Some say painting is a form of poetry. Every brush and every stroke an artist make is intended to convey a message, along with the kind of paint an artist uses, the medium they paint on, and their style.
Artistic skills take time to master. They require patience and dedication, but the result is nothing short of beautiful. In the beginning, there are several basics you should be aware of, such as the popular types of painting. Today, we’re going to look at different types of painting and painting styles.
Different Types of Painting: The Basics
There’s a wide range of tools and paint you can use, and each has its own look, texture, and use. If you’re not fully aware of the painting types and how they’re done, you won’t get the result you desire. In this list, we’ll look at the most common types of painting.
Water Coloring
You’ve probably used watercolors at least once during your childhood. Watercolors, made in a water-based solution, are known for featuring a transparent texture. They’re famous for being soluble even after drying, which is excellent for beginners who tend to make a lot of corrections to their work.
That said, this also means that the resulting painting is always prone to be easily damaged, which is why you’ll want to frame water-colored paintings behind glass.
Oil Painting
Oil painting is hard to master, but it’s the most famous kind of paint among professionals. Oil paint features vibrant colors. Its thickness is often favored, and how slowly it dries offers artists an opportunity to perfect the work over several days, which explains why they love it so much.
Oil paint can be a bit messy and a health hazard if not used carefully. It can also cause skin and eye irritation, so you must be sure to utilize gloves and avoid splatter.
Acrylic Painting
Acrylic paintings utilize acrylic colors, which are a commonly used kind of paint. Like watercolors, acrylic is also water-based. However, unlike watercolors, it becomes water-resistant after thoroughly drying.
Acrylic paintings dry fast, and their colors aren’t toxic. Additionally, the paint is budget-friendly.
Gouache
Gouache is another kind of paint that’s similar to watercolors. It, too, can be re-wetted. However, when dry, it gives off a matte style because it consists of chalk.
Gouache paintings often look real in texture. There is also acrylic-gouache, allowing the paint to be water-resistant after drying.
Encaustic
Encaustic painting includes adding a pigment to hot beeswax. The mixture is then spread on a hard surface, such as wood or any other material.
It’s a difficult way to paint and can get quite messy. The thing with wood is it isn’t as flexible as paper, so it’s sure to pose a challenge. Attempting encaustic painting and succeeding in it is a satisfying achievement, indeed.
Pastel
Pastel painting is also known as ‘dry painting.’ Though not as smooth as semi-liquid paint, pastels are popular for their easy stick-form, as well as the fact that they don’t need time to dry.
There are soft pastels, which have chalk incorporated in them, and there are oil pastels, which are waxier. Pastel paintings can easily be smudged, so they need to be appropriately framed.
Charcoal
Another kind of dry painting can be done with the use of charcoal. Charcoal painting can be messy but often results in a very natural form of art. It’s favored for its versatile properties and soft texture. It spreads easily on the paper, which allows artists to finish their paintings fast.
Colored Pencils
Colored pencils give off the same sketchy texture graphite pencils do. Despite being widely famous with children for being non-messy and compact, colored pencils are also used by professionals and well-experienced artists. There are higher quality color pencils for proper painting. These often contain a large degree of pigment and wax.
Pen Art
Pen art isn’t as common as the painting types mentioned above, but it has its unique results. Its users widely appreciate the quickness and smoothness of the ballpoint pen art. Just as well, its low cost and availability make it an attractive choice to experiment with.
Ink Painting
Ink painting may sound similar to pen art, but that’s not the case. Ink is more liquid, like water, which can be messy and hard to control. There are ink pens, which offer more hand-movement control, and there are also brushes and quills that can be used with ink containers. It’s challenging to master, but it can feel like a magical painting experience when you do.
Spray Painting
When you hear spray paint, you immediately think of graffiti art and walls, but spray paint can also be done on paper and canvas. Spray painting can be dangerous if health instructions such as proper ventilation aren’t adequately followed. When they are, you can begin painting as you usually would.
Spray painting is a unique experience, and end-results can turn out to be no less than stunning.
Digital Painting
Just because there’s no physical brush involved doesn’t mean this isn’t an authentic painting type. Digital painting is one of the quickest types of painting. It can be a little tricky to learn because it requires a different kind of hand-control, be it by fingers or digital pens. However, once that’s covered, you’ll discover how much easier it is than regular painting.
This is because you can easily correct mistakes simply by clicking the undo option. Better yet, you can switch between almost all of the above painting types if the program you’re using provides them. You can mix-and-match colors and textures, and there’s no external mess whatsoever!
The Top Painting Styles Artists Take On
Painting styles are also known as schools or movements, as in a group of artists who share the same style and painting ideas. You can choose to experiment with some techniques, switching between one and another to see which suits you best. The following are the most influential styles.
Realism
Realism is painting a subject in the same way it’d look in real life without adding your imagination. A famous example is Leonardo da Vinci’s “Mona Lisa.”
Photorealism
This particular style is an extreme form of Realism. The painting practically resembles life, without any beautification. The tiniest of details are present; it almost resembles a photograph (hence the name).
Impressionism
Impressionism is a style in which paintings are vibrant and lively. The style is meant to bring out the object’s colors and lights vividly. Most paintings by Vincent Van Gogh follow this style. It’s a painting style that resembles life but in a much bolder way.
Expressionism
In Expressionism, the artist lets their imagination roam free, painting in any way they choose to. The main focus of Expressionism is depicting emotions rather than the objects themselves. The colors are vivid, different from what one might see in real life. A good example is Edvard Munch’s “The Scream.”
Painterly
The Painterly style depicts real-life subjects but in an unpolished manner. Painterly’s focus is the act of painting itself, so artists of this style make no effort to hide things such as brush marks or palette knife smudges.
Abstract
People mostly misunderstand abstract art. Paintings following the abstract style don’t resemble anything realistic. They may seem like a mess of colors and sometimes splashed-on rather than painted.
This form of art is a manner of releasing one’s inner artist, ungoverned, and unrestrained. Abstract paintings give off an emotional effect that varies depending on the kind of paints used, how much of them are used, in what manner, and what they were painted on. The main idea is to dissect the object to its primary form.
How To Choose The Correct Painting Style & Paint
Although there aren’t many rules to follow when it comes to painting, there are some things you may want to consider.
Firstly, some painting types are more expensive than others. Based on your budget, you may opt for pencils or charcoal rather than oil or acrylic paint. That’s if you’re looking for a budget-friendly option. You can still create marvels even with such simple equipment.
Time and place are also factors to take into consideration. When you’re on the move but still in an artsy mood, consider a simple sketch with a pen or pencil or digital art on a tablet.
Finally, there is the painting style. Embrace the fact that you can mix-and-match between all styles, experimenting until you find what suits you best!
Wrap Up
An artist can illustrate so many things in just one painting. You can tell a story, make a point, or just project your thoughts and feelings using art.
Working your way up this ladder is a fun experience, and once mastered, you can create things only seen in dreams.
Now that you have an idea of the painting styles and types, you can go ahead and experiment with it all to see what works for you. Happy painting!
Nice post