Artists and their Mediums.

What is a medium?  A medium refers to the materials with which an artist creates his or her work.  Watercolor is a medium.  Oil is a medium.  Pastel is a medium.  Mixed medium means that an artist combines two or more types of materials in a single piece.

Classical art schools generally require students to go through a couple years of foundation classes before they chose a medium.  It is similar to a Bachelor of Arts degree where students chose their major in their junior year.  Your art will only be as good as your foundation.

The choice of medium generally depends on the character of the artist.  Some artists like dry mediums that are applied by drawing  instead of painting.   Some feel more confortable with wet mediums like watercolor or oil that are applied by a brush.

Some artists take a long time to figure out exactly what is the perfect match for their personality and the type of work they want to do.  And then once they do decide,  it takes a long time to master that medium.

Schools and teachers can take you a long way in mastering a medium but in the end the artist just has to figure it out themselves by working and working …and working.  There are no shotcuts.

So if you find an artist that you like that works in oil, don’t ask them to paint in watercolor!