A subscriber asked how to create your personal style of painting. Artist/art teacher Dianne Mize explains how it is not created, but evolves. diannemize.com
I went to an art school, back in the 70's, in the New Orleans French Quarter. We were taught to compose, use value, develop skills, etc., and never, ever once did we copy anyone's work. There were dozens of objects (vases, dried branches, skulls, etc.) on a shelf that ran around the perimeter of the room. We individually created a composition from this and painted our composition from life; we didn't even use photographs. I developed my style without thinking about it. I now take workshops from a wonderful artist, Alan Flattmann, and, once again, there is no copying of any painting, not from his work or anyone's work. I didn't realize how valuable all this has been until I listened to your Quick Tip, Dianne! Thank you for so much valuable information!
Excellent question. Excellent response. I’ve struggled to find my own style and looked endlessly online how to develop it. You just taught me in 10 minutes what I’ve never found the answer to. Every time I would do a painting I would get frustrated that it didn’t look like others who I’ve watched or tried to learn from and I would scrape it off and start over. What I just learned from you was that my own style was emerging and I never even noticed it. Thank you so very much. I’m excited now to see how my paintings will turn out.
Darren I saw your comment.Before the internet came into being if you were an artist you had no choice but to develop a style.Before the internet artists didn't see thousands of artwork from around the world with the exception of the most famous.Do you view artworks from other artists around the world?I just started oil painting but before I took my first stroke I have literally looked at thousands of paintings from artists around the world.I didn't pick up a paint brush for literally two months until I was able to see how certain artists use certain brush strokes.Do you subscribe to PINTEREST?I do and if it weren't for PINTEREST and seeing the styles of artists from around the world I would be a very boring artist.I don't know what you like to paint or what your subject matter is but I guarantee if you subscribe to PINTEREST you will say to yourself gee I didn't know there were so many ways to paint a particular subject.I get an email about every two days from PINTEREST and in each email there are hundreds of paintings from different artist around the world and I mean great looking artwork.One thing I always say about artists I see on PINTEREST is their paintings look great how do I get there.I'm almost there after over two months I've started my first painting.My paintings will be full of color and life.Freestyle,abstract,traditioinal you name.I went to a local art gallery in my area last week to see paintings that were for sale in the gallery.I hung around for about 25 minutes and said to myself you gotta be kidding me.I didn't see one painting I liked.They were boring.Had no creativity.Boring colors.I talked to the curator and asked if her gallery would consider hanging my paintings when I'm done.She said sure but I have to see your work first and they take a 40% commission.I said ok and I'll see you in about 60 days.Thanks
8:09 "Do it according to your personal response - don’t even let the thought come into your mind about how it’s going to please other people." This is such an important lesson and wonderful insight Dianne, thank you! We have to stop these thoughts at a very base level - and sort of train ourselves to have faith in our gut instinct with our creations. I block myself in this way all the time, so I'm very grateful to see your video today! 💙
Style is like a hidden power that everybody has but it will only appear when you REALLY need it. Few days ago I was painting for a 2 or 3 hours and I didnt like the resault so I wiped it all off and on next half hour I painted my best painting yet. It pleased me so much as it was my own imagination not a descripion of something real
My students always ask me the same thing, usually the lazy ones who try to give excuse to bad skill. I tell them style isn't something you come up with, it's just given to you. (They didn't understand that) So I said, well style is when you have done like a hundred artworks, and you put them all together for another person to see; then, they will decide what your style is. So get started on your assignments already, and keep improving your skills.
@@IntheStudioArtInstruction Definitely! In fact I played your video in class, and the students loved it, because they asked to re-watch some parts, and wrote down notes, without being told to, which got me thinking, if they need to be told to write down notes, then it's probably because they either don't understand anyway, or it's not worth writing it down. What you have always taught me the most is to slow down, break things down for students, and how to be a better teacher.
Thank you Dianne. What a thoughtful and instructive reply! Often people tell you to find an artist whose work you love and examine their style closely. As you say, you can learn technique this way, but not develop your own style. This is such a helpful tip.
Thanks for another superb video. You reiterated what I've slowly come to understand after copying a bunch of masters as studies. More important to develop confidence that you can render any scene in a way you want, rather than worry about style.
Although I’ve been to art school (many years ago) and spent countless hours in the studio developing my skills and sensitivity, I’ve continue to find your quick tips useful reminders or eye opening new information . Thank you.
This is a great teaching tip. I often wondered what is my style, you may laugh but I thought I was using to much paint and thought that must be my style.
Picking my brushes and paint up again last year after 30+ years I am getting reacquainted with my style. I've been guilty camoflage based on what others have said to me (why don't you paint more like X[a person] [a different style]. This was such a good reminder to let my style flow all by itself.
I hear this kind of thing often. There are folks out there that don't understand the whole concept of self-expression--that painting is expression of the artist, not copying another person. If everybody who picked up a brush copied other artists' style, it would be a boring world. So stick to your guns--you will be a happier person if you do.
Once again, you concisely summed up the matter....there are no shortcuts to creativity. It comes down to hard work and authenticity. To your own self, be true. Thank you so much.
I just discovered your videos a few months ago and want to thank you for answering so many questions that I have. You are so clear in your explanations and examples. I have so much to catch up on! Thank you.
This lesson is one of my favorites. A lot of painters try to be a "good artist". Skill is important, but style is what differentiates the great artists. Hopper, for this reason, is one of my favorites....He didn't spend a lot of time on choosing what color to paint reflected light on windows....he omitted the glass completely. Also, Ive found, while in the process of painting, people react more favorably to LESS ABSTRACT work. People will provide feedback on what is a Good Painting. Ive stopped letting people view a work in process. For me, it causes camouflage. Pablo would have never been Picasso, if he would have conformed to people's idea of "good". That's why I don't let people watch me paint.....I have learned to PAINT ALONE. Great subject, Dianne. Thank you.
Thanks for your comment. I agree with you that it can be fatal to allow people to comment on works in progress. Sometimes we artists can be so hungry for positive feedback that we forget that not everybody will give us HELPFUL feedback because most people are locked into their own biases.
Oh dear Diane; I've follow your quick tips and learned much over the past few years; thanks ever so much for the knowledge and courage to practice what gives me joy, frustration,purpose, and FINALLY an understanding that I DO have my own style after all!! Your analogy to handwriting definately turned on my lightbulb!!
That was brilliant thank you! This has been troubling me for some time and I have been over thinking it all so much. I think it's the best advice anyone could give. I have saved this video so I remind myself often! Thank you!
I always look forward to your Quick Tips in my in box. You validated everything I have been doing for the last year, thank you. I can say the hardest of the five bullet points for me is #5. It can be said for all things in "life", not just art, patience is the key to success. The forbearance of success and failure brings understanding and a style which can only come from both.
I think patience is the most difficult one for all of us. But within the friction of holding onto it comes those grand creative moments--like the pearl in the oyster.
This is the first time im taking notes from a art video.. thank you so much.. this is a questio that eludes many and you have answered it with great simplicity and effectiveness! Very grateful! I love your quick tips even though i work with acrylic paint. Ive learnt so much watching your videos! 😃🙏
I tried to paint good artwork but I could not study art alone. I am happy to be your art student. Now I appreciate your pretty voice and smile. HAPPY NEW YEAR ~ Dianne ~ ♡♡
I hope you'll bear with me while I try to explain where my odd question is coming from. I appreciated this segment very much. I have only been drawing and painting more seriously since I became disabled and had to leave my teaching position about two years ago. Before that, I could only indulge my desire to create (albeit poorly) in a sporadic way. Now that I've had more time, I am improving. My "weird" question is as follows: What if you find that your unique style that emerges is something you do not like? You mentioned handwriting, and I have never liked my handwriting, but it is my own. I accept that. Now, I think I am finding that I'm not sure I like my art "style." Can I consciously change it without losing whatever that certain "something" is that makes it individual?....If my question is just too silly to answer, I will understand. I do appreciate your lessons very, very much. Your teaching style is wonderful. Thank you. Susanne
Suzanne, there is nothing silly about your question. It is an important one. I think it's important to ask yourself WHY you don't like your style. for example: Is it the mechanics of how you handle the materials? Is it the kinds of subjects you are choosing? Does it have to do with comments made by anyone else? It might take you days to find the right answer, but it is important to do so. I can remember in the sixth grade that I became aware that I didn't like my handwriting. The reason was that it wanted to slant to the left, but my teachers were training me to make it slant to the right. At that age, I made the decision to slant let it slant the way it pleased me and not the way it pleased my teachers. Perhaps your answer can be traced back to something similar--I don't know, but I am convinced that a part of our style is that our paintings have the overall impact that we enjoy. And my advice would be to explore that idea. One more thing you might consider: what styles please you in other artists' work and what's happening there that is not happening in yours? We humans flock to our own type of people when our motives are neither political nor religious. We are drawn to certain kinds of music and repelled by other kinds. It is the things that we are deeply drawn to that emerge in our styles. Making changes can be a part of that.
@@IntheStudioArtInstruction Thank you so very much for your thoughtful, and insightful, responses. Your questions are excellent, and I can answer one immediately. I have not had many opportunities to share my art, but when I have, responses have been positive, although not particularly helpful. My use of materials is an area in which I am still learning, so it doesn't bother me that my execution is not where I would like it to be yet. (By the way, while I've taken a number of art courses at the college where I used teach, I find your online lessons actually more helpful!) Your own experience with handwriting is also very useful. You decided to be content with your handwriting because it's your own, and I think that is KEY. This has been very helpful, and I appreciate your input. I think it's helping me to see that I'm not even very sure WHAT my “style” is yet. I love Rembrandt's use of light, but I also enjoy Andrew Wyeth's work. When I finish a painting, all I can see are the things I wish I had done differently. When I posted my question I was actually considering chucking it all and tossing all my supplies in the trash. I'm thinking, now, that I need to be patient and keep working, as well as what my husband told me a couple of days ago: "If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right." LOL ...Apologies for my wordy response. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your taking so much time to consider my question. I don’t feel silly about asking it now. Thanks again, Susanne
Yes, I get it now with camouflage. My Great Grandmother was an artist. As I grew up I would see so many of her paintings on various subjects. As I became older and started painting with oils, I found that - when stuck on how to paint something, in my case rocks .. I would find myself going to her paintings, which are now 70 plus years old, to see how she did rocks. I tried to copy that and it never looked right to me on MY paintings (I now know because I tried to copy HER style). When I tried making rocks like hers, it threw my style off as to how I had already painted the river, or stream, the grass or flowers in the field in my paintings. I need to stick to my own style. I used to think my rocks weren't rock-ish enough! Until someone said to me, "Those are cool rocks, looks like you spent hours on them". I won't say to them, but - Yes, I probably did at some point; but to hear they see a rock - makes all that foolish wasted effort in the past become a lesson learned. I just absolutely enjoy watching your videos. Thank you for the slice of your knowledge.
Thank you - so true! Ones style emerge (hopefully). I have once tried to copy a Hopper, With the intension to try to understand how he worked, regarding composition, colour blending, light - shadows, and that was very interesting ! Good for my ”autodidactic education”😉 But my favorite motives are trees, landscapes, with lights and shadows. I’ll look at Quick tip about clouds!/🎨
Thanks Diane. Loved that explanation. I think it took me about 3-4 years of oil painting before I could see my style emerge. On the other hand, I have a young student (20’s) who pretty much had a great bold style develop within 2 weeks of painting as a beginner.
Dr Vishnu Somasundaran Than you very much for the excellent explanation about what make up style what do not make up it. It is an eyeopener that is going to change my career as an artist forever. Your teaching is lucid, sagacious and down to earth.
Great video and excellent subject. In order to develop your personal style you have to know your self. Technique is important and art education but when comes to personal style you have to study your self. And life will give it to you. Many of the great artist don't have good technique, but they know who they are and what they want, of course probably will take some time to develop.
Thanks for adding that Gerry, but I think just responding to what moves you is adequate. I don't know how much self analysis really helps, but we have an internal guidance system that tells us when we are drawn to something and THAT is what we should pay attention to.
I would love it if you would share your thought processes for deciding on exactly what colours you are going to use in a painting... assuming that you choose your colours before you start to paint. Thank you so much for your art tips - very helpful for us beginners..... Marylin Smith
Marylin, this is one thing I teach in the Cracking the Color Code course we launched just days ago.( diannemize.com/product/colorcode ) Also, I will do a Quick Tip to get you going, but it will be late January before it comes out. In the meantime, think of color in terms of hues, as they are labeled on a traditional color wheel, survey your scene for the one hue you see the most of --I.e, yellow-green? red-violet? yellow-orange?, etc. -- then select from your tube colors a range that will give you a complete value range of that hue as well as the complement of the hue (for controlling chroma, also called intensity). Now look for the next dominant color in the scene. Check the colors you have out already to see if you have among them the ability to create that hue, its full value range and chroma range. Keep going like this until you've made selections that will yield for you the colors you see.
It's tricky /difficult to develop a style ,in my opinion ,when you are still learning a skill because you must copy others to learn the skills and you discover how much you don't know and need to learn. This aspect, makes creating hard or challenging for me, for you've got to put aside your natural ego for awhile ,and just be patient. When do you suggest taking on a painting , from a picture you took, instead of (or in addition to) watching and painting along with tutorials-- in order to help along the development of your style? I'm just looking for a practical application; I get the part that some of it will develop naturally over time. I paint in watercolor and sometime Acrylics. One thing I've noticed, I have a very different result from each medium(I tend to paint looser and lighter in watercolor ). I'm thinking of painting the same subject in both mediums, every time I paint something.
Actually, you DON'T have to copy others to learn the skill. You can take one skill at a time and simply practice it as a skill, much like when learning to play the piano. For example, one skill is gradation which is easy to practice without copying another painter's passage of gradation. Another skill is color mixing, another is pulling the brush in the direction of the shape, and on and on. I have taught you many skills in these Quick Tips, none which encourage you to copy me. You just need a teacher who focuses on the skill rather than having you copy his/her work.
Maybe you have answered this question in another video, how do I know which photographs I find online are legal to use as a photo reference? I hope this makes sense. Thanks! I’ve learn so much from your videos!
Only photos that are listed as public domain are legal to use. All the ones on Pixabay are public domain, but be careful on sites such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and other places where folks share their photos without designating them as public domain. You could get sued for an innocent lifting of someone else's photo.
Thanks so much. This is very helpful.I had always received mixed advice on painting in another person's style. The advice I was given was that in imitating an artist's style that we love, our own style will emerge from it. What is your thoughts on this?
Mish, I must disagree with the advice you were given. The danger in imitating is getting comfortable with the style you are imitating. If you relate to the style of another artist, a good way to study that style is to study what the artist is doing. Such as how the artist is gradating, or handling edges, or using color, or contrasting values of color--that sort of thing. Then, practice that single method using your own subject to see how it feels to you.
@@IntheStudioArtInstruction Thank you. Though it's hard not to want to paint like Van Gogh! It's so much fun adding the movement and texture that he incorporated into a painting. I also love the Chiaroscuro style of Rembrandt as well as the dreamy look of Monet's Impressionism. Hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Wonderful!! Question - how do you keep the painting from becoming dead after you start adding paint to an otherwise very live sketch (pencil, charcoal, or paint) on the canvas?
Hello, I have a question. When we are learning to paint ,we often copy a tutorial with a subject (in order to learn the skills). How does this help us to develop our style? Also, what if you enjoy painting in different mediums (exploring) ,will this confuse you more as to what is your style ? One thing I do know is that I prefer painterly or semi abstract ,to realism and defined, except I do like Wyatt ( I have a print of his with the handicapped gal in the field.) But he's not semi abstract at all. This confuses me to no end.
Deborah, I don't recommend copying a tutorial painting to learn a skill. You can see by all these Tips that a skill is most easily acquired by practicing it without trying to make a painting of it. My teaching experience has informed me that acquiring skills this way, each student artists will learn to make the skill work, but like handwriting and our early days of practicing forming letters, as the skill is being mastered, the artist's uniqueness will emerge. That method works no matter what the medium is. If you are drawn more painterly method rather than a more refined method to show definition, then your internal guidance will cause you to create a more painterly mastering of each technique. Wyeth's materials for his major works was egg tempera. He stylistic preference was for definition rather than brush expression. Hope this helps give you clarity.
I finished Fine art school in 2013. Life got in the way of unpacking all my art supplies and works, no matter what I do I can't arrange a suitable place in my home to paint. I remember my art teacher suggesting that I set up five different painting stations in and around the house. He said that way, when the house is busy, there will be one spot I can go too. I feel like I am needing your advice Dianne, how can I get my heart back into Art. I just don't know where to start. I saved lots of cereal boxes, I thought I would prime with household under paint, to serve as gesso. To prepare card stock, as per one of your lessons. Would it be a good idea, if I followed one of your tips daily, to get my focus back.? Sorry for the long question call me Ms Procrastinator, 😟😞🙁
Aubrey, I suggest start small. Do you have a sketchbook? Do you have a portable watercolor kit? If not, even though you have all those supplies packed away, get one of those small 8-color Prang watercolor sets that have the colors in semi-moist cakes in a little longish plastic box. Get out one watercolor brush. Now with sketchbook, wc colors and brush (with a little container of water and some paper towels), devote yourself to a minimum of 5 minutes each day just to play with colors. Don't try to paint anything. Just play with randomly mixing colors in your sketchbook for 5 minutes each day. As you play with the colors, allow yourself freedom to do whatever comes to mind. Don't push it, just allow it. What you need right now is action and this kind of action is the best way I know to break yourself out of this block. You will be surprised where it will lead you if you keep it simple and just ALLOW it.
Ah thank you Dianne, I just googled the paint set. What are Prang watercolors? Transparent, semi-moist paint delivers vibrant color and long-lasting staying power. Refills the matching Prang Watercolor Set, so you can continue to create beautiful watercolor paintings. Exclusively cured formula contains high-quality binders, pigments and dispersing agents for smooth, easy painting. I feel so lucky to find you on here Dianne, your lessons brought tears to my eyes, because you are speaking the language I crave. Best fine art teacher cheers to you. 💕💕🙂
Hello Miss Diane. Thank you so much for the videos and quick tips. I really enjoy them. I found that I really don't like to paint outside or from a reference photo. I know it sounds strange but I may look at a scene outside I've seen or a beautiful photo; then recall or imagine it, and begin painting. Of course I will sketch out a couple times until I get what I want compositionally. Is that strange?
All true also I will add be honest with yourself to thine own self be true do what moves you what motivates you what do you like what do you want then go for it
