FINDING YOUR PAINTING STYLE

How do you find your painting style? I used to think I didn’t have one. But I eventually discovered that everyone has one. It’s in there. You just have to find it.

I learned to draw as a child and spent hours copying comic strips and fashion drawings in the newspaper without even thinking about finding my own style. Later on, I learned to paint as an adult, and part of that process was copying famous artists’ work that I admired. It helped me learn techniques and understand why I gravitated to specific artists’ work. I don’t ever recommend copying another artist’s work, but instructors use it as a learning tool, and that’s ok. Historically artists studied other artists’ work and learned from copying as well. Van Gogh, for one.
Footnote: Don’t ever copy another artist’s work and show or sell it. Learn from studying art you like, but a copy is never an expression of your own creativity or your own painting style. Oh, and it’s illegal to present it as your own. And unethical.

So how do you find your painting style?

After studying with various other professional artists, I realized I needed to break away and just be me to find my painting style. I was trying to paint like my instructor, whose work I admired. So, I started painting at home, choosing various subject matters that interested me. Flowers, the coast, landscapes, and an occasional portrait. I also did a 100-day painting challenge a couple of times- a painting a day, all different kinds of subject matter. Which, honestly, I didn’t enjoy very much. It stressed me out. That said, it helped me realize what I liked and how I wanted to paint. And helped me find my style.

Do you ever scroll through Instagram or look at a gallery and immediately know who painted the painting without seeing the artist’s name? That’s because of their unmistakable painting style. That’s the goal, and I’m still working on that.

So here are my suggestions to help find your painting style:

• Play. Experiment. Try something new. Paint different subjects, and various color schemes, with other mediums. I have oils, watercolors, gouache, acrylics, pastels, markers, and charcoal. Eek. Not cheap, but if you are an artist, you get it. I’ve accumulated lots of art supplies over the years, and I’m like a kid in a candy store with art supplies.
• Niche Down. Or not. People say it’s important to niche down to find your own painting style. And it can be. Some artists love painting the same thing over and over. Look at Monet. But it’s not for everyone. I tend to be all over the place because I get bored quickly. However, I’ve gotten better and am sticking to what I love to paint.

So, here’s my secret.

• Paint what you love. Then paint a lot of what you love. And even if you love many different things and enjoy the variety, that’s ok. If you are authentic in using your own voice, your work is always your own ‘hand,’ and it will always look like your work as long as it genuinely comes from within, not from someone else.
• Paint a lot. It doesn’t have to be hours and hours or 100 days in a row, but as often as you can. Put the time in. You’ll find your painting style.
• Start small. Paint a lot of small paintings. After you have a collection, study them. What are your three favorites? Pull them out and study them. What do they have in common, and why do you like them? Is it the color, brushstrokes, or subject matter? Now paint 10 more like your favorite. Either paint it again, or change it with color or composition, but paint 10 more. Now repeat the process.

Are they starting to look like they are painted by the same person? There you go. Now you’ve found your painting style.

Want to read more about my evaluating your own art? Or see my new work?