This is how you FIND your painting STYLE 

Cool thing about listening to Chris is that you get straightforward unadulterated no BS advice that pretty much applies no matter what your skill level is..

For me, your style comes from within and developing your foundational skills and fundamental processes will allow creative authenticity to be revealed. Your individual artistic voice or vision is a result of joining together medium, subject and technique in a way that means something to you.

I enjoy your talks while showing a painting in progress. Thanks for including the source and the pallet. I have learned so much from you. You are a great motivator.

Good episode. In addition, my own experience is that the motivation for doing comes after starting.

Excellent advice!!! Greetings from Cape Town South African 👍

I paint solely for enjoyment and have painted photorealistic landscapes for over 50 years. What started me was, after completing my first or second painting, a fellow artist said, "If you want to paint with such detail, why not take a picture with a camera?" That comment pushed my HOT BUTTON. I've painted that style ever since. I find in most part, those artists, who critique it as too busy, are jealous; because they can't paint my style themselves.

Brush mileage will make the day. I heard it said, after your first 3000 paintings you are ready to start. Thanks Coach!

this is sooo true. I also use all different mediums like pencil, charcoal ,oils ,pastels , acrylic and also digital and this is what I have found is that I paint different with all these so I couldnt seem to find a style, after years of not really having one and not trying to force it , I paint more happy.

It’s also weird to worry about those things while still learning to paint, unless you’re a professional painter it shouldn’t even matter.

I took my first oil painting class at the Florida Keys Community College. The instructor was Marcia Ream who was trained at the Chicago School of Art. She treated us ragtag bunch of older folks like we were in real art school. I will always be grateful to her. This was in 1998 or so. But, she never painted with us or showed us her style because she didn't want us to copy her. She wanted us to figure it out ourselves.

The oh butt cheek painter 🤣. I am finally starting to be able to “see” how the various stages in a painting progress...darks to light (without light contrast, most paintings are just plain)...values I’m still struggling to see but I at least get it now as I watch more and more of your vids...as I see you paint a color, then go over it lighter or darker to adjust the value. Something else I am learning is that oil painting is a work in progress, meaning every stroke does not have to be final or perfect. If I screw it up, I can fix it. I just have to get to a point where that feeling of anxiety or whatever it is does not even show up anymore. Excellent vid!

Thank you for sharing your knowledge! I’m back to oils now that the nest is empty!

I have watched a lot of teachers, and I must say you have an excellent way of teaching. I do not paint in your style, but love what you are sharing with your talent. Great advice for everyone no matter what medium they paint with. I enjoy listening to what you have to say. Thank you for sharing. 💖

I think the advice of Enjoying the process of working on a subject and just do mentality is Great !

Great message here, thanks for putting it out here. I needed to hear it!!

Very helpful words of wisdom. Paint what you like and work on getting better. Not think about finding my speciality right off. This takes a lot of pressure off. I just need to paint more. I am a western lifestyle photographer...and learning more about how to paint with watercolors. I have found in the painting field of horses and cowgirls and cowboys, there are sooooo many who already do it. Sometimes this overwhelms me with wanting to paint it. As I feel the competition is so great. I look at their work and wonder if I could learn to be as creative or as good. Anyway, what I am saying is I forget to love what I am doing, and need to stop worrying about end results at this phase. I just need to paint. Thanks for the straight forward talk!!

You are the man! Love your videos. Due to ailments it's to hard to do landscapes in person, lucky for me I have a nice space to paint. So you are helping me get my skill back after years of being on the sidelines I'm determined to paint everyday.

Great advice - thanks! Love the painting, too. (The Butt-cheek School, LOL. 😂)

Thaaank you !!!!. So true and simple. I can now relax and keep painting and trying my best

OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH❤️❤️ THIS IS LITTERALY WHAT I NEEDED I CANT THANK U ENOUGH

I guess style is like your handwriting.. it will show it's distinctive self as you do a lot of writing. Great vedeo and advice Chris.

I am so glad you brought that up. That’s exactly how I feel, however I am more interested in trying my hand at new styles and subject matters than trying to nail down one particular thing. I took a risk at the beginning of Covid and put my work on Instagram and have felt like I’m doing okay so long as I keep at it. That’s my only goal for now is to challenge myself to keep going and try new techniques and if something looks good in the end, then that’s a bonus. Thanks for all of the great videos.

You always manage to surprise me with how much sense you talk even when I am ready to disagree with anything you say I find myself nodding in agreement with you every time :)

I agree with pretty much everything you say. A couple things that seem to get a lot of mileage on RU-vid are how to develop a painting style and how to fill a sketchbook. Both subjects I love to look at but think it is mostly misdirected focus. I tend to look at a painting style as similar to your written signature. We all learned to write in a very similar fashion but our cursive writing is all different and we exerted no effort to make it different, it just happened. I feel the same about painting, paint enough and it will happen. no need to force something...if you do it is a short term, fake or pretend style :-) Your real style will eclipse that soon enough. As for filling a sketchbook...when did that become a goal ? Put anything in your sketchbook you want, use it to work out drawing issues, use if for preliminary sketches to explore various compositions, put finished work in it, whatever. But why is having it full important? To show off to friends? I can understand that but wrong motivation in my opinion. Do works in it for problem solving or for fun. Soon you will have a hundred of them. I have a bunch and would not really like to show them to anyone but each image for various reasons was fun or interesting or challenging or a complete failure for me. Non issue for me.

The best advice I've heard today. Well, this week. Ok, ok, this month. Thanks!

This was reassuring to hear. Great advice thank you

I really like your videos and the way you teach and feel good positive approach to making people want to go out and paint and learn as they go. I've been following and taking notes on what you say. I've got all the notes and supplies now I just got to get up the nerves and do it. Keep posting. I am hoping to build up the confidence and start.

I wish I watched his videos few years ago. I struggled. Tried to go to college before finishing elementary school. He helps you to get a good foundation

Someone said...don't find your style...it will find you if you are working regularly

Somehow RU-vid algorithms took Mark Carder (draw mix paint) and led me to follow paint coach. Draw mix paint is mostly about technique. Paint coach is a lot to do with attitude. This video is gold to me. You rock man. I think a lot of what this video about is “artist curse”

Try to tell a story, convey an emotion, uncover beauty within the mundane. It won't happen for a while, but in trying you will start seeing a story in things that speak to you, you will have an emotional connection to your own subject matter and you will see the world through different eyes. That will drive your style and as you become better at conveying those elements you will find greater interest in your work. Success is a word that means a million things. Don't chase success, instead find the joy and fulfillment in your art. That will enrich you and attract a market. Stardom is like capturing lightning in a bottle... it is not under your control.

So true....get better in your art....to add on... Dianne mize says....besides focused regular work...observe what charms you in your reference...in your composition...in your paintings ...that might give you a hint

This is how I feel as well. I bounce between landscapes, portraits, seascapes, pets and wild animals. Sometimes a mix like the portrait of my son and nephew in a forest having a picnic that gives me lots of experience both in landscapes and portraits. I love this kind but these ones take forever

Good advice - what I needed to hear at this point in my painting journey.

Really got a lot from this advice, thanks!

Thank you, Coach.

great advice. Thanks for this. I've been doing just that...bouncing around and it's gotten overwhelimg and confusing. Appreciate you sharing this. What I'd like to do is build up basic skills and a foundation of techniques so that I can build from there.

Thought the tape was part of the picture at the top. liked it.

This is fantastic information! You have an uncanny way of getting straight to the heart of matters and a very straightforward way of approaching painting....AND...you can identify how to overcome the barriers that stop us from being BETTER ARTISTS! Love your channel. So very, very helpful to me.

I paint anything and everything -with a tendency to enjoy landscapes the most, I'm self taught, started late, and well still trying to just learn. Some of my work is ok, some is just plain painfully awful but I paint for pleasure and for self mental care, not fooling myself to think I'm one of the greats. I aim or want to be (wish with all my heart) to be a realism painter, but that's so hard. No clue how to even begin to get there. I am transitioning from acrylics to oil and still find my self looking at my masterpieces called MUD. I keep on trying and searching for as much advice as I can. So I thank you for all great advice you provide and for sharing your knowledge with us mortals.🙏❤️

I much appreciate your sound common sense and examples of good practice . I have reorganised the studio following your tour and set up my Pochard box on a flat surface while I wait to repair the broken wing nut on one of its legs! I live in in England, but having recently discovered you in lockdown I can report that you are a good motivator! Your wise words on choosing subjects and painting styles reminds me of the comic short story by Saki: The Stalled Ox. ...... On one side of his garden there abutted a small, picturesque meadow, in which an enterprising neighbour pastured some small picturesque cows of the Channel Island persuasion. At noonday in summertime the cows stood knee-deep in tall meadow-grass under the shade of a group of walnut trees, with the sunlight falling in dappled patches on their mouse-sleek coats. Eshley had conceived and executed a dainty picture of two reposeful milch-cows in a setting of walnut tree and meadow-grass and filtered sunbeam, and the Royal Academy had duly exposed the same on the walls of its Summer Exhibition. The Royal Academy encourages orderly, methodical habits in its children. Eshley had painted a successful and acceptable picture of cattle drowsing picturesquely under walnut trees, and as he had begun, so, of necessity, he went on. His "Noontide Peace," a study of two dun cows under a walnut tree, was followed by "A Mid-day Sanctuary," a study of a walnut tree, with two dun cows under it. In due succession there came "Where the Gad-Flies Cease from Troubling," "The Haven of the Herd," and "A-dream in Dairyland," studies of walnut trees and dun cows. His two attempts to break away from his own tradition were signal failures: "Turtle Doves alarmed by Sparrow-hawk" and "Wolves on the Roman Campagna" came back to his studio in the guise of abominable heresies, and Eshley climbed back into grace and the public gaze with "A Shaded Nook where Drowsy Milkers Dream." I will not spoil the ending but here is a link and I hope you enjoy it! www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/Stal819.shtml

Makes a lot of sense :)

Excellent advice as always. No BS, just the facts. Trying to copy someone's style (that came from THEIR brain) is a sure way to start hating your paintings and not progressing with YOUR "style" which is why we started painting in the first place, right? Getting better at painting is hard enough w/o trying to paint like butt cheeks guy or copy someone else's style. Love this video!

Thanks, exactly what i needed to hear right now as i was thinking of some of these things today and felt stuck

thank you! this was so encouraging. About 2 years ago, I took a break from actual painting ( I did mostly watercolor) to focus on my drawing skills. I am reading to get back into actual painting, and I found myself really struggling with the "what's my style" thing...this was really nice to hear. Thank you.

You are amacing ! 😀

Beautiful (how nice, i saw it 4 seconds after you uploaded it) hehe

Thanks for all the info you share, it's really helpful and much appreciated. I'm learning so much stuff from you. You talk complete sense. The painting with the butt cheeks comment made me LOL! 😅👍

Hi ⚘😊thanks so much for sharing your tutorial

Sometimes doing something like limiting ones colour pallete can really bring out your character.

One other thing I'd say is to only take instruction from people whose work you like! Its is a hellacious drudgery to take a class from an instructor who does not paint in a way you even like just because they are 'someone'. You won't learn a thing.

Watched an art video...cool! nice sharing!!!!

Thank you i Am currently struggling finding my technique or so.i Always thought i like drawing detailed pencil drawings And while ago i tried acrylics And oil again And realized i love that too And im good at it, it got me all confused xD

Very good video. I remember struggling to find my style. But I think you hit it on the head to just work to get better. You will unconsciously gravitate toward doing things a certain way. And your style will find you, as you said. When people force a style or plain out copy someone’s it’s very obvious. Trying to get that visual of painting with your butt cheeks out of my head lol.

U are really artist😭😭😭😭😭😭😭💜

hahahah...love the butt cheek analogy!!

Great advice!

Good Advice Thanks.

great video!! Your videos really help me learn for my channel!!

Grateful

Yes and no.. I did this exact thing.. bouncing around a bit with different teachers but it was trying to get up to speed in a hurry without any background in oil painting. I started with Bob Ross for a variety of reasons and I love this fun and fast painting but it's not "my style".. and it felt very limiting. So I've been going other places and learning other techniques not so much styles. I know what "feels right" for me.. I love using mediums.. I love experimenting and trying different things. So my "style" isn't so much how I paint as to what I paint. I also have found it to be very useful to paint in different mediums.. ie.. I love watercolors and the unique challenges of the medium. I find myself blending techniques between watercolor, oil and acrylic to get the look I have in my head. Since I'm self taught, I don't seem to have some of the traditional baggage of "oh, you are an oil painter .. period". You are are a good example.. no offense but I don't really care for your painting style.. too "chunky" for me.. but I love your techniques of how to get to the end product and I've tried to incorporate quite a bit :) And you are a solid teacher of the craft so it's all good to me. I'll keep watching and learning as long as you keep teaching .. so thank you for sharing. And yes, some of us are in fact listening :D

Straight from the hip.

Very wise words!

Really good advise

This guy is great!

Seriously liking the brad Pitt hair.

Good stuff as usual coach. Although at my age it feels odd taking all this advice from a young whipper snapper.😂😂😂 😎🇦🇺🦘

Great advice

Please make a video on filbert brush sets plz sir.

Only after finding your videos, loving them but I paint in acrylics. Would your techniques and lessons transfer easily to painting in acrylics?

I know Chris will probably never see this, but if punk ever comes back to popularity I'm naming my band "Buttcheek Painters"

"Follow one master." I have been painting on canvass and paper and general 3d since I studied for my BFA in the 1990s. While I still consider myself a "learner," I have worked alongside really good, legendary painters since, and seen their techniques in professional environments. I also taught a couple classes part time at a legendary art school. Not that I think I am good. I am a learner, still. I still fail and flail after all these years, but I know what I know and can do some things well. I think the worst failing and flailing is where my style pushes back against certain techniques of other Masters other than the one who taught me. As you say, there are hundreds of videos by hundreds of masters out there, there's nobody doing their paintings in how I would want to learn to paint or which will further the skills I wish to develop. Why? They paint their way and that's good for them. My master taught his way and that was good for him, not necessarily perfect for me. That's probably the biggest hurdle when learning from a master. You must do everything their way for a couple years. Their subject matter choices, blending methods, color theories, and brush choices for specific situations. Every last detail too, from gesso application to dashing salt on the pigment to rules on how to use reference. For years. Then you move on. I occasionally hear students complain they had to do things exactly like the master who was intolerant to change. Poor souls didn't know: This *is* the way. Only after you can perfectly do what the master does, can you start thinking originally. BUT, once you do start doing things your way it is really hard to learn something else or from a new Master and have those methods mesh well with your "style". For what it's worth....

I see that some other painters paint grisaille after the burnt umber under painting and then do colors on top of the grisaille. Have you ever tried that? Any pros or cons?

Can I steal "for every successful butt cheek painter there are thousands of butt cheek painters who are dirt poor?" It's so perfectly phrased!

Or, you learn from PBS shows and books.

Hi does a painter only have one style to paint or many style

Great advice! I have a question!🙋‍♀️. My Plein air paintings look great outside but super dark inside. I’m so frustrated!! What do you do to combat this?

If you paint with your butt cheeks the work might look a little muddy and nutty but someone may think it's the shit, lol.

who cares about style paint anything and everything whatever appeals weve been told Lies for so long and the Art industry needs to get over itself Art is what you can get away with these days you cant paint and learn quicker it takes a lifetime its constant learning and trialling

Again a really good video lesson. But I'd appreciate as a non native English person if you could speak not as fast as you do. I have trouble to follow your videos.

There are thousands of poor butt cheek painters out there??

Chris has inspired me to paint with my butt cheeks.🤣