Interview with Tom Shepherd! MINDSET for Improving Your Art | Episode 137

Hey there, Liron here!

Today I have a treat for you! I want to share my interview with the Amazing Tom Shepherd.

We collaborated before on a YouTube vid, and he then invited me over on his podcast for an interview.

If you’re interested in a longer conversation, diving DEEP on the mindset for success in watercolor and art, as well as some practical tips – I think you’ll really enjoy this one!

Tom’s such a great guy, and I highly recommend you check out his content.

Here are the useful links I mention in the episode:

Tom’s PodcastCreative Perspectives

Tom’s conclusion of this episodeEpisode Conclusion (skip to 1:08:17)

Tom’s YouTube Channel & Our Collaboration Vid!

Enjoy 😊🙏🏼

P.S. I’ve been very inconsistent in my posts here. This will definitely change in the near future, as I’m implementing a new schedule format.

I’m dividing my weeks now into BIZ WEEK & ART WEEK. And during BIZ WEEKS I’ll spend a lot more time creating content for you!

— Liron

3 Hacks to MASTER Watercolor Painting | Long Term Strategy – Liron’s Podcast Episode 92

In this episode I’m sharing with you three “hacks” I learned for continuously improving, FAST, in watercolor painting. This could probably also be applied to any other different drawing & painting medium.

Here’s a snippet of the hacks!

Hack #1 – Master Studies

This is one of the things that have really helped me expend my horizons and improve fast.

By doing paintings based on masters’ works, you “force” yourself to see things the way they do, and to create using a similar process to theirs!

This will help you improve, but also break your own patterns and make sure you never plateau.

Hack #2 – Plein-Air Painting

Plein-air, or in other words – painting on location – is one of the activities that constantly help me preserve my spontaneity and authenticity.

Painting inside all the time, and working from photos, can really limit the creation experience.

It can lead  to you following  the same familiar path you’ve been following for a long time.

In addition, it’s more detached from your painting subject. The photo has been taken for you. The process has been edited.

Painting outside cuts all interferences.

Many struggle with shyness or people looking at them. That goes away very fast. Also – help yourself by painting in more rural and less densely populated areas, if possible.

Hack #3 – Both Techniques AND Premium Finished Paintings

You want  to allocate time to both these different activities.

One – you want to spend isolated time practicing the basics and techniques of watercolor, without worry of producing a specific final result.

Second – You want to spend time creating the BEST, largest, most detailed paintings you can (and want to), and not just small quick studies.

This will also depend on your goals and style of choice. If  you like abstract art, simplified paintings or scenes – go for  it! But if you aim for a higher level of detail and impressionism / realism – this will be beneficial.

Conclusion

I hope you find these helpful.

Remember these are simply my suggestions. Figure out what works best for you – and do that ^_^

Good luck!

— Liron

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

Coming to NY, TikTok, LinkedIn & Plein-Air – September 2019 Plan | Liron’s Podcast Ep 90

In this episode I give you a quick rundown of my plans for September 2019. I’ll basically have to put in insane amounts of work. Wish me luck!

Here’s some of what I talk about:

Coming to NY!

I’ll be in NYC for the 1st-22nd of October. Really looking forward to this vacation!

I had a couple of extremely grueling months of work, and now it’s time to rest a bit and blow off some steam.

This also means, by the way, that I have A LOT OF WORK to finish prior to going, as I want to make sure everything is prepared.

Frustration Free Watercolor Course

One of the things I REALLY have to finish before NY.

I want to launch the course asap, as I’ve been working on it for a long time and I know so many need it (and are already waiting for it!).

I have to now edit all the lessons and work on the sales pages and website itself.

I believe I can wrap this up in 2 weeks or so.

TikTok App

I think this app has some potential to eventually overthrow Instagram. I want to start figuring it out and making sure I’m creating content there.

You can check out my TikTok here: @Liron.Yan

LinkedIn

Another place I want to put more work into. This is a good one to draw lines of similarity between art and business.

You can connect on LinkedIn here: Liron Yanconsky

YouTube Videos

this is going to be the real challenge… I want to film content for the entirety of October and have it scheduled in advance. I don’t really know if that’s even possible haha.

I may also reduce the frequency to twice a week instead of 3 vids. We’ll see about that.

And that’s mostly it. Oh, and one last thing…

Link to my daily podcast! Liron Yanconsky

Reach Out to Me

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

3 Tips for Loose Watercolor Painting (LET GO) | Liron’s Podcast Episode 89

Today we’ll talk about how to let go, enjoy watercolor, paint loosely and get the results you want!

This episode features audio from my YouTube video on that same topic. You can watch the full vid here:

3 Tips For Loose Watercolor – Summary

1. Small Paper & Large Brush.

This allows you to have more control. A smaller paper is more forgiving, as you don’t need to fill in huge areas and have perfect control over watercolor, and getting an even wash.

On the other hand, the large brush also forces you to give up some of your control, and learn how to PAINT rather than “color” inside the lines.

With that being said, make sure you use a brush with a good tip for those tighter spots.

2. Magic Wand Grip.

Hold the brush at the very back, far from the hairs. This again forces you to give up some control and loosen up, but it also provides you with more control when it comes to the range of motion.

I like to call this the “Magic Wand” grip. I do this whenever possible, and hold the brush closer to the hairs only when I’m working on very fine details.

3. Use Pure Paints.

Instead of mixing and possible over-mixing your paints – try using them purely. This saves you time, and the result is beautiful.

When I got started in watercolor I tended to REALLY over-mix my paint in the palette, so I would always get muted, grayed out paintings.

The cure for this – NOT MIXING at all – turned out to be something I really enjoy doing. And so I’ve been doing that ever since.

I hope you found these tips useful!

Reach Out to Me

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

You Only Need One Yes to Succeed – Artist Career Advice | Liron’s Podcast Episode 88

In this episode we talk about how to get things going and be more proactive, and how you only need ONE yes to succeed.

* I mistakingly say it’s episode 87, ignore (:

Grabbing Success Proactively

One common theme in this episode is GRABBING opportunities as opposed to waiting for things to happen, or to “be discovered”.

I believe that if you want to achieve something, you have to sometimes go for it and reach out. You have to ASK.

How I Sold My Book’s Foreign Language Rights

This is a story I went through several times.

In this instance, I decided I want to publish one of my books in a language different than English.

This is called selling a book’s foreign rights.

The advantage for the book author is that they don’t have to do anything. The publisher who purchases the rights does the translation, design and distribution.

And the author basically gets a percentage, like most book deals.

So how did I do it?

I REACHED OUT to over 200 different publishers, in several languages (mostly Spanish).

I got 196 NOs, 3 maybes and, at last… 1 yes.

And it was by a pretty serious publisher.

And that’s ALL I needed.

You Are the Driver of Your Career

If you want to go to places, you HAVE TO do things proactively. You are the one who wants to GET, so you have to ASK, and make the deal worthwhile. Always.

My book in question was a consistent bestseller on Amazon for the past 5 years, and so I actually offered real value to the publisher.

And someone eventually said yes.

Galleries & Magazines

I had two more recent similar experiences.

Galleries – I recently put some of my paintings in a gallery for the first time. This came after the same thing – a lot of reaching out.

Art Magazine article – I’m having an article published in a magazine in October (shhh, it’s a surprise so don’t tell anyone (; ). Same thing – reaching out.

I hope this episode encourages you to chase what you want and try getting it – for real.

Remember you always have to offer real value to the other side you’re asking from.

And this is it for today!

Reach Out to Me

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

LinkedIn – Liron Yanconsky

Pinterest – Liron Yanconsky

Instagram – @LironYanIL

Twitter – @LironYan