Ashland Orchard by Stefan Baumann
Technique and style are the tools of creative expression for an artist. They support his ability to communicate his artistic vision. Technique includes the artist’s ability to use brushes and paint to create a unique appearance using interesting brushstrokes, choices of color, the use of thick or thin paint, and the effect of light. Techniques punctuate a painting with personal artistic choices.
Style includes broader artistic choices such as the content, composition, mood, and the placement of focal points as well as the artist’s approach: impressionistic, realistic, or abstract. An artist’s style contributes to his ability to be recognizable and memorable.
Having both technique and style are essential for an artist to manifest his vision, a vision that is so personally important that it must shared with others to be realized. This includes painting subjects that reflect the artist’s experiences and beliefs about the world. This vision comes from the heart of the artist’s experience growing up and finding his way in life; what made sense, what felt good, what or who sustained him in the darkest times, and what or who raised his spirits in the best times. These memories and connections create a deep foundation of subject matter that reminds the artist of what in life is worth sharing with others by creating “a painting of personal importance.” In order to express a great message in a painting, an artist must have a clear vision of what he wishes to say to the viewer about his unique way of seeing the world.
Fellow artists, galleries, and collectors admire artists who successfully express their vision through their artwork and have the power to change the viewer’s experience of the world. For example, Van Gogh showed us how to see sunflowers the way he saw them, and if you have seen his painting, you probably look at sunflowers in a whole, new way. The clarity of vision separates one artist from another, and expressing a sensitive message to a viewer that communicates heart-to-heart requires great skill and focus.
Learning the discipline and practice of good technique, developing a good sense of style, and having a focused personal vision will make your pursuit of art more passionate, your journey more enjoyable, and create a legacy that can go on forever.
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Plein air and Alla Prima artist Stefan Baumann, host of the PBS painting series “The Grand View, America’s National Park through the eyes of an artist” and author of “Observations Of Art and Nature,” travels in his vintage travel trailer painting America’s western landscape. Baumann paints outdoors with oils and canvas capturing stunning vistas, wildlife, western landscapes, National Parks and still life, thrilling art collectors throughout the world. He has many collectors acquiring his paintings as investment internationally. His painting style is called Romantic Realism with Lumunism and the extraordinary way he captures the effect of light is a truly an American Style used to paint the Western Landscape. He can be seen painting in Yellowstone, Yosemite and in the Grand Canyon and Baumann’s “how to paint” DVDs filmed on location in the National Parks are the very best on the market.