Developing an Art Style

As artists we all have a style. It is a combination of several components including technical skill and personal preference. Evolving and developing your style can take time especially the acquisition of technical skills but it is not impossible and the process can be fascinating.

I started doing charcoal landscapes around three years ago. These six drawings show how my style has changed over that time. The images are arranged from older (left) to newer (right).

The drawings above demonstrate that style can evolve for a given artist. I think several factors contribute to style.

• The materials used.

• Outside influences – we all have different tastes and are influenced by other artists and art movements.

• Experience and confidence using art materials.

Changing any of these factors can change your style. In the four examples above, I changed from using only charcoal to colored charcoal and graphite. I also switched from cream paper to white paper to tan paper. I also went from images influenced by impressionism to images inspired by minimalism. During the three years, I also gained experience and confidence with charcoal.

We all have a style. We may or may not be happy with that style but we do have a style. Let’s say we want to develop our style. What can we do? If you accept my idea that there are three main factors that contribute to style then you need to do the following;

• Experiment with materials. In the case of charcoal that means trying willow charcoal, vine charcoal and compressed charcoal. It also means trying different paper types.

• Look at other artwork. What do you like? Read and study about different artists and art movements. Learn as much as you can about the art and artists you like.

• Take time to parctice and build your confidence with a medium. This stage could take months or years.

Think of developing a style as a journey rather than a destination. Your style can develop over your lifetime.

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This YouTube video expands on some of these ideas.