How did your style evolve or are you still searching ?

It's evolving all the time the more I learn. I'd hate to think I'd ever stop learning.

Thanks for the reply Alan, thats interesting to hear, a constantly evolving style and yes.. there are always new things to learn to help it evolve to other levels 😊👍🏼

I think my painting style is a work in progress. My drawings I just let go and they happen. Often they head towards the bin. 

Your work is lovely Sylvia, i’m a fan, a work in progress style is good i think as your art can take on different looks each time until maybe one day you settle on a particular one. Oh and i have binned a few of mine over the years too : )

I think my painting style is a work in progress. My drawings I just let go and they happen. Often they head towards the bin. 

Your work is lovely Sylvia, i’m a fan, a work in progress style is good i think as your art can take on different looks each time until maybe one day you settle on a particular one. Oh and i have binned a few of mine over the years too : )

I don't think a style can be planned, it evolves from the art that interests you.  In my case it came from the comics I read (and copied) as a kid, then I discovered illustration...spending hours in the library looking at books on the great illustrators.  It was my mid-twenties before I took an interest in so called 'fine art.'  Illustration is still the great motivator, for every 'fine-art' picture I admire I'll find twenty illustrations that provoke the same admiration.  I guess it's 'linear' art that appeals to me.   Not sure if that's the correct description, I mean I like art where the outlines are shown.  This abounds in illustration of course, but many 'fine artists' use it.  Gauguin, Paula Rego and even Botticelli, to name a few. Art is a constant learning process, but basically you just have to get on with it.  I simply enjoy doing it, although it's often a source of disappointment.  Sometimes the best stuff (for me), is something done in a relatively short time in a sketchbook. So, I guess I'm saying get on with it and forget about style.  That'll happen, or not, on it's own.

Excellent response Lewis, this is why i started the thread to gauge what each artist feels about the subject... personally i agree with you that it will surface at some point if you just crack on and keep learning. The illustrative work that you like is very appealing and i too like the bold outline drawing style and as you say sometimes quick sketches can somtimes be more appealing and artistic than a piece worked on for days.  Thanks for an awesome response : )

I think my painting style is a work in progress. My drawings I just let go and they happen. Often they head towards the bin. 

Your work is lovely Sylvia, i’m a fan, a work in progress style is good i think as your art can take on different looks each time until maybe one day you settle on a particular one. Oh and i have binned a few of mine over the years too : )

I don't think a style can be planned, it evolves from the art that interests you.  In my case it came from the comics I read (and copied) as a kid, then I discovered illustration...spending hours in the library looking at books on the great illustrators.  It was my mid-twenties before I took an interest in so called 'fine art.'  Illustration is still the great motivator, for every 'fine-art' picture I admire I'll find twenty illustrations that provoke the same admiration.  I guess it's 'linear' art that appeals to me.   Not sure if that's the correct description, I mean I like art where the outlines are shown.  This abounds in illustration of course, but many 'fine artists' use it.  Gauguin, Paula Rego and even Botticelli, to name a few. Art is a constant learning process, but basically you just have to get on with it.  I simply enjoy doing it, although it's often a source of disappointment.  Sometimes the best stuff (for me), is something done in a relatively short time in a sketchbook. So, I guess I'm saying get on with it and forget about style.  That'll happen, or not, on it's own.

Excellent response Lewis, this is why i started the thread to gauge what each artist feels about the subject... personally i agree with you that it will surface at some point if you just crack on and keep learning. The illustrative work that you like is very appealing and i too like the bold outline drawing style and as you say sometimes quick sketches can somtimes be more appealing and artistic than a piece worked on for days.  Thanks for an awesome response : )

Good subject Tony. I hope and believe mine is still evolving and improving, and I’m certainly still seeking something slightly different. I also have a different style according to what medium I am using. Because I paint mostly in oils I’m more able to be looser and try out different techniques than if for example I try gouache or pen and wash. I’m sure we are mostly more comfortable in one medium. Interesting theme which I’d like to know how you answer for yourself, as you have an individual  and attractive style which stands out on the Gallery.

Hi Tessa, thanks for replying, thats interesting to hear that you are seeking something slightly different, your work is lovely and yes in oils you can be more free with the paint, to be able to work with gouache and pen & wash as well as oils could be hard for some as their search for an identity would feel conflicted but you do an amazing job so onwards and upwards milady : ) Well after numerous talks with other artists over the past year it seemed that its a must for them to find their own identity/style of art with a confused outlook on how to achieve it and seems to be the big venture as though its a must have...this is why i opened this thread as personally my own search stopped half way through 2019. As your own work Tessa i felt mine was evolving then one day i finished a painting and although a bit hard to explain the feeling, a kind of excitement.. i knew i wanted my work to look that way the next time.. low & behold it was and a style had formed so it’s great to read yours and others opinions on this and i really appreciate your kind words about my art. 

As has already been said , I think style is constantly developing as we paint and learn. Like Lew I started sketch by copying from comic and have sketch on an off most of my life. It’s only in the latter years of life that I’ve started to paint. I do have a tendency to use a brush very much like a pencil, in that I tend to draw detail as if sketching. It also depends on what I’m painting, I tend to be more loose with landscapes, less so with others things. I’m not sure I have a style, and don’t particularly look to having one.  I do believe it develops, and not something you do as it would possibly force your paintings.  We do developers a preference for how to do certain things,  is that a style?. .

Cheers Paul, a great response, a different outlook on things which is intruiging, particularly your using a brush as if it were a pencil... possibly.. maybe  this is your own style? It does show in your work and is very appealing. Yes i agree too, a style or identity in art develops naturally and i suppose depends on the amount we want to learn or practice. 

I feel for some people the style is a cliche because you can indeed have no actual style or more than one. I have no type of painting unless 'what you see' is a type. I do like a bit of abstract, be it part of a normal painting or entirely abstract but that's about it. I'm really not into the purposely badly drawn art except for where it might make someone feel they should have a go. I am still learning most aspects of painting, from handling paint or brushes to layering and tones. Enjoyable but also tough to get right.

Hi Stan, thats an interesting take on it, to have more than one style and yes as you like a bit of abstract it kind of blows the theory that a style is necessary out of the park!  A ‘type’ of art as you say is alone a nice view point on it which opens up the subject a bit more. 

I feel for some people the style is a cliche because you can indeed have no actual style or more than one. I have no type of painting unless 'what you see' is a type. I do like a bit of abstract, be it part of a normal painting or entirely abstract but that's about it. I'm really not into the purposely badly drawn art except for where it might make someone feel they should have a go. I am still learning most aspects of painting, from handling paint or brushes to layering and tones. Enjoyable but also tough to get right.

Hi Stan, thats an interesting take on it, to have more than one style and yes as you like a bit of abstract it kind of blows the theory that a style is necessary out of the park!  A ‘type’ of art as you say is alone a nice view point on it which opens up the subject a bit more. 

People are always telling me I have a recognisable style, although it’s taken years to evolve and for me to accept it - not that it was intentional, but I’ve found that using pen and ink with watercolour in an illustrative style is what I’m happiest with and although I often experiment with different media and techniques it’s what I always go back to (especially after a few experimental failures!)  I think for most people they don’t set out to create a style, it just evolves naturally, but it can sometimes be difficult to accept and be true to your own style rather than constantly envying other people’s!

Hi Jenny, thanks for this reply. You do have a recognisable style of which is lovely and unique to you so i guess on this post it does matter to you to have one that you feel comfortable with. I do agree totally to spend less time envying others who in some cases have more superior work and stick to your own way of creating using your style and to feel confident with it. Your illustrative work is outstanding and i too have tried different ways of working but always settle back into my own style of art. It does sound as though you have been on a similar journey to myself as mine also took years to evolve. Thanks for your interesting and informative reply. Happy painting !!! : )

I would love to be able to paint lovely soft loose landscapes but I can't so do what i'm most comfortable with, usually pen and wash, so I guess that's my style like in my last Grasmere painting. When I paint wildlife, my style is different again, I like to add detail but still try to keep a style that I have developed as my own, I don't want to copy anyone else. But I do like to experiment with different mediums, something that I think I have done more since joining POL. 

Hi Linda, thanks for your reply, i synchronise with your comment on landscapes.. i too would love to capture these but as yourself it just doesn’t happen : ) Your pen & wash work is lovely and yes your Grasmere work is fab and shows off your art style perfectly, as yourself when i paint a different subject matter my style changes slightly ‘ but ‘ the fundamentals are still there and probably likewise with yours.  Good point on not copying another style too, i find if you have settled with your own stay true to it and as you say trying other mediums can only help to build your skill level.  A lovely reply, thanks Linda : )

...it can sometimes be difficult to accept and be true to your own style rather than constantly envying other people’s!

It's ok to admire other artists and aspire to produce stuff like them, but it's when you start copying their style because it's their style that you need to back off the throttle and try to use them just for inspiration.

A perfect summary Alan, thank you ! A good example of this is that i met Alwyn Crawshaw in Devon at his studio 20+ years ago who has always been my idol who drew and signed in my sketchbook, i always used his books as a reference to teach myself but most importantly didn’t copy his style. My work today has taken on its own look so your words are absolutely spot on and key for those who have a battle on the way forward.  Thank you.

Interestingly Stan I usually know who a painting is by on the gallery when it is posted by one of the regulars, I also used to hang exhibitions for an art society I belonged to for many years and always knew whose painting I was hanging without looking at a name.   If you think about most great artists you know who they are immediately.  So no , style isn’t a cliche it’s a fact. 

Hi Sylvia, thanks for a great post, yes although everyone has their own idea’s on the matter and entitled to that opinion i couldn’t agree more with you. You are correct from my view point that an artist’s work can be recognised without a signature. It is as you say ‘ fact ‘  It’s also an amazing gift for that artist too.  In reality i think most artists want to achieve this to confirm they have a style that stands out.