So after a REALLY LONG time I’m finally here with an update 😂😂
First off – my apologies for taking so long.
I’ve been working on many different things, and haven’t had enough time to update here as well.
In addition, I must admit that the podcast(s) is where I want to feel fully free to post ONLY whenever I feel like it (unlike YouTube which is ironclad haha).
So here’s the gist of it:
Took a quick break from the manga
Lot’s of thoughts on where my next innovation will be
Submitted a painting for a pokemon fanart contest on eFour forum (which is the cover photo for this episode!)
I want to really thank you for listening and sticking around.
It’s always a balancing act – juggling creating art for the sake of art, working selfishly, VS doing stuff for you, posting more content etc.
I have to make sure both ends are fulfilled 😁
With that, I hope to talk to you again real soon! 😊🙏🏼
Take care, and feel free to reach out to me anywhere on my different social media channels.
Hi there! In this episode of the podcast I talk about a watercolor breakthrough I anticipated I’ll be going through soon.
Watercolor Rough Patch
I’ve had a challenging 2 months or so when it comes to painting. I didn’t feel like my work is connecting the way I’m used to, and the results were hit or miss. Got some great ones, but also some subpar ones.
This isn’t necessarily bad. It usually means you’re going through growth and raising your standards.
Sergey Temerev & Looking at Shapes
I gained an interesting insight while, by pure chance, stumbling upon a video of Sergey Temerev painting a spectacular cloudy skies scene (his speciality, it seems).
Here’s an example of a similar one by Sergey Temerev (you should really look into his work – it’s SO GOOD!!).
And here’s the specific process video I watched:
While watching it I felt like there’s something I want to try when it comes to the painting process. And that thing is looking at shapes a little differently, and dividing the subjects into shapes a little differently from what I’m used to.
The result was this small painting of the Bourges Cathedral in France.
I’m highly pleased with it.
I think it will be a bit hard to explain the exact mental shift I went through, so I do plan on addressing it in a future YouTube video.
But it does seem to be connected to wet-in-wet, and making the most out of every part of every wash.
I hope that makes sense, and that you enjoyed listening / reading.
And with that, I’ll wish you lots of good health in these challenging CoronaVirus times. Stay safe and healthy!
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.
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…
In today’s episode I want to present you with a new topic I want to introduce into my content and products, and that is… Self-development!
Art & Self-Development
For the longest time self-development, growth and actualization have been a part of my life.
It’s one of my core values to push myself to improve, both as an artist and as a person.
And now, I believe it’s time to introduce more of that into my videos, posts, podcast episodes and courses.
How I Got the Idea
My good friend Alex – A conversation with him made me realize how important this is for me.
I basically complained to him about something, and his reply was something like this: “Why do you insist on becoming a watercolor teacher? What interests you even more is self-development in art.
Hearing that hit me hard, because it’s so darn obvious!!
I ALREADY make this kind of content – Alex also pointed that out for me. Doh! I’m already making so much content revolving around the process, how to become better, habits to help you improve, creating with courage and passion etc.
So I already do this. Now I want to pour more of that into the content I create, as well as the products / courses I sell.
YouTube & Instagram comments – this is another thing that helped me realize this. I started paying attention to what comments I really vibe with.
I noticed something interesting. While I love comments about me helping someone improve their watercolor skills, what I REALLY enjoy is people talking about how I helped motivate them, give them courage to try, or encourage them to try harder.
That’s what REALLY makes me feel good. And producing content that will help people more and more with THAT, is something I’m very curious about trying more of.
Life Lessons Learned from Watercolor Painting
I recently posted a vid on this topic on YouTube, as a first dip into this new territory. For this podcast episode I cut out the audio and added it here.
If you want to watch the actual video, you can do that too.
In the video I cover the four major insights I gained in the last couple of years, from painting. Those are (1) Letting Go (2) Trusting the Process (3) Patience (4) Speed & Spontaneity.
I hope you enjoy this very first attempt, as well as future ones to come.
And I also hope to create some courses around my experience in this area too.
And with that being said, time for today’s Artist Corner!
Artist Corner
Today we’re looking at Harold B Herbert. He was an Australian painter who lived from 1892-1945.
His life story is fascinating, and his watercolor skills are VERY impressive.
