How To Find Your Art Style

How To Develop An Art Style

What does it mean for an artist to find or discover their art style?

What does it mean for a writer to find their writer’s voice?

What does it mean for a guitarist to discover their musical style?

When a creative person discovers their art style, they develop a unique style that nobody can replicate. 

When you hear Stevie Nicks singing on the radio, you know it is Stevie because she has a unique singing style that separates her from the other female singers.

When you look at Tomas Kinkade‘s paintings, you know it is from Tomas because he developed a unique artistic style that no other artist can replicate.

Why would you want to find your art style?

An artist should discover their artistic voice mainly to build name recognition.

You want people to look at your drawings or paintings and know that you are the artist who created the artwork.

If you want to sell your art, building name recognition is one of the most important parts of marketing yourself as an artist.

You might be at a point where you want to start selling your artwork, but you are asking yourself, “What is my art style?“

This guide will help you discover your unique artistic style to start building name recognition.

What Is Style In Art

Before developing your artistic style, you must understand what style in art means.

Your unique art style describes the way your artwork looks. It is how you portray a subject matter and express how you see the subject.

For example, if you are painting an apple, you might want to paint it with bold colors, or maybe you will be focusing more on how the light reacts with the apple.

Your art style will be determined by the characteristics you focus on, like composition, form, colors, and light.

Your artistic style will be determined by the techniques you use and the mediums you work with.

Combining everything will create your unique art style or voice that nobody can replicate.

Your art will be unique, like a fingerprint. People will become familiar with your style and soon know that you are the artist who painted the artwork they admire.

Different Styles Of Art

Popular styles of art:

• 19th Century art
• Modern art
• Renaissance art
• Cubism
• Pop art
• Abstract art
• Surrealism
• Art deco
• Hyper-realism
• Art nouveau
• Photo-realism
• Expressionism
• Contemporary
• Realism
• Minimalism

This list is some of the most popular art styles but not the entire list.

Knowing what style your art falls into will help you when it is time to market your art online and at local craft shows.

How To Develop An Art Style

Developing a unique art style does not happen overnight. Tomas Kinkade, Norman Rockwell, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh, Leonardo da Vinci, and Claude Monet took years of practice and studying to discover their artistic voice.

Here are some strategies to help you dicover your creative voice faster.

Artists That Inspire You

Make a list of artists that inspire you to create art. The larger the list, the more unique your style will become.

Once you have your list of artists, find a website that showcases their artwork so you can study them. You might even want to consider purchasing some of their original work or reproduction of their art so you can study them up close.

The next step is to list all the things you like about the artist’s style, including composition, elements of light, colors, shapes, form, space, and what style of art it falls into.

Another fun thing to do is to find out who inspired your favorite artists so you can identify how they learned their artistic style.

Practice

Devote some time every day for painting or drawing. The more you practice, the quicker you will discover your artistic style.

Take the list of everything you like from the paintings you are inspired by and start practicing those techniques.

Only work on what you like about the paintings or drawings.

Maybe you like the colors one artist uses or how a different artist uses light, and perhaps you like the composition from another painter.

Only working on the techniques that you are attracted to.

The more you practice the different techniques you are passionate about, the easier it will be to mix them for your creations.

In time you will create art using all of the techniques you have practiced, and the finished product will be your unique artistic voice. 

Dedicated art collectors will know who inspired you to create art, but you will have a unique style because you practiced different artists’ techniques.

Experiment With Different Mediums

Now that you have a clear vision of how you would like your finished artwork to look like, it is time to experiment with different mediums to discover what medium will best for your image.

For example, if you are interested in painting with bold, vivid colors, oil paints might be a better choice than watercolors. Or, if you want to create art using greyscale, you might want to use graphite rather than pen and ink.

The goal is to find a medium that makes it easy to create your vision.

How To Find Your Own Art Style

By this point, you have spent many hours practicing different art techniques with multiple mediums. 

It would be best if you now had your own art style that accurately expresses your visions.

The last step is to discover what subjects you will focus on.

For example, if you want to be known as a wildlife artist, you do not want to spend a half year painting oceans.

Find a subject that you would enjoy painting every day.

It is time to get to work once you decide what subject matters you will create.

After you have dedicated a fair amount of time to one subject, you will have discovered your art style. You will be able to create a composition exactly the way you envision it.

Soon when people see your work, they will know you are the artist who created it.

Final Thoughts On How To Find Your Art Style

Your art style will evolve. You can quicken the process by following the tips outlined above.

Practicing the techniques you like from your favorite artists and experimenting with multiple mediums will allow you to share your vision visually.

More Art Style Related Posts

• What Style Of Art Sells Best?
• Niche Marketing Strategy For Artists
• How To Be Inspired By Art Without Copying It
• What Kind Of Paintings Sell