Defining Your Art Style
Six aesthetic styles to think about — and how to start seeing what draws you in
Art is one of the hardest things to shop for and one of the most personal. With most clients, finding the right piece becomes its own kind of practice: training your eye to notice what holds your attention and what fades away.
That noticing is where it all really starts. It’s rarely about matching colors or filling a wall. It’s about paying attention. Is it the materials? The composition? The story behind the artist? Or just something you can’t quite name, but that feels right?
You don’t need an art history degree to build your own vision for what you love. It’s about slowing down long enough to see. It’s a slow unfolding - not just a quick like while you doom scroll before bed.
I built the Art Match Tool to make starting easier. It is a way to start exploring your own preferences and name what you’re drawn to. The six archetypes below come from that framework. They’re not meant to be boxes or rules just a way to start your journey in finding what you love.
Most people move between a few styles. But usually, one feels like home, the one that keeps showing up in your saved images, your spaces, the artists you come back to.
Organic Modernist
Quiet forms, natural materials, a sense of calm that comes from touch - Artists include: Top Row: Alexa Kumiko Hatanaka, Emma Ortiz, Second Row: Luciano Maia, Dee Clements, Sylvie Kettle, Third Row: Noguchi, Georgia O’Keefe, Fourth Row: Moti Tavassoli, Nik Nik Studio
The Organic Modernist is drawn to honesty in materials — surfaces that hold the trace of the hand and forms that nod to nature . These spaces are grounded and tactile; art becomes part of the architecture, not decoration.
Palette & materials: bone, clay, sand, moss, smoked oak; limewash, raffia, linen, plaster, ceramic
Where to start: ceramic or plaster reliefs, paper works with deckle edges, abstract minimal paintings, fiber and textile studies
Expressive Maximalist
Color, rhythm, and a love of visual energy. Artists include Top Row: Amy Illardo, Winnie Siddhartha, Second Row: April Bey, Nefertiti Jenkins, Third Row: Yayoi Kusama, Aydeé Rodríguez López, Fourth Row: Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Alec Cumming, Sonia Delaunay
The Expressive Maximalist gravitates toward bold color, layered compositions, and pattern that feels alive. Don’t mistake the pattern mixing and bold colors for chaos, there’s balance through rhythm and repetition.
Palette & materials: saturated primaries, citrus brights, electric blues, inky blacks; gloss lacquer, velvet, crisp mats
Where to start: gestural painting, hard-edge geometry, bold prints, graphic photography, type-driven works
Modern Soul
Modern lines, emotional depth. Artists include - Top Row: Vanessa Valero, Kerry James Marshall (Londoners, incredible retrospective on now), Second Row: Suchitra Mattai (Featured in a show in LA right now), Pacita Abad, Third Row: Roberto Lugo, Maia Cruz Palileo, Fourth Row: Rakhee Shenoy, Umar Rashid
Modern Soul lives at the intersection of clarity and feeling. Their spaces integrate structure with softness. This tension of tradition and modernity is at the core of this style.
Palette & materials: warm neutrals, tobacco, oxblood, indigo, charcoal; walnut, wool, vellum, patinaed metal
Where to start: narrative abstraction, minimal portraiture, monochrome photography, ink works
Warm Minimalist
Fewer pieces, more presence. Artists include - Top Row: Agnes Martin, Aryana Minai, Beatriz Salazar, Second Row: Nicole Anasatas, Rogé Girard, Third Row: Rachel Grace, John Zurier, Fourth Row: Cy Twombly, Caroline Walls
The Warm Minimalist leans into simplicity that still feels lived in. The palette is soft, the compositions spare. Every line, every object, has purpose and there’s warmth in the restraint.
Palette & materials: chalk, oat, sand, soft graphite, smoke; maple, ash, natural linen, raw canvas
Where to start: tonal abstracts, quiet line drawings, minimalist photography, sculptural works on paper
Contemporary Luxe
Tailored precision, elevated materials, and craftsmanship. Artists include - Top Row: Carolina Jimenez, MF Husain, Swapna Namboordiri, Second Row: Genevieve Leavold, Zarina Hashmi, Third Row: Katie Burdon, Leigh Wells, Fourth Row: Jan Prengel, Eamon Ore-Giron
The Contemporary Luxe aesthetic looks for refinement — clean lines, impeccable framing, and a sense of polish that still feels personal. Pieces are chosen for their quality, presence, and finish.
Palette & materials: ivory, stone, deep navy; brass, lacquer, silk mats, glass.
Where to start: photographic editions, hard-edge abstraction, structured sculpture, paper works with precise execution
Moody Classic
Deeper color palette and a yearning for the past, while being firmly in the present. Artists include - First Row: Edward Hopper, Holly Terry, Second Row: Vintage Art, Danielle Mckinney, Third Row: Yeon Kyung Park, Jennifer Laflamme, Fourth Row: Alexia Vogel, Arun Prem, Brittany Ferns
Moody Classic is all about beauty in tone and time. It draws you in through light and shadow, symbolism and story. It’s all romance without nostalgia or being saccharine.
Palette & materials: deep greens, indigo, umber, antique gold; linen mats, dark woods, raw canvas
Where to start: tonal portraits, figurative drawings, symbolic abstraction, vintage landscapes
Which one feels most like you? Is there a style that feels missing? I’d love to know.
Note: This post contains some affiliate links, so if you chose to purchase something via a link with an affiliate fee I make a small commission at no cost to you.