Break The Watercolor Mold – How to Create Truly Unique & Authentic Paintings | Episode 122

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Your paintings look like everyone else’s! In today’s episode we’ll discuss BREAKING THE MOLD of watercolor painting, soaring beyond preconceptions and creating truly unique and authentic art!

Why Do All Paintings Look The Same?

I got the idea for this topic following a comment I got on my Top 5 Watercolor Artists YouTube video, where the person basically said all my top artists’ works look the same.

This really made me think long and hard about this, and there seems to be merit to what they say.

If you truly “zoom-out” mentally, there appear to be more similarities than difference between the artists.

Don’t get me wrong – I can tell which paintings are who’s very quickly. Their styles are all individual and special. But there are plenty of similarities too.

The Danger of Art Societies & Communities

Art communities and societies are great! They put you in contact with like-minded people, they provide inspiration and even motivation to create. Not to mention – online communities provide you with a place to share your art.

However, they also have a dark side to them. You always run the risk of conforming to a “norm”. The risk of being highly influenced by other artists, and thus losing some of that authenticity that’s purely, 100% yours.

Some Artists That Are Doing it Right (very unique)

Among the artists who are VERY unique in my opinion, are Marc Folly and John Singer Sargent.

Here’s a recent insane one by Marc Folly (and I find that all of his work sticks to this same standard, no fluctuation, I love them all 😂):

This is NOT to say that artists like Joseph Z, Alvaro Castagnet, David Taylor and many others aren’t unique. They all have a very individual style, – and again – I could probably recognize who’s work is who’s instantly.

And they are all MASTERS of the fundamentals – they simply make extraordinary art.

But in a way, they set such a high bar and standard, that there are now MANY people who paint similarly enough. And some are really good too.

My Path Towards Uniqueness

I don’t know the answers to this one. It’s a topic I contend with, and probably will continue to contend with for years.

But I do wish to ensure I go in the more authentic direction.

Two things I’m going to try:

  1. Avoiding influence and especially lessons from other artists (temporary)
  2. Painting LOTS of plein-air.

Hopefully I’ll be able to improve, and then also provide better advice and content for you (while obviously trying not to force my own conceptions on you!).

I hope you enjoyed this one! Here’s where you can get in touch online:

Instagram – @LironYanIL

TikTok – @Liron.Yan

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

LinkedIn – Liron Yanconsky

Pinterest – Liron Yanconsky

Twitter – @LironYan

Watercolor Portrait Painting & Importance of IMMERSION | Liron’s Podcast Episode 121

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Today we’ll talk about the importance of IMMERSION when painting, and I’ll demonstrate this specifically in the context of portrait painting.

Watercolor & Drawing – Divide & Conquer

One of my main goals for June 2020 is to create immersive work days, where I allow myself to be immersed in one specific artist endeavor.

So instead of squeezing in painting time every day, I’ll have ONE consolidated day, devoted 100% to watercolor painting (Sunday). This may sound a little crazy, but I believe there are significant benefits to immersion, over “cheaper” and shallower artistic experience, where I have to “cut” the session in order to work on something else.

This also doesn’t mean I CAN’T paint in other days. I can – for the purpose of content production for example (aka YouTube videos and so on).

I’ll also have a dedicated day to work on my manga (Wednesdays).

Today’s Portrait Painting Experience

Today I started applying this new approach, and spent a lot of time on just watercolor painting. I allowed the natural flow pull me in. I started with some basic exercises, and gradually went for more detailed portraits.

The peak for me was when I FELT the desire to go more detailed with this one portrait.

I made this “average” version first:

I really felt like I failed in capturing the beauty of the original portrait. And so I made another slower, more patient and more ambitions version.

Here’s this one:

Hopefully the difference between the two versions can be perceived immediately.

It’s not that the 2nd one is perfect, but it’s darn close to my CURRENT perfect, if that makes sense (:

Better Artistic Experience

Doing this felt GOOD and RIGHT. I’m so happy I got to experience that, and I hope to continue this way in future sessions.

I hope you enjoyed listening to / reading this one! And if this speaks to you – trying allowing yourself some more freedom when it comes to painting time, immersion and patience.

And always, here’s where you can find me online – let me know your thoughts! (:

Instagram – @LironYanIL

TikTok – @Liron.Yan

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

LinkedIn – Liron Yanconsky

Pinterest – Liron Yanconsky

Twitter – @LironYan

How to Simplify Your Paintings – Approach, Tips & Tricks | Liron’s Podcast Episode 120

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In today’s episode I’m going practical and talking about how to simplify your paintings, whether you work from a photo or reference or paint plein-air!

Before we get into it, here’s a quick link to my interview over at PencilKings.com – I hope you check it out 😊🙏🏼

And now – here’s the gist of the tips I share in the episode (:

1. Main Idea / Story / Message

Knowing this is the first step to simplifying the scene (and painting it in the first place!).

What attracted you to paint it? What story do you want to tell, or message you want to convey?

2. Large Shapes of Value

Focus on the LARGE shapes instead of getting lost in the details. There should be only about 5-7 of them (give or take – this isn’t perfect science 😉).

3. Seeing Simpler

Black & White – If you have trouble seeing the scene or subject in a simpler way – turn the photo black and white (to be more precise – greyscale).

This will help you see the essence of it, and the larger shapes of value. Often I’ll be surprised at just how much simpler a scene is, after it’s turned black & white.

Squinting / taking a few steps back – these can also really help. If working from a photo – take a few steps back. You’ll be left with a “simpler” version of the subject.

If working plein-air – squinting your eyes can achieve the same effect.

4. Be Confident, Bold & Have Fun!!

That’s the main thing for me, especially when working outside.

Let go! Use bold and fun brush marks! Confident really shows with watercolor. It’s sometimes better to have a bold “failure”, rather than timid “accuracy”.

At least try it – so you know how it feels (:

And this is it! I hope you enjoy this one.

And again – here’s a link to my interview over at PencilKings.com:
Liron’s Interview on PencilKings.com

Here’s where you can find me online:

Instagram – @LironYanIL

TikTok – @Liron.Yan

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

LinkedIn – Liron Yanconsky

Pinterest – Liron Yanconsky

Twitter – @LironYan

Dealing With Artistic Frustration, The Artist Journey & More Questions | Liron’s Podcast Episode 119

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In today’s episode I want to address some of the questions I got in a recent Instagram live session I did – both SERIOUS and FUN ones!

Getting Over Frustration

The first question I address is regarding getting over feelings of frustration and lack of motivation / inspiration, specifically after returning to it following a break.

The question was phrased in a way that makes me see this in the MACRO – some stages in our lives will be less creative – and this is NORMAL. You may be preoccupied with important commitments, or go through a particular challenge.

It’s important to accept this and avoid judging yourself to harshly.

Additional solutions:

  • If you haven’t created in a while – set the goalpost to be creating something every day. The result DOES NOT MATTER. Paint / draw / use whatever medium you use every day, regardless of how you feel. Did you create? That’s a win.
  • Use a different medium / art supply
  • Create outside if possible
  • Take a break! If you’re on the other side of this – and you create consistently but don’t like / enjoy what you produce – a BREAK can help.

How to Start Your Art Journey?

This is another question I get often, phrased this way or similarly.

How do I get started as an artist?

How do I become an artist?

Well… Artists make art!

So if you’re making art, you are an artist.

Now comes the question – do you want to go full time? Are you striving to improve? Etc.

Listen to the audio for my full thoughts 😉

What Does Art Mean to Me?

Another interesting one I got.

To me – art is EXPRESSION.

It’s about expression yourself.

It doesn’t matter WHAT you create, your inner most authentic self will be embedded in it.

What If Watercolor Disappeared?

Here’s a VERY interesting “what if?” question I actually got on YouTube.

If watercolor & gouache disappeared from this world – what medium will I use?

My answer is either going ALL-IN on pencil and pen (including digital drawing for that matter), which I ALWAYS loved and enjoyed… OR acrylics! This is another medium I used several times and enjoyed quite a bit.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed hearing my takes on these questions.

I’ll do another Instagram live session next week, so make sure you follow here: @LironYanIL 😁

And here are the rest of the places where you can find me online:

TikTok – @Liron.Yan

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

LinkedIn – Liron Yanconsky

Pinterest – Liron Yanconsky

Twitter – @LironYan

Common Artist Problems – Self-Discipline & Comparing Yourself to Others | Liron’s Podcast Episode 118

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In this episode I talk about 2 common artist problems: SELF-DISCIPLINE, and COMPARING yourself to others (and also how to get started in watercolor 😉).

Let’s break it down!

How to Develop Self-Discipline as an Artist

Here’s my take on it:

  • Understand what your vision / ambition is
  • Make a connection between the mundane daily tasks – and that larger vision. How does completing this seemingly mundane task (or simply a task that scares you and creates resistance) – helps in making your larger vision come true?
  • Schedule it! That’s the first step to getting things done
  • Monitor it – How did you do? What can be improved?
  • Don’t be too harsh with yourself. Are you consistently moving forward, and getting up after “losses”? You’re golden!

Comparing Yourself to Others

  • You’re not alone in this – we all do this.
  • You may not be able to get rid of this habit completely, but you can work towards making it affect you less.
  • You and every single person in the world are VASTLY different, and so you cannot create exactly like others – and THEY cannot create exactly like you!
  • Focus on yourself, compete with yourself and strive to improve yourself

How to Get Started in Watercolor

Lastly, I also provided some advice for getting started in watercolor.

This is divided into two main parts:

  1. Learn the medium / techniques
  2. Paint as much as you can – preferably from real life as often as possible

There’s no substitute for practicing (:

I hope you found this episode helpful and encouraging! Be sure to follow me on Instagram for the next live video I do.

Here’s where you can do that, as well as how to find me on other platforms:

Instagram – @LironYanIL

TikTok – @Liron.Yan

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

LinkedIn – Liron Yanconsky

Pinterest – Liron Yanconsky

Twitter – @LironYan