Oil Painting 🎨 | Let's catch up! (art talk, q&a, life update)

Hey, hope you all are doing well. It's raining today and I'm making this video to catch up and show you what I've been doing lately in case you don't follow me on Instagram, otherwise you may already know. I've done a couple of paintings which I'll be showing you. None of them were filmed like a proper time-lapse from start to finish apart from the eye sketch you'll see, but that went on my Patreon page. So I'm not making a separate video for each one, it's going to be a compilation of things here. I will answer some questions first that I've been receiving and then generally update you on the things that are going on. Oh, and then I'll show you what I'm working on currently because these paintings are already finished and there are a few ones that I'm working on right now. We're going to start with a simple but broad question, how do I get better at oil painting? This question has been asked in many different forms and ways and this is in general what it comes down to. So I can't say anything new here to answer this question apart from practicing a lot, doing deliberate practice, you know, when you set the goal and you know exactly what you want to accomplish, not just mindlessly painting something but trying to achieve a certain goal. But I can share a tip of advice that's a bit more specific and this is what I do as well. Put the notes on the wall or close to your easel in your working area to remind yourself of, for example, the mistakes you want to avoid if you've been repeating the same common ones or what to do. For example, my notes say check the symmetry and proportions as you go, you know, to remind myself to assess the painting every now and then in the process. Then pay attention to the highlights and lights. I usually leave the lighter areas and highlights for later because if you put them on top of the paint you have there, on top of a wet layer, it's going to mix with the paint underneath and it's not going to be a clean color anymore. And sometimes that's fine, that's what you should go for, but other times if you want a really bright or clean highlight on the tip of the nose or on the eyelid, you mix the right tone, the right value, and you just place it there like one time. You place it one time and you don't muddy it up. So, and these are the notes for me. It might be different for you. You have to remind yourself of things that are more relevant to your case, right? The other one is hues. Pay attention to the hues. It's a good reminder. Fourth one is no perfecting, leaving it alone, which is very valuable for me because, and for many people I think, because I tend to get stuck sometimes working on one area, repainting it over and over again, and at that point you're not improving it anymore. You just muddy up the colors and what you should do in this case is leave it alone and move on to something else, to paint some other part of the painting, and then return to this one if even necessary. And another thing that's related to it in a way is keep at the distance and several exclamation points. It's because I tend to get too close to the painting surface sometimes when I work on details, and I lose the sight of the whole painting, and I think it's not healthy for my eyes either. So, I have to remind myself to sit back a little bit, and yeah. So, all of these things are helpful when you have them in front of you, and you can see them right there as reminders. So, I do implore you to try it if you don't. You can write out your goals as well with a particular painting, the colors that you want to include, some inspirations, ideas. It's just useful to have in front of your eyes. Can we see some of your very first oil paintings? Do you remember when you did your first painting? Do you still have it? I can show you here on the screen a couple of paintings that I, the drawings rather, that I've done when I was four or five years old. My mom still has it at her house. And in terms of my first oil painting, I do remember it very well. I don't have it anymore, unfortunately. I painted a vase with flowers, and I have destroyed it the same evening out of frustration because it wasn't working out the way I wanted it to, which is not surprising, but I think that I would prefer to have it rather. Like, it would be cool to still have it. Tips for painting really pale white skin. Well, you just add more ultramarine blue. Don't make it so warm. Don't add a lot of yellow and red. Maybe add more titanium white to it, but also keep in mind that no matter which skin tone you paint, no matter which portrait you paint, you have to make sure that the dark areas are dark enough, that the areas in the shadow have the proper value. Because if you paint the whole portrait using only light colors, then it's going to be very flat. It won't have depth. It will look cartoonish and not realistic. So, remember as well to put the shadows, to put the darks there. Pay attention to values first and foremost. Which classical and modern period painters do you take as an example? Sargent, Zorn. There are a lot of Russian painters that are just amazing. From the contemporary ones, there are many, many people that, there are artists who I look up to and get inspired by. I would want to be friends with some of them because they seem to be like such cool people and the work they do is amazing. How did people react to your decision to become a painter? To be honest, I never announced it to anyone when I started. I was just practicing a lot. I knew that certain things that I wanted to do, but it's not that I had a discussion with anybody. I just gradually started to put in the work and try certain things. For those who don't know, I have a Bachelor of Architecture degree. I started painting with oils when I was still at university and then I graduated and I had some odd jobs at that time. I did some architecture jobs as well and kind of balanced that and started to pursue art more seriously. Somewhere around that time, my parents were really worried, which is natural. Over time, they became very, very supportive. My whole family is very supportive and my friends as well. So I think that, yeah, it was just gradually happening and when the process is gradual, it doesn't seem like such a big deal even though it is. It was rather a gradual transition than a jump into the unknown. So that's that. What is your favorite part of a painting? I interpret that question as what's your favorite part of the portrait to paint? For me, it would be painting eyes. I really love painting eyes. Which famous painters you don't like? Abstract art maybe? So this was a fun question to include because people tend to think if you're one thing, you can't be another. Yes, I can like realism and abstraction. It doesn't have to be one or the other. I've been mixing realism and abstraction in my work for years now. I find it to be very interesting to see how these two worlds can collide in one piece. In general, I think that there is no style that I don't like or appreciate. There might be works of art that I don't quite understand or maybe not my thing, but it's not the whole style. It might be a particular artwork, but I can't name a style that I don't like because I like so many things. But it's fun when people just put you in a box and think, okay, so you paint realistically, you must like this and nothing else. In reality, it's not mutually exclusive. Well, that's my opinion anyway. Is there a non-toxic replacement for turpentine? Okay, so I don't use turpentine or any solvents in my painting process. I have stopped using them a long time ago. I just use linseed oil as medium. You can use stand linseed oil, you can use poppy oil, safflower oil. There are many options, but you just use oil and you don't need to add any toxic substances to it. I only have odorless mineral spirits as well that I use to clean my brushes when there's paint that dried in them or on them, right? When it's really hard to get it out of the brushes, I soak them in solvent and then wash them. But this is really the only time when I use it. Generally, I wash my brushes gently with warm water and soap and it works great. So even that process doesn't require you to have solvents involved. And I wanted to say that because some people don't know that there are still a lot of misconceptions, I guess, about oil painting. Oil painting from centuries ago and modern oil painting is not the same thing. The process, the materials, the substances have evolved, the paints themselves, you know, even the varnishes, the mediums and in general, right? It was available to very few people back in the day, you know, maybe not very few, but it wasn't as accessible to people as it is now. Before, you had to wait for months, up to six months, to varnish an oil painting because it had to dry very thoroughly from the inside out. And now we have alternative varnishes that can be put on a painting as soon as the painting is dry to the touch. Again, it's just another example of how the things have progressed and it's nice to see. I know I carried away a little bit from the question, but I really wanted to say that. How often do you find yourself losing the joy of creating and focus on people's views instead? So I think it can be answered several different ways, but I do feel this way at times. But it's better when I don't use social media too much, because when I do, I get very focused on people's feedback about my art. And even though it can be very useful, it can also lead me in the wrong direction. I have to remind myself that I have to do, create, paint what I want to do, what comes naturally to me, rather than trying to please people or follow a trend or something like that. I appreciate people's views and feedback. Some suggestions can be very valuable, but at the same time, if I feel I'm not a hundred percent on board with that idea and I've learned it the hard way, I shouldn't commit to that project or this creative endeavor. Because inevitably, like any creative process, it gets harder. You can start with an exciting idea, but you still go through the ugly stages, through a lot of effort. As soon as it's going to get hard, if you're not very excited about the idea to begin with, you're just going to be in a bad mood. You're going to push yourself too hard, and then you will have to recover from the whole experience. And I've done that before several times. But right now, you just have to filter what is really meant for you, and is a good idea for you, and something that you will enjoy. Or it is something that's been maybe forced on you, or it's somebody else's opinion of what you should do. And in this case, you should listen to yourself more. I hope that makes sense. And it applies to many other areas in life, and I think you have experienced that. If not with painting, with other things, it's generally a life lesson we have to learn at some point. By the way, switching to another painting, it's a little study I've done. You can find it in real time on my Patreon page. Like the full painting process. Here's just a piece of it, but I do like that I could fit my palette in the frame, so you can also see the colors that I use and mix. Next question is, is it too late to get into oil painting? No, I don't believe that there is an age when it's too late to get into oil painting, or any creative endeavor. It would be more logical for me to see if somebody in their late 30s asked that question. The older you get, the more complicated it gets, because you have other things that take up your time. But I really believe that you can start any time, as long as this is something you really want to do. I'll answer a few more questions that didn't come from Instagram, but how have you been spending your days? So I've been in the Netherlands for a little while. I'm in the province called Zeeland, which is in the south. It's the same place where Van Gogh is from, which is really exciting, but I'm not in the same city. I'm in a little town called Koudekerke. Yes, that's where I am. Dutch is a very interesting language, and it's hard. After a few weeks here, I'll go to live closer to Amsterdam. I also have my aunt here, who I've never met yet in person, believe it or not. I will meet up with her, and there are a lot of museums there and exhibitions that I can't wait to go to. So that's going to be really exciting, and I have other plans there as well. It's literally so exciting. There is a partial lockdown right now here, but it's not too strict, especially if you're vaccinated. Most places are open. They're just closed pretty early, so hopefully most of the places that I do want to go to will be accessible. I have all the essentials from my studio to be able to paint. I don't have the easel here or a variety of tools, but I do have everything that's needed on the basic level, and maybe a little bit more than the basic level. So I do paint here and take walks and explore. Talk about your current challenges. I have been feeling a little bit of an imposter syndrome lately, you know what I mean? I have periods of time when I doubt my competence, right? I know that I can do a lot, and I am appreciative of things that I get to do, and I am working hard, but it feels like I can work harder, you know? I can do more. I can work harder. It's like never enough. Overall, I feel great. I feel like I'm in a really good place in my life, but if we do talk about challenges, then that would be the one that comes to mind first. You know, I think that it's not a foreign feeling to many people. If you feel it just a little bit, it can be a good thing, because it can be a source of motivation to do better, maybe. I would like to know your thoughts about it, and maybe share some of your current challenges, and we can support each other. Do you paint without a reference? Now, usually I do use references for my work, but recently I've actually attempted to paint without a reference at all. I have a few images as inspiration for it, but it is a completely made-up person, and it's not based on a specific photograph. It's such a challenge, but I like that. I think that it is something new, and it's not the same process. Even I started this painting from the background, which I never do, because I got inspired by these colors, and wanted to put them together to create a certain atmosphere from the start. I've been seeing this color scheme a lot. Here are some examples. These are literally the paintings that I have on the walls of the house I'm staying in. A lot of green, blue, paired with yellow tones, and I suddenly had this urge to include it everywhere. So, it feels fresh, is what I'm trying to say. This whole approach feels different. Now, I'm almost done with the portrait itself, but not the whole painting, and I think that's it. I just want to show you the progress I've been making with another painting, which I do have the reference for, and it is my lovely sister who posed for me, and here it is. So, I woke up quite late today. I managed to finish this last night. I'll be working more on it today. Excuse my voice, I'm still sleepy, but this is the first look at the work that I've done yesterday. So, I think it's pretty good. I will make a few adjustments here, like I'll do some glazing maybe on this part to fix some of the hues, but in general, I'm pretty happy with this part. I don't have my easel here, so I'm painting like this. It's taped to the wall, maybe not in the most pretty way, but it's fine. The only thing I'm struggling with is getting enough light, because the nights are long here, and the days are short, and I don't have a lot of lighting inside that can be sufficient in my view. That's okay. That's why I try to work more in the day, and wake up earlier, and work during the daytime, because there is more light that way, because there is light from the window, but well, it didn't work today, because I did stay up quite late, and then I just wanted to give myself more sleep. The face is completely dry, and the hair. I'm gonna oil it out and do a few corrections, but generally, I'm quite satisfied with it. The plan is to finish the sleeve here, and the background in the next session, so that's gonna be one more day, whether today or tomorrow, and then leave it alone, let it dry, and then I'll come back and work more on the background, maybe correct some things if needed, do glazing, and yeah, some of the final touches, and that's gonna be one more day, so two days. That's generally the plan when the painting is at this stage, but sometimes I need to come back to it a couple more times, then sign it, and we're done. And so that's the update, and this is the end of the video. I hope you enjoyed it. It's been fun for me. Thank you for being here. I'll see you next time. Love you, bye!