Tag: how to improve your art

I Want To Create Something Truly Great | Quality Over Quantity – Episode 114

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In this episode I want to share with you a new desire I feel to create something TRULY GREAT, and to focus more on QUALITY rather than QUANTITY.

* Quick links to previous episodes:
– Doing is better than thinking
– The Importance of patience & focus

Aspiring to be the BEST

One of my aspirations have always been to become one of the greatest watercolor painters on the planet.

This vision has become clearer and more detail in my eyes, as time went by.

I want to paint spectacular paintings that will completely AWE viewers. I want to achieve that 10/10 level.

Here are some examples of paintings I do think are close to that goal, if not hit it already!

This desire has gotten greater and greater lately. I think another manifestation of it was the desire to create my own manga / story. It’s also the reason I’m still in the writing stages, and haven’t even begun drawing – I want it to be REALLY good!

Quality Over Quantity

I generally believe in quantity over quality – especially when getting started.

I find that putting the emphasis on DOING, CREATING and moving forward fearlessly – to be very beneficial.

The same goes for growing an audience on social media. You have to let go of perfectionism and share more freely.

It IS a game of quantity too.

HOWEVER, lately I’ve been indeed feeling like I want to go more for quality. More for greatness. Even at the expense of communication and sharing.

Temporary Situation

It’s important for me to clarify that this is TEMPORARY. Once I feel like I gained the benefit of whatever it is I want right now – you’ll see much more of me.

And – it’s going to be BETTER quality.

And also – I’m far from quitting anything. I’m still planning on posting 3 vids / week on YouTube, emails, podcasts and posts.

It’s just a little less 😉

I hope you’ll accept this, and encourage me in this part of the journey.

I feel like it will be for the benefit of everyone. And some of you may not even notice a difference, so all good 😁

And with that, I’ll take my leave.

I hope you’re doing great and are feeling well!

I’ll talk to you again real soon.

P.S. my bad for confusing this for episode 113… 😂

P.S. 2 – Here’s where you can find me online:

TikTok – @Liron.Yan

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

LinkedIn – Liron Yanconsky

Pinterest – Liron Yanconsky

Instagram – @LironYanIL

Twitter – @LironYan

DOING Is Better Than Thinking – Artistic Life Lessons | Liron’s Podcast Episode 112

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In today’s podcast episode I’m talking about why I believe DOING is always superior to thinking and planning – when it comes to learning a new artistic skill or creating.

The Real Way to Learn

Like sports, music and many other endeavors – the only real way to learn in my opinion is to DO.

I had that experience with learning watercolor. Very early on I realized that I can spend hours watching videos and reading tutorials. But it was ME who had to learn how to control water and paint.

If I wanted to learn how to paint, I had to experience the challenges of mixing, applying the paint, failing with the timing and so on.

Writing My Story

The reason this topic came to mind was that I’m now experiencing this all over again with the story I’m writing. There’s no substitute to actually WRITING.

Then I can improve and fix mistakes. But I need to have something written first. You can’t really re-write what’s in your head only.

Planning & Learning Has It’s Place

I do believe it’s important to think, learn and plan. But I always believe they’re overestimated.

I had to do a lot of research for my story, its historical settings and so on. But every hour spent in research, in my opinion – should be backed up with 3 hours of creation, if possible.

At some point, you can fall into the trap of over-information and wanting to feel like you’ve accomplished something – by listening and watching videos.

So again – it’s all in the balance.

This is mine – find your own.

Now IS The Time

I think for many people – now’s the perfect time to create, with the Coronavirus crisis. So many people are stuck at home, being forced to take time off.

If that’s you – now’s the opportunity to write that novel you wanted, to work on that painting you had in mind, or to practice yoga (haha – whatever it is!!).

NOW’S THE TIME. Go and do (:

And this is it for this one.

I hope you found it helpful and thought-provoking.

Here’s where you can get in touch with me online:

TikTok – @Liron.Yan

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

LinkedIn – Liron Yanconsky

Pinterest – Liron Yanconsky

Instagram – @LironYanIL

Twitter – @LironYan

How to Improve FASTER in Your Art | Conscious Effort & Focus | Liron’s Podcast Episode 108

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In this episode I wanted to share with you a way, an approach, for improving MUCH FASTER in your art.

Conscious Effort & Focus

The idea here is to go BEYOND the norm, when it comes to practicing your art and craft.

Some examples I provide:

  • Instead of directly drawing figures from reference – try reconstructing them from simple 3d shapes.
  • Try drawing the head from multiple angles using reference, and then drop the reference and try to rotate and draw the head from your imagination.
  • Rather than paint a scene once, how about painting it multiple times, with a different goal in mind each time? Once – focus on values, then – temperature. The try to add or remove elements from it, make stuff up.

The idea here is to take our practice sessions to the border of our comfort zone. Not too hard that you get frustrated fast. Not too easy.

Right on the border.

These ways of practicing really require CONSCIOUS EFFORT, and you will feel tired afterwards (that’s how you know you do it right!).

Repetition

I want to give you another good example for conscious effort and pushing through the comfort zone.

I recently sketched the exact same figure 4-5 times until I got it right.

In the past, I would have moved on to a different one after the first attempt. This is better than giving up completely. But how about trying again and again until you get it right? This will REALLY help you push through and learn something important, I find.

Time is Limited

Many people don’t have a lot of time to practice. You may have a day job, a family, responsibilities.

This way of practicing will make you far more effective.

So if you only have 15 minutes a day – why not make them work like 30 minutes?

I hope this makes sense, and I hope you’ll give it a try.

Sometimes it’s hard to figure out exactly what to do to practice this way. If you’re drawing and painting, I gave you some solid examples. But if not – do your proper research and figure it out.

You will not regret it.

Good luck!

— Liron

Here’s where to find me online

TikTok – @Liron.Yan

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

LinkedIn – Liron Yanconsky

Pinterest – Liron Yanconsky

Instagram – @LironYanIL

Twitter – @LironYan

— Liron

The Learning Curve is Actually a SPIRAL | Liron’s Podcast Episode 107

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Art, creativity and the art business. In this episode I’m talking about the artistic skills learning curve, and how it functions as a SPIRAL. We learn and relearn things at varying levels of competence.

Feeling Like You’re Not Improving VS Actual Improvement

The gist of this episode is the idea of practicing consistently, but feeling sometimes like you’re not improving, or even going backwards.

I experience this occasionally, and often it’s a matter of your eyes and understanding improving.

You actually DO improve, which causes you to better recognize the faults in your own work. It also allows you to see more of the potential.

This makes it SEEM like your moving backwards, when in fact you ARE IMPROVING.

How to Recognize Improvement

My #1 tip for you to do that is to look at older artworks you’ve made!

Look at older paintings, drawings and sketches. Are you really moving backwards? Do you think the older work is better.

Often you’ll find they are of lesser quality. It’s just that your standards rose even more than your skills.

So the next time you feel that way, try revisiting old work and see for yourself.

And this is also why I HIGHLY RECOMMEND not throwing away anything. Everything you make – is worthy of keeping. Trust me.

And with that, we’ll wrap this one up. I hope you enjoyed it and perhaps gained a new perspective.

And here’s where to find me online!

TikTok – @Liron.Yan

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

LinkedIn – Liron Yanconsky

Pinterest – Liron Yanconsky

Instagram – @LironYanIL

Twitter – @LironYan

— Liron

Why Painting is SO Hard | Liron’s Podcast Episode 101

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Today I want to provide you with an encouraging perspective as to why painting accurately can be SO HARD, and talk a bit about the process of improving over time.

Painting Should Be Hard!

When you really think about it, the act of accurately putting to paper what you see is incredibly impressive!

Being able to portray a 3d object / scene in a believable, realistic or even INTERESTING manner is an amazing achievement!

With that in mind – of course painting should be hard!

Any small success should be greatly celebrated.

One of my favorite things about painting is that I may mess up 80% of the painting, but there’s a 20% I was able to REALLY nail down!

And that’s part of it.

The Learning Curve

Improving in painting is a long process. It’s not something that happens in months, but rather in years.

You can see great improvement within months, but true understanding and competence usually take longer (if you’re an anomaly – congrats!).

Here are some of the stages in my experience:

  • Learning the basic techniques and control of the medium
  • Learning to see things as accurately and cleanly as possible.
  • Learning to go beyond what you see verbatim, and make every subject YOUR personal impression of it.

That last stage in the list is where I’m currently striving to be.

It’s about turning the painting process into an interaction between you and the painting subject.

And that wraps up today’s episode!

Here’s how to reach out to me!

TikTok – @Liron.Yan

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

LinkedIn – Liron Yanconsky

Pinterest – Liron Yanconsky

Instagram – @LironYanIL

Twitter – @LironYan