That's STYLE

I think there's a lot of twaddle spoken about 'style'. You might think I'm about to add to it and if so that's fine but at least my attitude is inclusive and down to earth.

For an artist who paints from the heart, i.e. not solely for commercial purposes without regard for his or her artistic integrity, every painting is created with the materials that are:

• best for the job
• easiest to hand
• favoured colours
• preferred size

An artist is sure to have a favourite type of paint, not to mention a limited array of paint due to financial constraints, and a usual support such as canvas, board, mdf, paper, card, recycled packaging et al. Lesser materials are used frequently when necessary or when 'caught short'. There is nothing more annoying than finding you've done a masterpiece on the back or side of something that will deteriorate in ten days or is too confidential to be shown elsewhere. Painting and drawing can get you like that, you have to do it and you have to do it now.

So there's the preferred paint, preferred colours, preferred sizes, favourite subjects and ways of weilding the brush or not, as the case may be: these are what make the artist's style.

Personally I avoid using a brush whenever possible and apply the paint in some other way. I use mainly acrylics (heavy body) at the moment but sometimes my method works with gouache and I know I could move on to oils if I had the money and patience. Style? Make of it what you will but I'll paint what I want and continue to surprise people - as well as myself.