learning Archives - Liron Yanconsky

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

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

Manga Aspirations & HUGE Challenges on The Way | Liron’s Podcast Episode 105

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Today I want to share with you a new passion I started developing around MANGA!

I’ve been reading manga and watching anime for over a decade now, and somehow got back to a very old ambition of making my own.

In this episode I’m talking about my goals, what I’m currently doing and the challenges I’m facing.

Here’s a quick summary…!

What is my goal? – To create a one-shot manga chapter, from start to finish. These usually run at around 64 pages. I then want to get it published, probably in Japan.

This is a huge goal, by the way. Very few are good enough to get their works published.

Which brings me to the next point…

What am I currently doing? – To be good enough, I have a HUGE way to go, especially when it comes to drawing people in the manga style.

I have so much to learn in order to get to a publishable quality (should have made my manga in watercolor 😂).

What are the challenges? – The main one is definitely drawing people in the manga style. On the one hand, they are supposed to be somewhat realistic. Depending on the genre, you’ll see all sorts of different styles and approaches – some fairly realistic and others more cartoony.

But I do aim for a somewhat realistic style.

Then, on the other hand – it should LOOK LIKE MANGA. Not only do I need to practice realism, but also stylization and manga in particular.

To conclude, I have a long way to go, and this is definitely a long term process. I apologize if diving deeper on that takes some time away from other work, but I am doing my best to keep up with everything.

And I hope that in the future I’ll have something to show for it. And if you’re into manga – that’s perfect!

Thank you for your continued support.

You can reach out here:

TikTok – @Liron.Yan

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky Art

LinkedIn – Liron Yanconsky

Pinterest – Liron Yanconsky

Instagram – @LironYanIL

Twitter – @LironYan

Paint More! Challenging Myself | Liron Yanconsky’s Podcast – Episode 53

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Hi there, Liron here!

Today I wanted to talk to you about a little challenge I have for myself, for the month of December 2018.

Paint More

My challenge is to paint more than I usually do. I would say I average at about 2 hours a day, for 4-5 days a week. I want to increase that to around 4-5 hours a day.

So far it’s been working really well! ^_^

Reasons for Painting More

There are a few really good reasons for me taking this challenge upon myself.

Accelerated improvement – I have experienced a significantly accelerated growth of skills in the past 6-12 months. I feel like I have a really strong momentum that I’d like to capitalize on.

I still learn a lot – I’m still learning so much with each and every painting I do. It keeps surprising me actually.

This is also noticeable when starting to work on a new painting. I always feel like I’m better prepared “this time”. And that’s because I am increasingly more prepared with each and every painting I do.

No Plateau – I haven’t plateaued in my skills in a while now. I honestly don’t remember the last time I felt significantly uninspired / demotivated to paint. Nor do I don’t remember the last time I feared the blank page.

I want to really maximize and capitalize on all of the above, to make the most out of this time period.

My biggest fear, always, is regret. And I don’t even want to give myself the opportunity to regret anything I’m doing now (;

Painting More – Results So Far

So far I’ve been doing decently on the challenge itself, in terms of time spent painting. I’m definitely not at 4-5 hours a day like I wanted to, but it has increased to around 3.

In terms of the process, I feel BRAVER. I’m happy to test my comfort zone and try new things, and I create in a very spontaneous yet immersed way.

I will keep at it and let you know how it goes around the end of the month (and year!!).

And with that being said, let’s move on to the artist corner!

Artist Corner

In this episode I featured Dax, an up and coming rapper.

When I started this podcast I made a decision to feature a large variety of artists, and different types of them. And this is an example of that.

You may or may not know, but I love rap. And this guy is someone I stumbled upon rather recently. I could immediately tell he is very talented, and probably also works hard to create his music.

Just about 1-2 years ago he was a night-time janitor, and now he’s starting to gain some success.

If you don’t like profanities, don’t look into his stuff (as most rap has lots of it). My apologies if that’s the case.

But if you don’t mind, I would definitely check out his songs. My favorite is a remix of a song by Tupac Shakur: Dax – Hit ’em Up

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

Can You Teach? What Gives Us Permission to Teach Others | Liron Yanconsky’s Podcast – Episode 29

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What gives us permission to teach others? And to charge for it?? These are the questions I’d like us to answer today!

A Question in a YouTube Comment

I was asked about this in a YouTube comment. One of my followers there wanted to know – how do I know I can teach?

The funny thing was – I immediately knew the answer!

Listening Allows me to Teach

What I do is share my knowledge as I learn it. I don’t front or pretend, but rather simply share things as I learn them.

I actually feel very lucky. Building an audience on YouTube has allowed me to gain a lot of feedback.

What I do is listen to what you say, and react. Once I saw many followers started asking me about when I’ll create a course, or a book – I knew it was time.

Teaching Watercolor Painting

I’m relatively new to this medium, so up until perhaps 6 months ago, I haven’t even thought of teaching it.

But then comments started piling up. People were asking me to teach, and I started feeling comfortable with the medium. So I went for it!

Listening Has more Advantages

I really focus on that in the episode. Aside from helping me gauge when I can teach, listening has done much more for me.

It gives me new ideas for videos and podcast episodes (like this one!). It allows me to learn what my strengths and weaknesses are.

I also think my growth is consistent (and rapid at times) because I listen. I try to provide exactly what YOU want me to, as long as it’s “in my lane”.

It’s how I got my idea to start (and continue) Business Monday, or my upcoming series “From Watercolor to Pen Sketch” (that I probably will turn into a series).

To Teach You Have to Know

I do think that in addition to the above, in order to be a good teacher – you have to actually know what you’re talking about.

I think the perfect combination is having good intentions + knowledge and experience. I strive to hone and improve both of these.

If you can teach people something they do not know, and you come from a good place, you will have a positive impact.

Also, if you can provide others with teachings they CAN’T GET ANYWHERE ELSE – that’s the real magic formula.

I’m trying to leverage my personality in anything I do. It’s the one thing that makes me truly unique.

Conclusion

I really think there are two sides to this.

One side is being self-aware, and knowing your skills, strengths and weaknesses. The other is LISTENING to others (awareness that’s directed outwards).

I hope you enjoyed discussing this concept! Let’s move onto the artist corner!

Artist Corner

Today we talked about John Yardley. He’s a FANTASTIC British painter.

John has a very interesting life story. He was a banker all of his life. Then, at the age of 53 he decided to devote his life to art.

His inspirations are Edward Seago and Edward Wesson.

I love his style. He tends to not overcomplicate things. His style is less stressful and doesn’t necessarily require working super-fast. It doesn’t make you worry about everything being connected, but it works really well!

I love his unique color scheme as well.

You can read more about him here: John Yardley on ArtNet
And you can watch a really good APV video here: Watercolour Moments: John Yardley

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

And this is it. I hope you enjoyed this episode, and I’ll talk to you again real soon!

– Liron

Getting Punched in The Face by Watercolor | Liron Yanconsky’s Podcast – Episode 14

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Episode Summary

Recently I find myself being “punched in the face” by watercolor. What I mean by that is that just when I think I “got it”, I create a few terrible paintings with completely unexpected results.

I experience this most significantly with landscape painting, or with scenes that require a lot of “interpretational” work, and simplification.

The Solution

I find an interesting way of dealing with this issue – I sidestep it.

Instead of smacking my had against the wall, I simply focus for a while on different things. These things are mainly composition and portrait painting.

These are two different areas where I feel more comfortable, or that I have more to learn.

Sometimes you can’t force your way to success. You have to allow yourself to take some distance from the obstacle, and then, without even noticing, you’ll find you were able to get past it.

I hope this helps and encourages you!

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below (:

Artist Corner

In this episode I mention talked about Eudes Correia. Eudes is a fantastic Portuguese watercolor artist.

I love how he merges realism and a great sense of light and shadow, with some impressionism and looseness. He work in a style I find very unique, and I recommend you check out his work.

You can see his work on his website: https://correiawatercolor.carbonmade.com

Also, I discovered him via Instagram: @eudes_watercolor

Patreon

I recently got started with Patreon. My goal is to use the income from there to finally rent a studio close to my apartment.

This will make me x10 times more productive, and I’ll be able to immediately go up to 5 videos per week on YouTube.

Support me on Patreon

YouTube

Most of my online presence is on YouTube, so if you haven’t I highly recommend you check out my channel.

YouTube – Liron Yanconsky

Instagram & Snapchat

Lastly, if you want to see some of my works in progress, as well as final pieces, Instagram’s where it’s at. This is also a great place to DM me with questions you may have.

I hope to see you there!

Instagram – @LironYanIL

Snapchat – @LironYan3