Top 9 'Expression-Unlocking' Art Styles to master for beginners tired of chasing perfection this year - Goh Ling Yong
Are you standing before a blank canvas, a fresh sheet of paper, or a new digital file, feeling a familiar knot of anxiety tighten in your chest? It’s the voice of the inner critic, the one that whispers, "What if it's not perfect?" For so many aspiring artists, this pursuit of perfection becomes a cage, locking away the raw, messy, and beautiful expression that’s desperate to get out. Chasing a flawless masterpiece often leads to creating nothing at all.
This year, let's make a pact to trade perfection for presence. Let's choose process over product, and expression over expectation. The goal isn't to create a gallery-worthy piece every single time; it's to reconnect with the joy of creating, to let your hands move, and to see what stories they want to tell. The secret isn't about trying harder; it's about trying differently. It’s about finding art styles that are built on freedom, not restriction.
If you're ready to break free and finally unlock the authentic artist within, you're in the right place. We've compiled a list of nine incredible, "expression-unlocking" art styles perfect for beginners. These approaches celebrate imperfection, encourage play, and will help you fall back in love with the act of making art.
1. Abstract Expressionism: Feel, Don't Flinch
Abstract Expressionism isn't about painting things; it's about painting feelings. Emerging in the 1940s with artists like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, this movement championed spontaneous, subconscious creation. The canvas became an arena for action, and the final piece was a record of the physical and emotional process of its creation. For a beginner, this is the ultimate permission slip to just let go.
The beauty of this style is that there are no rules to break. Is your blue streak of paint supposed to represent the sky? Only if you want it to. It could also represent a wave of sadness, the sound of a jazz trumpet, or simply the satisfying feeling of dragging a loaded brush across a surface. It’s a physical conversation between you, your materials, and your emotions.
How to get started:
- Work Big: Grab the largest piece of paper or canvas you can find. A bigger surface encourages bigger, bolder movements.
- Use Unconventional Tools: Put down the fine-tipped brushes. Try using palette knives, old credit cards, sponges, or even just your hands (with non-toxic paint, of course!).
- Let Music Guide You: Put on a powerful piece of music—instrumental jazz, classical, or electronic—and let the rhythm and mood dictate your strokes. Don’t think, just react.
2. Blind Contour Drawing: See Without Judging
This is less of a "style" and more of a foundational exercise that will radically change your relationship with drawing. The task is simple: look at your subject (your hand, a houseplant, a crumpled piece of paper) and draw its outline without ever looking down at your paper. You must also try to do it in one continuous line, without lifting your pen.
The result will inevitably be a wonderfully weird, distorted, and wobbly drawing. And that's the entire point! Blind contour drawing forces you to disconnect the part of your brain that judges and edits. You are forced to trust your eyes and your hand, focusing intently on the act of seeing rather than the act of reproducing. It’s a meditative practice that builds hand-eye coordination while silencing your inner perfectionist.
How to get started:
- Choose a Simple Subject: Your non-drawing hand is the classic choice. It's complex enough to be interesting but always available.
- Go Slow: Move your eyes along the edge of your subject at the same slow, steady pace that your pen is moving across the paper.
- Embrace the "Wrongness": Laugh at the wonderfully strange results. The goal is the process of focused observation, not a realistic portrait.
3. Impressionism: Capture the Fleeting Moment
Think of Monet's water lilies or Renoir's blurry, light-filled party scenes. Impressionism was all about capturing the feeling or impression of a moment, not its photorealistic details. The artists were fascinated with light and how it changed, using short, thick brushstrokes to create a vibrant, shimmering effect. For beginners, this is a fantastic way to learn about color and light without getting bogged down in tiny details.
Instead of trying to draw every single leaf on a tree, an impressionistic approach encourages you to see the tree as a collection of light and shadow. You can use dabs of green, yellow, and even blue to represent the way sunlight filters through the leaves. It's about suggestion, not statement.
How to get started:
- Don't Blend: Place colors side-by-side on the canvas and let the viewer's eye mix them. This creates a more vibrant and lively effect.
- Focus on Light: Look for where the light hits and where the shadows fall. Exaggerate the colors you see. Is the shadow on a white wall really just grey, or is there some purple or blue in it?
- Work Quickly: Try to capture a scene in one sitting. This forces you to focus on the overall impression rather than getting lost in minute details.
4. Fauvism: Unleash Your Wildest Colors
If Impressionism opened the door to expressive color, Fauvism kicked it off its hinges. Led by artists like Henri Matisse and André Derain, the Fauves ("wild beasts") used intense, non-naturalistic colors to convey emotion. A tree didn't have to be brown and green; it could be orange and purple. A face could have a slash of green on its cheek if it felt right.
This style is pure joy and liberation. It frees you from the rigid rules of "local color" (the color an object actually is). It teaches you that color can be an emotional tool, completely separate from reality. For anyone tired of trying to get their color mixing "just right," Fauvism is a breath of fresh, wildly-colored air.
How to get started:
- Create a "Color Opposite" Portrait: Draw a simple portrait of a friend or a pet, then paint it using colors from the opposite side of the color wheel. A person with warm skin tones might be painted in cool blues and greens.
- Squeeze Paint Directly: Use thick, bold applications of paint straight from the tube. Keep your brushstrokes visible and energetic.
- Choose Emotion Over Realism: Ask yourself, "What color does this feel like?" not "What color is this?"
5. Collage and Mixed Media: Become a Visual Storyteller
The pressure to create something from nothing can be immense. Collage removes that burden entirely. It's the art of arranging and assembling existing materials—magazine clippings, old book pages, fabric scraps, photographs, textured paper—to create a new whole. It's less about your technical drawing skill and more about your eye for composition, texture, and storytelling.
Mixed media takes this a step further, inviting you to draw, paint, or write on top of your collaged elements. This layering process is incredibly forgiving. Don't like a certain section? Glue something over it! The piece evolves with you, and every "mistake" is just an opportunity for a new layer.
How to get started:
- Gather Your Materials: Start a "scrap box." Collect interesting textures, colors, and images from junk mail, old calendars, wrapping paper, and magazines.
- Work with a Theme: To avoid feeling overwhelmed, start with a simple theme, like "childhood," "nature," or a single color.
- Focus on Composition: Play with the arrangement of your pieces before you glue anything down. Pay attention to balance, focal points, and how your eye moves across the page.
6. Gestural Drawing: Find the Energy in the Line
Where contour drawing focuses on the edges of an object, gestural drawing focuses on its energy and movement. It’s a fast, expressive style of drawing where the artist uses quick, sweeping lines to capture the subject's form and action. Think of a dancer leaping or a dog chasing a ball—a gestural drawing would capture the motion of that moment, not a static snapshot.
This practice teaches you to draw with your whole arm, not just your wrist. It builds confidence and helps you make bold, decisive marks. The drawings are often done in a matter of seconds, leaving no time for the inner critic to chime in. It’s about capturing the essence of the subject in as few lines as possible.
How to get started:
- Set a Timer: Grab a charcoal stick or a soft graphite pencil and set a timer for 30 seconds. Try to capture the entire pose of a person or animal before the timer goes off.
- Look for the "Line of Action": Before you draw, find the single, flowing line that represents the core energy of the pose. Start with that line and build from there.
- Embrace the Mess: Your lines will overlap. Proportions will be off. That’s okay. The goal is to create a drawing that feels alive.
7. Ink Wash Painting: Dance with Happy Accidents
Inspired by the East Asian tradition of Sumi-e, ink wash painting is a beautiful art form that uses black ink in varying concentrations to create a piece that looks like a watercolor. The magic lies in the interplay between the ink, the water, and the absorbent paper. You can create sharp, dark lines or soft, atmospheric washes.
What makes this so liberating is the element of unpredictability. Once the ink touches the wet paper, it blooms and spreads in ways you can't fully control. This style teaches you to work with the medium, not against it. You learn to embrace "happy accidents" and incorporate them into your work, turning potential mistakes into the most beautiful parts of the piece.
How to get started:
- Start Simple: You only need black ink (like India ink), a brush, water, and some thick paper that won't buckle (watercolor or mixed-media paper is great).
- Practice Your Washes: Create a value scale by mixing different amounts of water with your ink to see how many shades of grey you can create.
- Try the "Wet-on-Wet" Technique: Wet a section of your paper with clean water first, then touch your inky brush to it and watch the ink feather and spread.
8. Wabi-Sabi Inspired Art: Find Beauty in Imperfection
More of a philosophy than a specific style, Wabi-Sabi is a Japanese worldview centered on the acceptance of transience and imperfection. It’s about finding beauty in things that are flawed, weathered, and simple. In art, this translates to celebrating the crack in a ceramic bowl (Kintsugi), the rough edge of handmade paper, or the faded color of a natural dye. It’s a philosophy Goh Ling Yong often discusses: finding profound beauty in what is simple, modest, and imperfect.
Applying this to your art means letting go of the need for a polished, pristine finish. It means using natural, humble materials and allowing their inherent flaws to become part of the artwork. It’s the ultimate antidote to the pressure of creating something flawless.
How to get started:
- Use Natural Materials: Create art with found objects like weathered wood, dried leaves, or smooth stones.
- Try "Modern Kintsugi": Don't throw away a drawing you tore by accident. Instead, mend the tear with gold ink or thread, making the "damage" a beautiful focal point.
- Focus on Asymmetry and Simplicity: Instead of a perfectly centered composition, try something off-balance. Instead of a complex scene, focus on a single, simple subject.
9. The Zentangle Method: Embrace Structured Pattern-Making
If the sheer freedom of abstract art feels intimidating, the Zentangle Method offers a perfect balance of structure and creative liberty. It’s a meditative art form where you create beautiful images by drawing structured, repetitive patterns called "tangles" on small paper tiles.
The process is broken down into simple, easy-to-follow steps, which is incredibly calming and removes the fear of the blank page. There is no "up" or "down" to a Zentangle tile, and since it’s not meant to represent anything, you can't make a mistake. Each stroke is deliberate and mindful, making it a relaxing practice that quiets the mind and boosts creative confidence one simple pattern at a time.
How to get started:
- Start with the Official Method: Look up the basic steps of the Zentangle Method online. It involves creating a border, a "string" (a light pencil line to divide the space), and then filling the sections with tangles.
- Build a Pattern Library: Practice drawing a few simple tangles. The goal isn't to be a master, but to have a few go-to patterns you can use without thinking too hard.
- Enjoy the Portability: Zentangle is designed to be done anywhere. Keep a few small tiles and a pen in your bag for moments when you need a creative escape.
Your Art Is a Playground, Not a Performance
The journey of an artist isn't a straight line toward perfection. It's a winding, wonderful path of discovery, play, and self-expression. Each of these nine styles offers a different doorway into that world—a world where there are no mistakes, only opportunities. The goal isn't to master all of them, but to find the one or two that make your heart sing and your hands itch to create.
So put away your expectations. Give yourself permission to be a beginner, to be messy, and to make art that is unapologetically yours. As we at Goh Ling Yong's blog always believe, the most important masterpiece you can create is a joyful and sustainable creative practice.
Now it's your turn. Which of these expression-unlocking styles are you most excited to try first? Share your thoughts and plans in the comments below—we'd love to cheer you on!
About the Author
Goh Ling Yong is a content creator and digital strategist sharing insights across various topics. Connect and follow for more content:
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