How to Develop Your Own Style in Watercolor

In watercolor, a lot of the large washes that you do in a painting can look pretty similar to what other artists are doing. 

If you're painting a sky - skies can look pretty similar. If you're painting a field of green grass - that's going to look pretty similar from artist to artist. So what is it that sets your painting apart from everybody else’s?

It's your calligraphy. It's your small brush marks. It's the detail work of your painting.

I've heard this talked about as the artist’s handwriting, and I love that analogy. I think that's a great way to think about it. 

But how do you develop your handwriting as an artist?

Just like when you were a kid and you had to learn the alphabet and practice your handwriting, you need to do the exact same thing. 

Get your small brushes out, use some scrap paper, and start practicing brush marks.

You can work on how you want figures to look with a few brush marks, you can do power lines, trees - any of this detail work that usually comes towards the end of your painting. 

Just like everything else in watercolor, this is a skill that can be practiced, and you should set aside time to work on these things.

Don't wait until you need these marks in a painting to develop your style and get comfortable with these brushes.

Soon you will start to become more expressive. You will start to think less and interject more energy into what it is that you're painting. And at the end of the day, that's what we want.

We want to develop something that is visual poetry. We want to make music in our paintings. Not a book report, where you're just stating facts about this thing being here,  and this thing here. 

I also think it's important when you're developing these types of brush marks to not be looking at other artists' work. Surely, you're always going to have people that you're inspired by, but your handwriting is what should distinguish you, so take time to practice. Experiment, play, explore and develop your own handwriting.

I also want you to let you know that I have a free video lesson available: 

8 Tips to Avoid Overworking your Painting.

This is something that I struggled with a lot early on in my painting and I often hear this frustration from students, so I've compiled some thoughts about this in a short video lesson.

Take a look, and let me know what you think!

-Matt