Category: Painting

Cold-Press VS Hot-Press Watercolor Paper – MY PREFERENCE

Hi there! Today I want to quickly let you know about my favorite watercolor paper(s).

This really is a personal matter, so don’t worry if our opinions are different. That’s what opinions are for (;

Here’s the full video. For a written version, read on.

In Watercolor, Paper’s IMPORTANT

I want to preface this by saying that paper really matters when it comes to watercolor painting. It has to be of good quality.

I find that I can work well with simple brushes and ok paints. But the paper is crucial for success.

Cold-Press VS Hot-Press

These are the two main watercolor paper types.

Hot-press paper has a soft surface. Paint tends to sit a little more on its surface, and may take a little longer to dry.

Cold-press paper has tooth, aka texture. It tends to be a little thirstier in my experience. It tends to absorb paint faster.

I am an absolute fan of cold-press.

I love the texture and tooth. It’s very forgiving, and holds paint very well. It can be used to create different effects and “dictate” the focus in a painting, by using dry brush techniques.

An Argument FOR Hot-Pressed Paper

There is something to be said of the merits of hot-press watercolor paper. This type of paper allows for smoother transitions and edges. It’s considered more suited for portrait painting, and for works that require finesse and accuracy (which makes sense).

I also find that it’s sometimes easier to blend and soften edges in hot-press paper, though you have to know what you are doing. You usually need to dry the brush a little more (as the paper is smoother and a little more moisture in the brush can cause paint to spread more easily).

Check out this video I did on blending and edge softening: Watercolor Blending and Edge Control

Weight of Your Watercolor Paper

Watercolor paper comes in different weights.

I think that the minimum is 300gsm (grams per square meter). Under that you are risking with dealing with major buckling, especially in larger sizes.

I actually love to use 600gsm paper, but it’s not a necessity. That’s me being spoiled haha.

Favorite Watercolor Paper Brands

I have two brands whom papers I love.

Arches and Saunders-Waterford.

These two actually feel REALLY THE SAME. I think I read once those are different lines of the same brand, thus the similarity. Though I don’t remember clearly.

These can take anything, multiple layers, lifting, scratching, whatever!

The paper I most commonly use in the last six months or so is Saunders-Waterford.

Sketchbooks

When in sketchbooks, it’s sometimes a challenge to find one with good paper.

My favorite would be an Arches paper organized as a sketchbook (haven’t seen Saunders-Waterford in that format.

However, there is a different type of sketchbook I like, and that is Canson Montval (and it’s not even cotton paper).

You can watch my review of it here:

Conclusion

I hope this gives you a clearer picture of the types of watercolor paper I love using. this

 

Challenges in Watercolor Painting | Liron Yanconsky’s Podcast – Episode 24

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Hi there, in today’s episode of the podcast I want to share with you some challenges I’m experiencing in watercolor.

A 2 Week Plateau

For the past two weeks or so I felt like things were’t connecting the way I wanted in my paintings.

I didn’t feel like my results were up to par, and I also felt extremely out of control with the medium.

I actually have a few ideas as to the reason for this.

Advancing to a Higher Level

Usually when I hit that kind of plateau, it means I’m about to advance to a higher level.

This is something I consistently noticed over the past few years.

It’s almost as if there is something crucial I need to learn in order to progress. I maxed out on all of my current skills, and it’s time to move on.

Going Autopilot & Using Gimmicks

Aside from that, I have an inkling of an idea as to what I need to improve.

I got to this after examining the areas where I have this issue, and the areas where I don’t.

I’m only experiencing this when painting large scenes, mainly cityscapes. I’m not experiencing this when working on portraits or pen sketches.

My main conclusion is this – In some areas I tend to go into autopilot when painting. And I don’t mean the good kind of autopilot (flow, in the zone, smooth-sailing).

I’m talking about doing things without truly observing the scene. Painting things as I THINK THEY APPEAR, rather than how they truly appear.

A Side Note About the Artist Curse

As a side note, I want to mention a concept I learned from Mark (Draw Mix Paint YouTube channel, THIS video).

He says we as artists can never enjoy our art like other viewers do. That’s because we see it slowly built up, and so it’s hard to be objective.

I’d also add to that, that we have a specific, “ideal” vision we may compare the result to. The viewer has no idea and doesn’t care. All they see is the art (:

The Solution

For the next few weeks, I’ll try disconnecting from external influences and other artists.

What I want to do is always focus on the subject at hand. To truly observe it and carefully study it.

To think, analyze, sketch, prepare and so on.

Sharing the Journey

I’m really happy to share these insights with you as I learn them.

I hope this will inspire others in the future. I really want to show how this is a challenging journey on the one hand, but how it shows promise on the other.

With enough practice and perseverance, you can master the medium.

Artist Corner

Today I talk about Dan Burt, an American watercolor painter.

Dan has a very unique style of painting, in which he applies many, MANY colors. He actually prepares multiple pools of paint, and slowly uses them all for painting.

He paints mainly in Texas, Mexico, Italy and Spain.

You can learn more about him here.

And here’s where you can find me (:

You can support me on Patreon

Check out my YouTube Channel – Liron Yanconsky

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

Challenge Your Artistic Beliefs | Liron Yanconsky’s Podcast – Episode 21

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In today’s episode I want us to talk about how to constantly improve your art skills by challenging your artistic beliefs.

Inspiration VS Isolation

In my artistic journey, I deliberately put myself through 2 different time periods: inspiration and isolation. I alternate between these two on a regular basis.

Inspiration is the time to soak up new knowledge, and find a specific artist (or artists) to learn from.

Isolation is a consolidation period when I only focus on making art, and eliminate any external influences. I don’t look at other peoples’ works, and I try to deliberately disconnect from outside inspiration.

Challenging Your Artistic Beliefs

By revisiting the inspiration stage, you introduce “shock” to your system.

You find new things that “work” for you and your style. You learn of new ways to create the impression you want. New painting techniques and approaches.

This is the heart of this episode. I use this to challenge my own beliefs about the “right way” of creating art / painting / sketching.

This can relate to macro ideas like the entire painting process, or the preparation. It can also relate to micro ideas – such as specific techniques.

Going through the cycles

I find this cycle to be very rewarding. The Isolation period allows me to internalize all the new things I learned.

It’s precisely thanks to these two extremes that I was able to improve (as I believe) this quickly.

And this is what I wanted to share with you today (:

Artist Corner

In this episode I talk about David Howell.

David is a watercolor  and oil painter. What fascinates me about his work is that he uses NO PENCIL.

He doesn’t draw before he paints. To be more accurate – he draws several preparatory sketches. But he doesn’t draw on the watercolor paper intended for the painting.

I find this amazing and refreshing. His work also has a very gentle feel to it, and a great sense of light.

He does a lot of seascapes and dock scenes. You can read more about him HERE.

Also check out this interesting video on YouTube.

And here’s where you can find me (:

You can support me on Patreon

Check out my YouTube Channel – Liron Yanconsky

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

Impressionism Painting | Liron Yanconsky’s Podcast – Episode 20

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In the picture above is an Edward Seago study I did a while ago

Impressionism Painting

Impressionistic paintings have always attracted me, from the moment I discovered the genre.

I always loved the ability to represent what you see on paper, with the added value of your own interpretive skills, and your special flare.

The Zbukvices and the Castagnets

Immediately after discovering Joseph Zbukvic and Alvaro castagnet I was HOOKED.

I started seeking out similar artists, and paintings in that loose impressionistic style.

I also attempted painting in this style, which was a huge challenge (and still is!).

Edward Seago

Another artist I recently discovered that does impressionism in both OILS and watercolor, is Edward Seago.

He will probably be responsible for me getting into oils in some point in the not-so-far future (;

What Makes Good Impressionistic Art

I have my own opinion about what makes a good impressionistic painting.

This is my opinion, and I could be wrong about some things, or missing others. This is by no means a conclusive list.

Here are some things I noticed so far:

Accurate drawing – This is a must. This is the basis for creating a realistic impression of what you see.

Good sense of light and shadow – This is the second most-important item on my list. I believe this is as important as an accurate drawing.

We see the world in the form of light and shadow, and portraying accurate values is the key for creating realism.

Simplification and abstraction – Here shines the true spirit of impressionism. We are not trying to include every single detail we see.

We simplify things for the viewer, including only what’s ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. And the levels to which we simplify is a personal / style-related choice, but the impression we create still resembles the subject to a high degree.

Colorful / harmonious palette – To me color is secondary, but in some ways it can significantly enhance a painting.

When the colors work well together the good painting turns into a fantastic celebration of mood, atmosphere and temperature.

How to learn impressionism painting & how to improve

This is a question I don’t really have an answer for. I’m still learning this myself. However – there are some habits I noticed have been helping me with this.

Painting from live reference – This means either painting real objects inside, or real scenery outside. It means NOT working from photos.

I cannot stress enough how important field work is. It is an integral part of improving your visual language, which is what we are doing here, after all.

I also think it’s important, from time to time, to work from photos. The reason is that you can be more relaxed, well-organized, and practice the techniques.

Outside you have to hurry, the light is constantly moving and changing, and things are dynamic. Inside you don’t have that issue.

Learning from others – The way I approached learning this is by constantly alternating between two mindsets – inspiration and isolation.

What I practically do is focus for a while on learning from one specific artist who’s work I enjoy. The time-frame for this can range from two weeks to two months. I call this the inspiration period.

Then, I shift into isolation. I ONLY focus on painting what I see, as I see it. I don’t watch YouTube videos. I don’t look at other peoples’ art. I only focus on MY OWN WORK.

And then I go back to inspiration for a while, and the cycle begins again.

I find this REALLY helps me to soak up inspiration and knowledge, and then internalize everything and combine it with MY OWN style.

Conclusion

And this is everything I wanted to share!

Like every new skill, it can be a bit of a challenge. But with enough consistency you get the ball rolling and before you know it – you are an expert!

I hope you enjoyed this one (:

Artist Corner

Today we talked about Edward Seago. He was an amazing English painter who worked in both oils and watercolor.

He lived from 1910 to 1974, and led an interesting life. He was quite close to the royal family, and was even invited on a tour to the Antarctic with prince Phillip.

He produced there what is considered his best work. I personally love both his oil paintings and his watercolors. He had an amazing way of simplifying what he sees.

You can read more about him on Wikipedia – Edward Seago

And here is a Google Images search for you to browse and enjoy

And here’s where you can find me (:

You can support me on Patreon

Check out my YouTube Channel – Liron Yanconsky

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