An artist's style is their identity. It is one of things that make their paintings unique and recognisable as theirs. Thee are as many styles as their are artists, even though there can be similarities between two artists, especially if they belong to the same "school" such as impressionism, hyperrealism and so on.
I'm often envious of some artists' style: I look at their paintings and I think, "oh, I wish I could paint like that!" But of course I can't, for their style is the result of their history as a person and an artist. It is generally built, not imitated. There are times when I'm not satisfied with my own style and am envious of other artists and their talent... Yet those times pass and my style remains.
It took me some time to find my style, or at least to find a style that reflects who I am now at this specific period of my life. It may change and evolve, as I do to, but for now it is me.
I always was attracted to impressionist paintings. I have nothing against hyperrealist paintings and I admire greatly the artists who produce them but I would neither want to buy one, nor to do one (and even if that was the case, I'd never have the patience of producing so much detail!). What I like about impressionism is its power of evocation and the fact that it appeals both to the imagination and to raw feelings. I would not describe my paintings as being impressionistic but they definitely have a filiation to it. Liking a specific style of painting can greatly influence you when you look for your style: I, personnally, tend to paint paintings I would want to hang on my wall.
I think I am more sensitive to colour and light than to detail, and that it shows in my paintings. They are colourful, sometimes too colourful in some people's opinion, and I always try to add splashes of light.
Then there is texture. My acrylic paintings tend to be very textured as I love playing with the paint, applying it thickly on the canvas and working it directly on there with a stiff brush or even a painting knife.
And finally, colour. I believe that the fact I tend to use the same colours from one painting to another help give my work unity and consistency. Added to the rest, it also helps to make my style. For instance, I use Naples yellow in almost all my paintings (I'm trying to think of one where I haven't....I'm still thinking...). I put it everywhere. On horses, on the landscapes, on clouds... Naples yellow and titanium white are for me the colours that work best as splashes of light. And I love blue too. Especially Cobalt and phtalo blue. When I paint grey or black horses, I will always, always use one of these. I've even been criticised once for using to much blue on my horses... I've recently started to put discreet touches of portrait pink on my horses and landscapes (you can see it if you look closely at my latest paintings) and I'm finding that I like doing that! In a few years' time, I'll be painting rainbow horses... Did I mention that I also love green?
My work with light, texture and colour define part of my style. The other part is linked to the way I see and draw horses, the way I depict them, my interpretation of their anatomy, poses and such. The first part is a choice, the second more of an observation, and, as I said, interpretation. And I hope that, put together, they make my style and my paintings unique.