Steve Huston is one of the best artists and teachers of our time. His advice has been helping me figure out how I should approach making art and why I create art in the first place.
In this interview, Steve Huston talks about how to grow as an artist, how to develop a unique style, how to find what calls to you, and much more. It’s a mighty 106 minute conversation filled with golden nuggets. Don’t miss this one.
Steve recently published an instructional book on figure drawing. I think it’s a must have for every artist learning how to draw: Figure Drawing for Artists: Making Every Mark Count
Topics
01:44:44 – Where can we get your book?
00:00:33 – Steve’s new book
00:00:45 – Going to Art Center*
00:01:21 – Drawing Comics as a Kid
00:02:15 – Illustrating after art school
00:03:36 – Teaching at Art Center*
00:04:21 – Taking over the classes of famous teachers
00:06:28 – Learning paint and color
00:09:00 – How did you learn color?
00:13:28 – Finding your style
00:14:34 – Working after Art Center
00:15:44 – Becoming a better artist
00:19:49 – Growing as an artist through teaching
00:21:20 – Making a finished art piece
00:26:25 – Thinking critically about the art you’re making
00:27:58 – Good copying vs bad copying
00:28:59 – Art as philosophy
00:30:26 – Developing an art style
00:33:34 – Creating a truly unique style*
00:46:36 – Drawing and painting better by asking question*
00:53:27 – Steve Huston’s inspirations
00:58:39 – What does an artist do if they don’t have any good ideas?
01:01:23 – How do artists balance idea and craft?
01:02:55 – Being afraid of drawing something “wrong”*
01:09:58 – The tools for creativity
01:11:40 – What is the purpose of creating art?
01:16:28 – How do you find what calls to you?*
01:27:00 – What was your creative learning schedule like?
01:33:52 – What would you have done differently in your art education?
01:36:16 – Did you study more from life or more from masters?
01:37:48 – Consistency in your artwork
01:39:13 – What do you enjoy more: quick-sketch or longer drawings?
01:41:09 – What medium do you want to learn?
01:42:02 – Any new books coming up?
01:43:18 – Where do you see your art going in the next 10 years?
Posts I’ve done on art movements, artists, and art techniques so far
Art Movements
- Baroque (c. 1600-1720)
- Biedermeier (c. 1815-1845)
- Cloisonnism (c. 1888 – 1894)
- Dadaism (c.1916-1924)
- Divisionism/Chromoluminarism
- Gothic Art (c. 1100-1300)
- Mannerism (c. 1510-1600)
- Neo-Impressionism (c. 1889-1906)
- Pre-Raphaelite (c,.1850’s)
- Rococo (c.1700-1800)
- Ukiyo-e (Edo Period: 1615-1868)
Artists
- Louis Anquetin (1861-1924); cloisonnism
- Amadea Bailey; female expressionist artist
- Ana Teresa Barboza (1980- ); contemporary art; embroidery
- Zdzisław Beksiński (1929-2005); dark surrealism
- Anastasia Booth; sculpture/installation/photography artist
Nell Brinkley (1886-1944); “The Queen of Comics”
- Alexandre Cabanel (1823-1889); french academic artist
- Larry Carlson; digital contemporary artist
- Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806); rococo
- Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890); dutch artist; post-impressionist
- Agnes Goodsir (1864-1939); australian-born artist known in France
- Frida Kahlo (1907-1954); modern female artist; surrealism
- Wassily Kandinsky (1866–1944); russian abstract painter
- Gustav Klimt (1862-1918); austrian artist
- Alexey Kondakov; contemporary collage artist
- Claude Monet (1820-1926); impressionist
- Evelyn de Morgan (1850-1919); pre-raphaelite
- Gustav-Adolf Mossa (1883-1971); french symbolist
- Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939); czech illustrator
- Auguste Rodin (1840-1917); famous french sculptor
- Valentin Serov (1865-1911); impressionist
- Virginia Frances Sterrett (1900-1931); american illustrator
- Marianne Stokes (1855-1927); victorian female artist
- Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933); stained glass artisan
- James Tissot (1836–1902); french artist
- Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901); french post-impressionist
- J. M. W. Turner (c. 1775-1851); beautiful landscape art
- Kitagawa Utamaro (c. 1753-1806); japanese ukiyo-e woodblock artist
Art Techniques
- Impasto
- The Four Canonical Painting Modes of the Renaissance
– Sfumato – Cangiante – Unione – Chiaroscuro- Tenebrism
Other Stuff You Might Like To Read
The Death of Vincent van Gogh
My Blabbering About My Favourite Painting – Vengence Is Sworn
The Sick Child by Edvard Munch
The Lady with the Veil by Alexander Roslin – AKA Another of my Ultimate Favourites
Analysis of the painting Salomé, 1909, by Paul Antoine de la Boulaye
The Portrait of Manon Balletti, 1757, by Jean-Marc Nattier
The Last Painting of Frida Kahlo
William Morris’ Part in Arsenic Houses
Pre-Raphaelite Model, Jane Morris
Venus of the Beautiful Buttocks
Sculpture of Pietà
Recommended Art Books ;; The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait
Recommended Art Books ;; Klimt (Essential Art) by Laura PayneI am positive there is many, many more (especially of the art techniques), however because of tags playing up and my blog had a problem with a whole page disappearing, these are the only I could find at the moment. More will certainly be added. You can exoect another post filled with even more art history info! Hopefully all the links work.


