Category: Painting

Dangers of Learning Painting From Others | Liron’s Podcast Episode 94

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In this episode I discuss the dangers of learning painting from others, whether it’s teachers, YouTube videos, DVDs and so on…

The Dangers of learning painting from others

Here’s a quick list of some of the dangers of learning painting from others.

Narrowing our perception – One of the main problems. By seeing other artists, following them and imitating their work process, we narrow our perception of what’s the “correct” way of doing things.

We end up doing things they way, without realizing there’s a HUGE spectrum of other possibilities we haven’t even considered yet.

Losing / not discovering your authenticity – That’s the most tragic problem. Learning painting from others can distract you from your unique gift.

I truly believe anyone has a 100% unique way of creating and viewing the world. The artists who are most appreciated have usually discovered their version of that.

By “copying” other peoples’ art and approach, you run the risk of never finding out what your gift was – the one you were the only one able to give.

Copycat – Talking about copying, there’s always the risk of becoming a copycat with no originality.

The solution

I’ll offer three main solutions.

Learn the rules – Physics – Watercolor does have rules – those bound to physics and water and paint.

You do have to learn that when you use more paint, the mixture gets darker. It is important to know and experience how a wetter wash flows more.

But once you learn that – it’s pretty much time to strike out on your own. The rest are things you can figure out.

Detox / Isolation – If you’ve been highly affected by others, it may be a good idea to go completely detox. This means to avoid looking at ANY artwork by other artists for a while.

This is a temporary solution only, you can’t live your artistic life in complete vacuum (well, you can… but I don’t think it’s fun or practical!).

I’m seriously thinking of going through such a detox myself. Could be interesting.

Balance – On a regular basis, try keeping a balance of how much external art, tutorials and guides you consume, as opposed to the time you spend creating purely, not worrying about anything else.

Conclusion

I hope you found this info useful! I’m still learning these things too, so I’ll keep you updated regarding my experiences and findings (:

Want to Reach Out?

Got any questions? Want help with your paintings? Feel free to reach out to me in any of the platforms I’m on, and I’ll be happy to help (:

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

LinkedIn – Liron Yanconsky

Pinterest – Liron Yanconsky

Instagram – @LironYanIL

Twitter – @LironYan

The Value of REPETITION in PAINTING – Improve Fast & Efficiently | Liron’s Podcast Episode 72

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In this episode I’m talking about repetition – a valuable exercise for improving your drawing and painting skills FAST and EFFICIENTLY.

Table of Contents

1. Repetition in Painting and Drawing
2. Worse 2nd Attempt
3. Internalize
4. Loosen Up
5. Recognizing Recurring Mistakes
6. Conclusion

1. Repetition in Painting and Drawing

Repetition is a great tool for improving. It involves painting or drawing the same subject several times.

This allows for more focused learning, and unlocks some obvious (and less obvious) benefits.

2. Worse 2nd Attempt

Surprisingly enough, you may find that in your repeated efforts you actually do worse.

That’s to be expected.

The 2nd time around, working on the same subject, you lack that same spontaneity that characterized the first version.

You may also have some “arrogance” (very natural, not blaming you (;), and a feeling you “already know” the subject.

Don’t let that deter you from doing this. Even when you don’t notice, you are learning and improving.

3. Internalize

Drawing the same subject / scene several times, allows you to internalize a part of the process, and focus on a different one.

As mentioned, you may find some of your result to be worse, but other aspects may be better.

So take the good with the bad. 

Whenever you try an “extreme” technique, it tends to be accompanied by some growing pains.

Whenever I have a streak of great paintings – I am happy, but also weary of the fact it means I may not be growing.

4. Loosen Up

One side-effect of repetition, that is barely discussed, is how it sets you free and helps you loosen up.

Doing something a second time, and DELIBERATELY at that, makes you less worried about the end result. You can just paint yet ANOTHER version!

This freedom helps you loosen up without you even noticing. And it will show in some of the later attempts.

That’s especially true if you are as impatient as I am. The fear of boredom in the 2nd and 3rd iterations actually motivates me to try something different!

5. Recognizing Recurring Mistakes

That’s really the gist of this exercise. Doing repetitions of the same subject will bring to surface recurring mistakes that might have otherwise gone unnoticed.

And that’s probably the biggest benefit of doing this.

6. Conclusion

I hope this episode encourages you to give this exercise a try.

And by the way, creating a small preparatory painting for a larger piece, or even just a preparatory sketch – are also a form of repetition.

It’s up to you to decide just “how much” repetition you are interested in doing.

And with that, let’s move onto the artist corner!

Artist Corner

Today I talked about Samuel Colman, an English painter. He lived from 1780-1845, and painted mostly portraits and landscapes.

His landscapes are what really grabbed me about his art. It’s rooted in realism, with an added layer of surrealistic atmosphere

You can check out some of his works here: Samuel Colman. I also recommend doing a Google Images search.

And Here’s where you can find me

Check out my YouTube Channel – Liron Yanconsky

Or ask me questions on Instagram – @LironYanIL or Snapchat – @LironYan3

I hope you enjoyed this one. Take care, and we’ll talk again really soon,

— Liron

How I Choose Colors – Watercolor Painting Advice | Liron’s Podcast – Episode 71

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Today I want to teach you how I go about choosing my colors for watercolor painting.

We will talk about both the MACRO and the MICRO.

How I Choose my Colors – Macro

Colors on a macro level means – what colors do I even have on my palette? What colors are my go-to?

Generally speaking, there are a couple of criteria I look into when choosing which colors to purchase. Here are some of them.

Primary colors – I generally work mostly with primary colors. I don’t like convenience mixtures as much, and prefer to mix my own.

So I make sure to always have 1-2 versions of every primary color in my palette – blues, reds and yellows.

Temperatures – I am in the “I care more about the values rather than a specific color” camp (gee, that’s a long name!). But one thing I do pay attention to is temperature.

I find this is important for creating a sense of depth in my works.

Lightfastness – This basically means how much resistant the paint is to light. Lower lightfastness means that with continuous exposure to light, the paint will fade / change over time.

I prefer my paints to stay the same long into the future, so I make sure to use lightfast paints as much as possible, especially when it comes to works made for clients.

Range of Values – This is crucial for me. I tend to create strong contrasts in my works. And I need paints that can mix dark values. This is why I try to use paints that have a large range of values.

This is why I love, for example – Phthalo Blue. It can simply get so dark, which makes it very useful. Another paint in this category is Carbazole violet (and so despite it being a secondary color, I still use it for this specific merit).

Transparency – Lately I’ve come to love transparent watercolors more and more. I find they mix more easily and predictably.

This is a matter of personal taste really, so see what works for you.

These are all guidelines I use for choosing my colors on a macro level.

How I Choose my Colors – Micro

Now I’ll explain how I choose colors while working on a painting.

I get asked about this ALL THE TIME.

INTUITION

People always seem to wonder how I “knew” to use a specific paint somewhere.

The answer is simpler than people think. I developed an intuition for using different colors. This means I don’t know exactly what the end result will look like, but I do have a sense for what will work out.

Minimal Palette – One of my guiding principles are to use as few paints as I can. I find this leads to better color harmony (all mixes stem from the same 3-5 paints). But in addition to harmony, it also simplifies the work process – less decisions to make (;

Temperature – I talked about this earlier. When choosing what color to use, I almost always take temperature into account. Is this a direct warm sunlight? Then I’ll probably use yellow. Is it a mid-value? Perhaps red. A dark shadow? Blue.

These can of course be alternated. I spice up my shadows with warm colors as well. Shadows aren’t monotone.

Exaggeration – Sometimes I’ll simply exaggerate the color bias I see. So if there’s a building wall that’s slightly brown / red – I may paint it using a PURE red. It may seem like too much initially, but I find that I can very easily mute it down by glazing over it with blue, for example.

Most of this really isn’t science. Rather – it’s more of a habit, stylistic choice or trial and error.

See What Colors Work for YOU

The main advice I can give YOU, is to see what works best for you. Don’t worry about my own paints – experiment and see what looks good to your eyes, and how it works with your style.

And with that being said – let’s move onto the Artist Corner.

Artist Corner

Today’s featured artist is Manolo Jimenez. Not to be confused with the football manager of the AEK Athens team, our Manolo is a watercolor painter.

I couldn’t find much information about him, but he is a fantastic painter. His focus, from the works I’ve seen is on larger scale compositions, relative to the focal point. This means the center of focus usually takes up a small part of the painting. So it could be a large corridor in a building, with a tiny single figure, for example.

He is a member of the Association of Watercolors of Andalucia, and exhibits both in Spain and worldwide.

You can see some of his fantastic works here: Manolo Jimenez

And Here’s where you can find me

Check out my YouTube Channel – Liron Yanconsky

Or ask me questions on Instagram – @LironYanIL or Snapchat – @LironYan3

I hope you enjoyed this one. Take care, and we’ll talk again really soon,

— Liron

Plein-air After a Long Break | Liron Yanconsky’s Podcast – Episode 54

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Hi there! Today I wanted to share my experience of painting plein-air after a relatively long break!

Plein-Air Painting

So there’s been about a 1-2 months period when I barely got to paint outside.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you probably know just how important I think plein-air and painting on location is.

In my opinion, it’s a crucial ingredient in turning your paintings from good to amazing. Nothing can beat that spontaneity and full visual perception of being outside, in front of your scene.

After doing it for a while, photos start to feel a little flat and boring.

But Then I Took a Small Break From Plein-Air

So as I mentioned – I took a small break. And the result fascinated me.

In the beginning, I felt a little rusty, as expected. But it’s not like I took a full break from painting. I’ve been actually painting a lot – inside.

So here’s the fascinating part – I could feel just how much sharper my instincts became. I could immediately recognize how my composition was more on point. How better prepared I was to tackle the subject.

Another interesting feeling I had was that of slowing down. I felt like I’m deliberately working slower than usual, and I still maintain the same control (and you know how sometimes with watercolors – you have to be fast!).

Conclusion

So over all this was a big experience for me. It’s something I haven’t had in a while.

I hope you enjoyed reading about it, and perhaps this resonates with you, regarding plein-air, or anything you may have taken a break from.

Let me know in a comment below – did you ever experience something similar?

And now – it’s time for the Artist Corner.

Artist Corner

Today I talked about Andy Evansen.

Andy’s an impressionistic painter based in the US. His style is fairly minimalistic, yet has a strong sense of realism.

He started painting in the mid nineties, and studied under some of the greats, such as Skip Lawrenc, Eric Wiegardt, and my favs – Alvaro Castagnet and Joseph Zbukvic.

Here is his website, where you can see some of his work: http://www.evansenartstudio.com/

And here’s where you can find me

Check out my YouTube Channel – Liron Yanconsky

Or ask me questions on Instagram – @LironYanIL or Snapchat – @LironYan3

I hope you enjoyed this one. Take care, and we’ll talk again really soon,

– Liron

Paint More! Challenging Myself | Liron Yanconsky’s Podcast – Episode 53

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Hi there, Liron here!

Today I wanted to talk to you about a little challenge I have for myself, for the month of December 2018.

Paint More

My challenge is to paint more than I usually do. I would say I average at about 2 hours a day, for 4-5 days a week. I want to increase that to around 4-5 hours a day.

So far it’s been working really well! ^_^

Reasons for Painting More

There are a few really good reasons for me taking this challenge upon myself.

Accelerated improvement – I have experienced a significantly accelerated growth of skills in the past 6-12 months. I feel like I have a really strong momentum that I’d like to capitalize on.

I still learn a lot – I’m still learning so much with each and every painting I do. It keeps surprising me actually.

This is also noticeable when starting to work on a new painting. I always feel like I’m better prepared “this time”. And that’s because I am increasingly more prepared with each and every painting I do.

No Plateau – I haven’t plateaued in my skills in a while now. I honestly don’t remember the last time I felt significantly uninspired / demotivated to paint. Nor do I don’t remember the last time I feared the blank page.

I want to really maximize and capitalize on all of the above, to make the most out of this time period.

My biggest fear, always, is regret. And I don’t even want to give myself the opportunity to regret anything I’m doing now (;

Painting More – Results So Far

So far I’ve been doing decently on the challenge itself, in terms of time spent painting. I’m definitely not at 4-5 hours a day like I wanted to, but it has increased to around 3.

In terms of the process, I feel BRAVER. I’m happy to test my comfort zone and try new things, and I create in a very spontaneous yet immersed way.

I will keep at it and let you know how it goes around the end of the month (and year!!).

And with that being said, let’s move on to the artist corner!

Artist Corner

In this episode I featured Dax, an up and coming rapper.

When I started this podcast I made a decision to feature a large variety of artists, and different types of them. And this is an example of that.

You may or may not know, but I love rap. And this guy is someone I stumbled upon rather recently. I could immediately tell he is very talented, and probably also works hard to create his music.

Just about 1-2 years ago he was a night-time janitor, and now he’s starting to gain some success.

If you don’t like profanities, don’t look into his stuff (as most rap has lots of it). My apologies if that’s the case.

But if you don’t mind, I would definitely check out his songs. My favorite is a remix of a song by Tupac Shakur: Dax – Hit ’em Up

And here’s where you can find me

Check out my YouTube Channel – Liron Yanconsky

Or ask me questions on Instagram – @LironYanIL or Snapchat – @LironYan3

I hope you enjoyed this one. Take care, and we’ll talk again really soon,

– Liron