Some time ago, I answered a reader who asked a question about finding their artistic style. You can read my answer here.
It’s been a few years since I wrote that post and when I came across it again, I decided it was time to revisit this subject and perhaps expand on it a bit.
Before I begin, I want to say right up front that the subject of “style” is wide open. There is no one person or committee that decides what style is. Sure, there are trends in the market, but they don’t define style. They reflect what’s currently popular.
Artistic style is also intensely personal. No two artists have exactly the same style. That’s because no two artists have the same combination of experience, skill, interests, or goals. We’re all unique, and those uniquenesses show up in our style. That’s why, for most artists, style is something that “just happens” as they make art. That’s what happened to me.
And styles can change as you grow as an artist. I’m also ample proof of that.
What Artistic Style is Not
Style is Not One Piece
Artistic style can begin with just one or two pieces, but just one or two pieces aren’t enough to create an identifiable style. Sure. You can create one piece that’s so extraordinary that it stands out to everyone. That could be enough to prompt you to create more pieces the same way. But you don’t yet have a style.
You need a body of work, usually a dozen or more pieces created over the course of time. That’s one reason galleries ask for such large portfolios when they view work for potential exhibits. (They also want to make sure the artist can produce consistent work.)
So style is not one piece.
Style is Not Market Trends
Artistic style doesn’t follow market trends. Many times, it goes against market trends, or ignores them altogether.
A market trend might come along that ignites a fire in you. Let’s say all the experts say brown is the color of the season. You might be so inspired by all the wonderful shades of brown that you start creating art that reflects those colors in abundance.
The market trend is not your style. But if you make enough artwork filled with browns for long enough, then the color “brown” becomes a major part of your artistic style.
So artistic style is not a market trend, but it might be sparked by a market trend.
Style is Not Only for Fine Art
Artistic style is not limited to fine art. You don’t have to be a professional artist, a portrait artist, or an artist creating work for exhibits to have, develop or find an artistic style. Even if all you ever do is doodle in a sketchbook or do adult coloring books, you still have a unique style. Do any kind of drawing long enough, and your style will develop naturally.
Let me use myself as an example.
I do a lot of sketching on ACEO-sized pieces of paper. They’re 3-1/2 inches by 2-1/2 inches. I use all kinds and colors of paper because my ACEOs are usually made on scraps from larger pieces of paper. I make ACEOs on Pastelmat, Colourfix, Stonehenge, Canson Mi-Teintes and whatever I happen to have lying around.
But there are two things about most of those ACEOs that identifies my ACEO style. I use only one or two colors and I usually draw tree branches or mountains. That’s just my default. Whenever I sit down to draw and my only objective is to draw, tree branches or mountains just seem to appear. Here are two recent samples.
So artistic style is not limited to fine art only.
Style is Not Limited to One Style per Artist
The above example also illustrates another thing that artistic style is not: It’s not limited to one style per artist. You can have more than one artistic style. You can have a colored pencil style and an oil painting style. You can also have a two-dimensional style and a three-dimensional style if you happen to do sculpture or ceramics.
I have an ACEO style and a more finished style. Here’s an example of a fine art landscape from 2024.
I was all set to tell you that there’s no crossover between my two styles. And then I looked at the illustration I chose for the fine art style. It has mountains and trees. So there is some crossover.
But my point is that you are not limited to one artistic style. You can have two or three or many! And there can be crossover.
Style is Not Truly Transferable
What do I mean by that?
When you do a tutorial by another artist, that doesn’t mean the style of the tutorial is your style. Even if you do several tutorials by the same artist, that artist’s style doesn’t automatically become your style.
When you do a tutorial, you’re learning the style of the artist who wrote the tutorial. That’s a good place to begin developing your own style. But even if you do a lot of tutorials by the same artist and you learn to duplicate their style perfectly, you’re still putting your own experiences and skills into the resulting artwork. The changes may be very tiny, but you are making changes.
All of that means that you’re starting with the style of another artist, but you’re refining and altering it as you go. That means that you’re finding your own artistic style.
So someone else’s style might be the place you start, but if you draw long enough, you won’t stay there.
One Important Note
If I’ve given you the idea that you can’t develop your own style by doing any of the things above, let me clarify matters.
None of the above-mentioned things is style all by itself.
But they all contribute to developing style.
Everything you learn, no matter where you learn it or how (classes, workshops, tutorials, videos, self-taught) helps you find your own unique artistic style. How?
You learn a lot of things. Many of those things don’t work at all and you abandon them.
Some things do work from the start and you add them to your skill set.
Some of them work sometimes, so you continue using them. But you make changes or adjustments until that method or tool either stops working for you or fits into your working methods.
The more you learn and the more you adjust, the more your style develops. At some point, you have a collection of pencils, paper, accessories, tools, and methods that works every time (or almost every time). They help you consistently create the kind of artwork you want to create. At that point, you’ve lain a solid foundation for your style to develop.
The Bottom Line
Your style is unique to you. It involves what you draw, how you draw it, the tools you use, and even the colors you choose.
But it is not defined only by the things I’ve talked about above. Nor should it be.
Instead, it’s a combination of your experience, the tools you use, and everything you learn about making art.
So don’t stop with just one thing.
And don’t be discouraged if it takes you a long time (or seems to take a long time) to find your style. The truth is that you probably won’t be the first one to notice it! Your fans will be.
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Personally, after many years, I have finally come to the conclusion that “style” is no longer a concern for me, or a desired trait that I need to achieve on a personal level.
In fact, since being immersed in the wonderful world of colored pencil drawing, I’ve found myself branching out and trying different techniques, most importantly as a personal goal, I have been trying to “loosen up” and avoid trying to include all of the intricate details in what I draw. As an example, the use of Water Soluble Colored Pencils, have helped me out quite a lot because I never know what I’m going to get when I activate them with water.
I still love rendering a nice tight drawing, but it’s no longer something that I strive to do with each and every project that I undertake. I’m trying to focus more on letting my natural mark making process take its own course and see what transpires.
To some degree, I’m glad to have shed the shackles that may have bound and hindered my creative possibilities over previous years. It makes my artistic journey that much more enjoyable and exciting, These days, I sometimes never know what to expect through the experimental process and that works just fine for me because I am having so much fun!
Kim,
My guess is that most artists don’t set out to create a certain style, and most of us never give it a thought. I never did until someone mentioned not seeing my work at a local art show. I asked how she knew I didn’t have anything there and she told she didn’t see anything that was my style. That’s the first I knew about style.
I do think many artists spend too much time thinking about style or trying to identify their style, and they don’t draw as much. So what’s my advice? Just draw. Style happens.