After visiting the Transparent Watercolor Society of America's exhibit last week I got to thinking about Style and Design when it comes to watercolor painting. As an artist, I love when I see other painters put their mark on a painting. What do I mean about their mark, I mean a style or design element that an artist will paint into their paintings that will identify that painting to a particular artist. 

 

Check out the paintings I picked out below, the first one is by Charles Reid (may he rest in peace). If I would ask most artists who they thought painted this piece they would pick Charles and it is because of the style and design of his work. Charles always had drips and messy spotty backgrounds, it's just something he always did and it became his style.

The next painting is by an artist I have never heard of before last week. I love his work and I especially love the extra brush marks he put in the painting below. I'm not sure if he does this to all his works but it is a design element that just works so well for this piece.

 

Last painting below is a painting by Ted Nuttall who I met while we both were teaching at the Scottsdale Artist School. I love it that when I see a portrait of Ted's I know it is his right away. If you look close you will see very light circular brush strokes that tell me instantly that Ted Nuttall did that piece.

I bring up this topic of design and style because I feel this adds so much to a work of art and makes the piece creative and many times identifies the piece to a certain painter. When I see a painting that looks exactly like a photo I normally don't know which artist had painted it and I don't get as excited as when I see a watercolor that has a design and a style to it that you don't see in a photo. I like it when the painting looks like a watercolor painting and I can identify the artist that painted it. This is not to say that either way is right or wrong or better or worse, I'm just bringing up my own personal taste for a watercolor that has a design and style like no other. 

Some of my students have asked me how would they get a style that is all their own and my answer is... Do a lot of painting and every now and then try different things, like different papers, mediums, teachers, techniques and subject matter. Then when you come across something you like, stick with it for a bit and paint paint paint! You can also be influenced by others and take all those influences from others and figure out how you can make a style all your own. I also tell my student I too am working on a style and it isn't the easiest thing to do, I just keep on plugging away and hopefully one day I will come up with a design style that is all my own.

 

David