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Your paintings look like everyone else’s! In today’s episode we’ll discuss BREAKING THE MOLD of watercolor painting, soaring beyond preconceptions and creating truly unique and authentic art!
Why Do All Paintings Look The Same?
I got the idea for this topic following a comment I got on my Top 5 Watercolor Artists YouTube video, where the person basically said all my top artists’ works look the same.
This really made me think long and hard about this, and there seems to be merit to what they say.
If you truly “zoom-out” mentally, there appear to be more similarities than difference between the artists.
Don’t get me wrong – I can tell which paintings are who’s very quickly. Their styles are all individual and special. But there are plenty of similarities too.
The Danger of Art Societies & Communities
Art communities and societies are great! They put you in contact with like-minded people, they provide inspiration and even motivation to create. Not to mention – online communities provide you with a place to share your art.
However, they also have a dark side to them. You always run the risk of conforming to a “norm”. The risk of being highly influenced by other artists, and thus losing some of that authenticity that’s purely, 100% yours.
Some Artists That Are Doing it Right (very unique)
Among the artists who are VERY unique in my opinion, are Marc Folly and John Singer Sargent.
Here’s a recent insane one by Marc Folly (and I find that all of his work sticks to this same standard, no fluctuation, I love them all 😂):
This is NOT to say that artists like Joseph Z, Alvaro Castagnet, David Taylor and many others aren’t unique. They all have a very individual style, – and again – I could probably recognize who’s work is who’s instantly.
And they are all MASTERS of the fundamentals – they simply make extraordinary art.
But in a way, they set such a high bar and standard, that there are now MANY people who paint similarly enough. And some are really good too.
My Path Towards Uniqueness
I don’t know the answers to this one. It’s a topic I contend with, and probably will continue to contend with for years.
But I do wish to ensure I go in the more authentic direction.
Two things I’m going to try:
- Avoiding influence and especially lessons from other artists (temporary)
- Painting LOTS of plein-air.
Hopefully I’ll be able to improve, and then also provide better advice and content for you (while obviously trying not to force my own conceptions on you!).
I hope you enjoyed this one! Here’s where you can get in touch online:
Instagram – @LironYanIL
TikTok – @Liron.Yan
YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art
LinkedIn – Liron Yanconsky
Pinterest – Liron Yanconsky
Twitter – @LironYan
Man you’ve put into words my feelings about this.
But masters do also learn from their choice of masters. I think the best way to learn from references is just to get their thought process, have a lot of “influences” and combine them to your own way (specially if you do a lot of own experiments) rather than simply copying what you see from instagram or wherever, right? These are some points I’ve read from books and other artists. 🙂
Great content by the way, I watch you on youtube while I work.
Thank you so much Ruth! 😊🙏🏼
Yes – that will definitely be a great way to go about it!
I think synthesizing other peoples’ work + bringing your own authenticity to the mix is the way (:
And honestly it seems to me like it’s a never-ending journey.
Thank you for listening and for the kind words! ^_^