improve your paintings Archives - Page 2 of 3

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

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

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Android | RSS

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

Expanding My Artistic Horizons & Painting Beyond What You See | Liron’s Podcast Episode 99

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Android | RSS

In this episode I’m sharing my thoughts on the trajectory I’m planning on taking with my paintings and drawings, in order to expand my artistic horizons and create more, and evolve my AUTHENTIC creation.

Authenticity is Key!

The key here really is authenticity.

I want to create in a way that’s authentic to my artistic vision.

Think about it – why do some people simplify their work? Why do others paint hyper-realistically?

Why do some people go for abstract?

Technique and approach are SECONDARY to your authentic vision. If the vision is abstract – perfect! If it’s realistic – also perfect!

My Artistic Goals

I want to go beyond techniques, methods and “approaches”, and improve my skill of CONNECTING WITH THE REFERENCE, and seeing it with fresh and clear eyes.

I know it’s a bit “woo-woo”, but hopefully this makes sense!

Let me know your thoughts in a comment below, and feel free to reach out on any platform (:

TikTok – @Liron.Yan

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

LinkedIn – Liron Yanconsky

Pinterest – Liron Yanconsky

Instagram – @LironYanIL

Twitter – @LironYan

Realistic Painting & Auto-Pilot Impressionism | Liron’s Podcast Episode 96

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Android | RSS

Why do I want to experiment with realistic painting? How will it benefit my impressionism?

This is some of what I talk about in today’s podcast episode.

Realistic Painting for Better Impressionism

Lately I’ve been feeling like my impressionism has a couple of weaknesses. Mainly – I sometimes go into “auto-pilot” mode when painting.

And so, I decided to try and mix up some realistic painting into my routine. I believe this will help me further develop my accuracy and observation skills.

I hope this will allow me to better read the reference, and CHOOSE when to simplify and change, rather than “do what I already know”.

By the way – here’s my first attempt art cranking up the realism. A self-portrait based on a pic I took in the mirror, haha!

Tips for Realistic Painting

I also provide a few tips for tackling painting more realistically. Here is the gist of it:

PATIENCE. I cannot stress that enough. That’s, funny enough, the most important component in realistic painting.
Working in sections. In other words, focusing on small areas at any given time, and trying to get them to look as close to the reference as possible.
Working from black and white photo reference! This makes things SO MUCH EASIER.

I hope you enjoyed this one! Here’s how to connect with me…

Reach out to me

Here’s how to contact me:

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

LinkedIn – Liron Yanconsky

Pinterest – Liron Yanconsky

Instagram – @LironYanIL

Twitter – @LironYan

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

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Android | RSS

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