If you are learning to draw or paint, there is one piece of advice you have probably heard many times: find your style.
It sounds like something we should all aim for. But what does it actually mean? Does finding your artistic style mean choosing a particular medium, developing a recognizable way of drawing, using the same techniques again and again? And once you have found it, are you supposed to stick with it?
For a long time, I never really thought about my own style. I simply drew and painted in the way that felt natural to me. Over time, something personal started to emerge in my work, without me consciously trying to create it. Looking back, I can see that my way of drawing horses, the marks I make, the way I simplify shapes and the way I use movement had gradually become part of my visual language.
Then, strangely enough, once I became aware of my style, I started trying to protect it.
When your style becomes a set of rules
I began relying more and more on the same brushes, the same gestures and the same techniques. I had certain ways of working that I knew belonged to me, and I was afraid that changing them would make my work feel different.
Or rather, I was afraid that without them, it wouldn't feel like me anymore.
That distinction is important.
Because looking back, I don't think I was protecting my artistic style. I was protecting my habits. And those are not necessarily the same thing.
When I finally started changing my brushes, my colours, my techniques and even some of the ways I made my marks, I was genuinely worried that my paintings would stop looking like mine. And of course, they did change.
But they were still mine.
That was the moment I understood that my style couldn't possibly live inside one particular brush or technique. Those things influence the way I paint, but they aren't what makes my work mine.
So what actually creates an artistic style?
I think our style has much more to do with the way we see than with the tools we use.
Every artist makes choices. We decide what to emphasize, what to simplify, what to leave out and what matters to us in a subject. We develop ways of looking at things, interpreting them and translating them through whatever medium we happen to be using.
Those choices become more consistent over time, and eventually they become recognizable as our own visual language.
That is why two artists can use exactly the same medium, the same brushes and even work from the same photograph, yet produce completely different paintings.
The tools are not the constant. The person using them is.
And this is why I no longer think we need to be afraid of changing our materials or experimenting with new techniques. If your style is only recognizable when you use one particular brush, perhaps what you are recognizing is a habit rather than your actual artistic voice.
 |
 |
What if you are still looking for your style?
This is particularly important if you are a beginner.
You may look at another artist's work and think, They have a style. I don't have one yet.
But developing an artistic style takes time. You are still discovering what you like, what you notice, what you want to express and how you naturally respond to what you see. You are also learning the possibilities of different materials and techniques.
There is no reason to decide too early what your style should look like.
In fact, trying too hard to define it can sometimes stop you from experimenting. You might decide that a certain colour isn't "you", that a particular medium doesn't fit your style, or that a different way of drawing feels too far away from what you usually do.
But how can you know if you haven't tried?
Your early experiments don't have to look consistent. They don't have to look like anyone else's work. They are part of the process of discovering what feels natural to you.
 |
Your style is allowed to change
I also think we put too much pressure on the word style when we imagine that once we have found it, we should somehow keep it forever.
But we change.
Our interests change. Our skills change. The things we want to explore change. Sometimes we simply get tired of doing something in the same way.
So why shouldn't our artistic style evolve too?
Changing the way you paint doesn't mean losing yourself. Sometimes it is precisely what allows you to discover another part of your artistic voice.
Today, I no longer feel the need to protect my style. I am much more interested in seeing what happens when I give myself permission to experiment.
And that has been surprisingly freeing.
Maybe finding your artistic style isn't really about creating a recognizable way of working and then sticking to it. Maybe it is simply about making enough work, trying enough things and paying enough attention to eventually recognize what is yours.
Your style doesn't have to be something you find once and keep forever.
It can evolve with you.
Want to see this idea in practice?
I explored this question more personally in my latest YouTube video, where I paint two large expressive horse paintings while talking about the moment I realized I had been protecting my habits rather than my style.