also hints of collage, dadaism, folk art, geometric abstraction, op art, pop art and punk art.

Gemini describes Abstract Expressionism as “a revolutionary art movement that emerged in the 1940s and 50s, primarily in New York City. It’s known for its emphasis on expressing emotions and ideas through non-representational means, often using bold colors, spontaneous gestures, and large-scale canvases.”

Arguably, the most famous artist from this movement is Jackson Pollock, known for large drip paintings. When I first started, Pollock was a huge influence, so it makes sense that many of my works were Abstract Expressionism.

Gemini calls Naive Art “a fascinating and often charming style of art characterized by its childlike simplicity and a lack of formal training. It’s created by self-taught artists who approach art-making with an intuitive and uninhibited spirit.”

Famous artists in this category include Henri Rousseau and Grandma Moses. Grandma Moses started painting at 78, a prime example that you are never too old to follow your dreams.

(Deja vu from part one.) Gemini says Surrealism is “an art movement that aims to tap into the subconscious mind and express irrational thoughts and emotions,” with key characteristics of dreamlike imagery, juxtaposition of unrelated objects and emphasis on the subconscious.

Famous artists in this movement include Salvador Dalí, (the one who painted the melting clocks,) and René Magritte.

Abstract expressionism doesn’t surprise me at all regarding my first works. Without practice, I still wanted to feel like I could be creative and make interesting work, so I naturally gravitated toward making abstract forms. 

Expressionism stayed with me; my latest work is recognizable for what it’s meant to be, but I still use a lot of emotion and apply it to my pieces today. I hope it gives my work a sense of wonder.

Surrealism continues to stay a huge influence on me, with many of my newer works falling into that category. It blows my mind that the AI model also saw its influence on my early work.

My second experiment with Gemini was incredibly fascinating and it put into perspective for me just how important it is to practice. My work objectively wasn’t very good to start, but if I had given up, I wouldn’t be where I am now. 

Macklemore’s song “Ten Thousand Hours” said it best: “The greats weren’t great because at birth they could paint. The greats were great because they paint a lot.”

Check out part one here.