Art is generally understood as any activity or product done by people with a communicative or aesthetic purpose—something that expresses an idea, an emotion or, more generally, a world view. It is a component of culture, reflecting economic and social substrates in its design.

The three classical branches of visual art are painting, sculpture, and architecture.

A piece of art needs to connect. It needs to have some element of truth to it that resonates with the viewer and leaves them something after they’ve left the piece. A good piece asks questions and teaches you something you didn’t know or shows you something you didn’t know you knew.

Traditional categories within the arts include literature (including poetry, drama, story, and so on), the visual arts (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.), the graphic arts (painting, drawing, design, and other forms expressed on flat surfaces), the plastic arts (sculpture, modeling), the decorative arts (enamelwork.

The arts have also been classified as seven: painting, architecture, sculpture, literature, music, performing and cinema.

How do artists find their style?

1. Copy the Artists You Like. But a bunch of them.
2. Copy the World Around You. Mimic nature.
3. Practice. Practice.
4. Step Out of Your Comfort Zone. Push your skills.
5. Make Time to Play. Release expectations and just have fun.
6. Remember That it Takes Time.
7. Resources:
8. Additional Reading:

It is not bad to copy someone’s art style, but it is a waste of time. The best person to do an art style is the person him/herself. All the time you spend in copying an art style of someone you admire, you don’t spend in creating something that really helps you and makes you unique: your own style.

An artist is ‘stealing’ when they are actively trading on another artist’s style, or actively misrepresenting themself as that other artist. Otherwise, you’re fine. Don’t worry about it.

Talent or training? Artists are both born and taught, says Nancy Locke, associate professor of art history at Penn State. “There is no question in my mind that artists are born,” says Locke. Many artists arrive in the world brimming with passion and natural creativity and become artists after trying other vocations.

Art has elements of SKILL, just like learning to write an essay has techniques, or playing football has techniques. If you never learn those basic skills and steps, then of course you will have limited skill! But, if your education incorporates those techniques and skills, you will become more skillful.

Artists and creatives are often stereotyped as being loners, and while this may not actually be the case, solitude can be the key to producing their best work.

You can learn to draw, as long as you can hold a pencil. Even without natural talent, you will learn drawing, if you practice often. With enough motivation and dedication, anyone will learn drawing, if he/she believes in himself/herself. Taking the first steps is never easy.

No, you have to have an interest in ideas and the world. I went to art school without being able to draw and left art school without being able to draw. I have now worked in visual arts for 30 years. The interview panel said to me, “Your ideas are fine” and then asked “but can you make art work from them”.

No, it’s never too late to learn to draw. All it takes is practice. You probably won’t be much good until at least a year in, and by two years in you’ll really start to shine.

It’s never too late. When I started art school I was 30. I had classmates who were twice my age and older and went through the whole 4-year degree with me. Two of those women, like me, went on to get graduate degrees in fine art and are working and exhibiting and selling their art and loving life.

It’s never too late to learn how to draw. Most pros will admit they’ve been drawing since their age was in the single digits. It’s “just something they always did”. But not everyone is fortunate enough to have that experience.

But you don’t need to know how to draw in order to paint. All you need is the desire to create and the discipline to practice and develop your technique. You’ll make plenty of mistakes, but that’s part of the learning process. Ultimately, the creation of art is what’s important, not the road you take to get there.

Acrylic paint

There is no rule that says you must draw before you paint if you don’t want to. Drawing is not just an initial step in making a painting. Having drawing skills will definitely help with your painting, but if you hate pencils and charcoal, this doesn’t mean you can’t learn to paint.

Both gouache and watercolour are known as great beginner mediums. So when you are starting with painting you might have been introduced to both.

When learning how to use acrylic paint, you’ll quickly find that acrylics dry substantially faster than gouache paints, making them more difficult to blend. Gouache dries somewhat quickly as well; however, it can be reactivated with water, so blending is easy—even after it’s initially dried.

Why is gouache so expensive? Gouache has larger particles as well as more pigment mixed in with the binder. The extra pigment and longer mulling time add to its cost. More expensive brands of gouache are less streaky, and yield better coverage than the cheaper brands.

Give the Base Layer a Chance to Dry Before Pressing Onward “This is important because gouache is easily reactivated with water, so if the base layer has not dried out completely then the next layer will bleed into the base layer creating muddy colors.” Drying only takes a few minutes.

Cracking can usually be attributed to one of two reasons when using gouache. Firstly if not enough water is used to dilute the colour, the thicker film may crack as the paint dries on the paper. Secondly, if painting in layers, the subsequent ones may show cracking if the underlayer absorbs binder from the wet colour.

Acrylic gouache is opaque, matte acrylic paint. The opacity means it has excellent coverage, the acrylic binder means it is waterproof when dry, so you can overpaint without smearing and the matte finish gives a velvety surface.

Making gouache waterproof: Simply mix gouache with acrylic medium. Please note that this may reduce the matte look of plain gouache. Painting layers: When painting layers of gouache, it’s important to make sure the first layer is completely dry. If not, the layers will bleed into one another.

WATERCOLOR

Gouache paint, like both watercolor and acrylic paint, is a watermedia: a pigment that has to be mixed with water in order to be spread across a surface.

Gouache consists of colored pigments, a binder (often gum arabic) and water. It produces a velvety matte finish, in powerful shades. Because it is opaque, you can paint layer upon layer with it: Each shade remains quite separate from the previous one.