master watercolor Archives - Liron Yanconsky

Master Studies – Is It Cheating? Liron’s Podcast Episode 116

Today we’ll discuss the question – are master studies cheating? Is it okay to copy works of other people? Let’s get into it!

Master Studies

A master study is the recreation of an existing art piece, usually one made by an art master of the past, but could also be a contemporary master.

The intent behind these is LEARNING. It’s a study.

You use the study to get into the mind of that artist, and understand why they did things the way they have.

Here are some of the artists I mentioned in this episode, for inspirational purposes (:

Marc Folly – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD4fuUMH3Ts

Viktoria Prischedko – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZZIGDfgY0w

The classic school of thought, from what I’ve been exposed to – encourages master studies to be as close of a replica as possible to the original. This teaches you about hard work, effort, focus and patience.

I however tend to take a more lenient approach. I love to learn the basics behind the original – why the particular composition was chosen and the basic technique applied to create the piece. But that’s about it. To me, there’s a lot to be learned by doing a smaller, quicker version of the original.

The Benefits of Master Studies

Let me briefly list some of the HUGE benefits of doing master studies:

Learning from the BEST
Forcing yourself to break past your current level and comfort zone
Learning how much effort is required to produce something great
Opening your horizons and continuing to push the envelope and improve (preventing stagnation)

So… Are master studies legit? Is it cheating?

No! Not in my opinion. As long as you’re honest with yourself and others, as long as you DON’T take credit for work that’s not your own, as long as you mention you’re doing a study based on X artist’s work – I’m perfectly fine with that.

In fact, I do MANY of these, and have learned a lot from them!

So go for it!

I hope you enjoyed this one!

Here’s where you can find me online:

TikTok – @Liron.Yan

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Twitter – @LironYan

Dangers of Learning Painting From Others | Liron’s Podcast Episode 94

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In this episode I discuss the dangers of learning painting from others, whether it’s teachers, YouTube videos, DVDs and so on…

The Dangers of learning painting from others

Here’s a quick list of some of the dangers of learning painting from others.

Narrowing our perception – One of the main problems. By seeing other artists, following them and imitating their work process, we narrow our perception of what’s the “correct” way of doing things.

We end up doing things they way, without realizing there’s a HUGE spectrum of other possibilities we haven’t even considered yet.

Losing / not discovering your authenticity – That’s the most tragic problem. Learning painting from others can distract you from your unique gift.

I truly believe anyone has a 100% unique way of creating and viewing the world. The artists who are most appreciated have usually discovered their version of that.

By “copying” other peoples’ art and approach, you run the risk of never finding out what your gift was – the one you were the only one able to give.

Copycat – Talking about copying, there’s always the risk of becoming a copycat with no originality.

The solution

I’ll offer three main solutions.

Learn the rules – Physics – Watercolor does have rules – those bound to physics and water and paint.

You do have to learn that when you use more paint, the mixture gets darker. It is important to know and experience how a wetter wash flows more.

But once you learn that – it’s pretty much time to strike out on your own. The rest are things you can figure out.

Detox / Isolation – If you’ve been highly affected by others, it may be a good idea to go completely detox. This means to avoid looking at ANY artwork by other artists for a while.

This is a temporary solution only, you can’t live your artistic life in complete vacuum (well, you can… but I don’t think it’s fun or practical!).

I’m seriously thinking of going through such a detox myself. Could be interesting.

Balance – On a regular basis, try keeping a balance of how much external art, tutorials and guides you consume, as opposed to the time you spend creating purely, not worrying about anything else.

Conclusion

I hope you found this info useful! I’m still learning these things too, so I’ll keep you updated regarding my experiences and findings (:

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

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Instagram – @LironYanIL

Twitter – @LironYan

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

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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