Tag: improve your painting

How Long to Get Good in Art? Liron’s Podcast Episode 75

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In today’s episode I talk about how long it takes to get good at art, drawing, painting and so on.

You Get Back What You Put in

The gist of it is this – the more time, focus and attention you put on a skill, the faster you’ll grow and improve in it.

The rule of 10,000 hours (I forgot who’s the person who originally came to this conclusion), suggested that that’s the number of hours of practice it takes to achieve mastery in any give skill.

This “rule” was later disputed, but on a basis that makes a lot of sense. Aside from time, it’s also a matter of the QUALITY of how you practice.

A lot of it is about being deliberate in how you practice. It’s about actively challenging yourself, trying new things and striving for new heights.

Then, the 10,000 hours rule becomes more relevant.

My Calculation

I currently put about 1-2 hours a day into painting. Sometimes it’s even a little less than that.

That means a max of 10 hours a week (assuming I paint 5 days a week). This amounts to 40 hours a month, or 480 a year.

This means it will take me a total of 20 years to get to mastery. I already spent the last couple of 4-5 years painting, so perhaps 15 more? (:

(In the audio I mistakingly say 10 years, and then 5 left, that’s a calculation error).

Every Skill is Different

Regardless of time, some aspects are easier to improve than others.

I find that anything that has to do with technical, motor skill based technique is easier to improve at.

Brush work, pencil technique etc.

The harder aspects are learning to see through optical illusions, see colors and values accurately, as well as some of the basics – composition, color theory, mood and atmosphere, telling a story etc.

These are the REAL challenge!

And to wrap this up, my question to you is – how many hours a day / week do you practice your skill, whatever that may be?

And now – artist corner!

Artist Corner – Ken Karlic 

Today I featured Ken Karlic, a contemporary watercolor painter who also works in mixed media.

What I find the most fascinating about his work is the large sizes he’s working.

You can check out his artworks here: Ken Karlic Website

And his painting process in these videos: Ken Karlic Videos

 

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

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