While traveling around the world the last 4 weeks I came across a lot of artwork and a lot of students who showed me a lot of their work. One thing I noticed about all this work I witnessed is how many different styles of watercolor there is in the world.
When I talk style you are probably wondering what I am talking about. Style to me
is the entire look of the painting. It is a combination of all the things you do to make the painting. It is the materials and the techniques you use along with the subject matter and your skill level that create your style.
Style is something that you develop through creating lots of artwork, it isn't something that you can say you want to change like you would change the kind of paper or paint you are using.
Style is like a personality, it
isn't something you can change overnight. Lets say you are a neat freak then it is a good guess to say that your painting style will be very clean and precise. So if a neat freak person wanted to paint very loosely it would be something that would be very hard for that person to do. It could be accomplished but would take a great deal of work to change that person style, like it is very hard to change one personality.
I get many students that see other students
works and say I would love to paint in that style and I unfortunately have to tell those students that they will not be able to paint in that style of the other student because they are not that other student. You can learn the technique that other student is using but there are so many other things besides technique when it come to creating a work of art.
Learn to be yourself and it is okay to compare your works to others but don't get too caught up in trying to paint
like someone else. Work hard on painting a lot and trying all kinds of materials and techniques along with different types of subject matter. Then by working a lot you will be developing your own unique style and this happens and you usually don't even realize it is happening.
Style happens on its own by you creating a lot of work, so my suggestion to you is do a lot or work!
David
Below I have posted a lot of different styles of
watercolors by artists works that I have seen in the last 4 weeks