"Paintings With Personality"

I did a sketch of this man one evening at the Jersey Shore. I was waiting for 'Honey' who was fishing.

 ‘Honey’ and I went to a New Jersey Watercolor Society meeting and luncheon Saturday. Everyone looked terrific all dressed up in their favorite style. No paint spattered clothes that day. I saw a lot of styles, clothes styles, car styles, dish styles, and art styles. Style in art is how the painter uses the elements of design to express their feelings and interests. If the artist’s style is different it will be recognizable no matter what they paint; houses, people, animals, etc.

Artists really can’t go looking for a painting style the way they go shopping for clothing and sometimes have a problem seeing their style. Following are a few suggestions to help you identify your particular painting style:

1. Know what you like – The more you paint the more you will learn about yourself and your art. Think about what you might emphasize, subdue or completely remove from your work. Always be aware of what you find interesting and what strongly affects you. You may see good qualities in all art but that doesn’t mean you actually like the work.
2. Keep working – You can’t always feel eager and creative, sometimes life gets in the way or you’re tired or just not inspired. Do whatever it takes to get energized and paint every day in order to advance.
3. Critique your work – Looking at your imperfections can be humbling but it helps you learn about yourself and about what you create. Read my blog post titled - Line, Value, Shape, Space…. ‘SOOOOO CONFUSED’ to learn how to do a self-critique.
4. Cultivate artist friends – An artist friend you can trust is a valuable asset. Artists are often alone during most of their creative process. They need input from other artists to meet and go beyond their creative limits.
5. Be willing to change – Remember the old adage “If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you will get what you’ve always got.” Be willing to experiment, make changes and take chances in your art.
6. Look and listen - An artist must go to art museums and examine the art of the masters. Let your influences be the ‘great artists’ not those around you who are doing the same thing you are doing. Take workshops from established artists. Subscribe to art magazines and read them.

I painted these thistles in my studio. I took the photo while in Napa Valley, CA with 'Honey', his brother and sister-in-law.

Beginning artists paint the way they have been taught and have a style just like everyone else. If there is nothing about your art that makes it stand out, experiment and try something more creative, something that can be recognized as your own. Don’t confuse style with quality, your imagination, originality, and creativity are what determine quality. Style is what you do with the elements of design.

Let me hear from you what do you do to say this is my art and my style?

The Nicest Way to View Art