How to go from GOOD to GREAT at OIL PAINTING in 2023

[Music] foreign if you've been painting for a few years and maybe have even sold a painting or two what steps do you need to take to reach that next level to produce quality work consistently to make sure that that work sells or even to make work that you are proud of well that's exactly what I'm going to talk about in today's video so if that sounds like you and you're serious about reaching your goals I want you to keep watching because this is for you jumping right in first things first if you want to go from good to great in 2023 first of all do you know what great even looks like and this isn't like there's some gold standard and I'm going to tell you right now what great is this is about your definition of great so do you have an example of a painting that really checks that box for you how about if you break that down into multiple boxes with very concrete terms so do you know what Great Looks like in terms of the painting technique used the composition that's employed what subject is being depicted how is that subject being lit what kind of reference would have been necessary to create that great painting how about the value structure or the color harmonies how specific or tight does the drawing need to be or where can you afford to loosen that drawing up how about your edges or the texture or Mark making technique can you picture really clearly in your head with the answer to each one of those questions looks like having a really clear idea about what this is is the most important step it is the critical first step to being able to move from good to great after all if you don't really know what you are heading toward how can you make sure that you're actually on track and so far I've been talking about this question in terms of one painting that might represent greatness for you maybe it's your favorite painting by your favorite painter but can you think about this in terms of a whole group of your favorite paintings this can be incredibly helpful because it helps you to notice what trends you see over and over and thus what are the kinds of qualities you need to make sure that you're bringing into your own work now once you have an idea of what great looks like the next question is are you able to accomplish each of those check boxes that I was talking about before are you able to create that kind of composition that you're seeing over and over in your favorite paintings do you understand how you can recreate that lighting or that value structure are you able to make those kinds of specific marks that you love in your favorite paintings do you have that control over the paint and command over your tools if you are able to do all of these things great that means there's very little standing between you and being able to achieve your image of greatness however if you aren't able to accomplish these things the next question is whether or not you have a plan that you know will get you there or do you have of the help of a mentor whom you trust a mentor can be really helpful at this particular phase of the journey because you have explored enough on your own that you could probably hit the ground running but you haven't really had enough time to spin your wheels so if you're able to connect with a mentor at this stage oftentimes that is the quickest way to make sure that you reach your goals and if you want to go from good to great in 2023 this is the time to go ahead and make sure you have a mentor in place if that's something you're interested in and you are serious about reaching your goals in this coming year make sure to check out the link that I've included in the description to find out more about my mentorship and to see if you and I are a fit to work together alright the next stage from here once you have a game plan is to actually work on building up those skills that you identified that your game plan is here to help you build up toward and while you are progressing through this stage of the journey the main question is are you working consistently is this truly a practice or are you often finding yourself waiting around for inspiration if that sounds like you knowing exactly what your goal looks like and getting help to understand what your reference needs to look like both of those things can go a really long way if you are feeling blocked or like you are just waiting around for that inspiration that isn't coming and this is where a mentorship can be extremely helpful so if you find yourself at this stage where you have the sense of what you think you should be doing but you just are struggling to maintain the consistency that is probably a sign that you need some form of outside support and then the final piece that I think just can't be repeated enough is knowing exactly what the complete journey is supposed to look like to take you from exactly where you are today all the way to that level of greatness specifically with regard to making sure that that plan helps you to build up all of those skills all those components that I was talking about before so your ability to accurately draw to control your values to compose the Right image and so on and so forth if you'd like to find out more about how I go about creating this kind of road map I just held a free Master Class earlier this month that is all about how to plan to reach your goals in 2023 to watch the replay simply follow the link in the description to sign up now from here I want to talk about some of the most common questions and sticking points in this journey and to go a bit deeper into what you can do to set yourself up for Success first things first if you have a general idea of what grade looks like but you are struggling to get a clear read on what those pieces have in common that you want to bring into your own work I would begin by creating a vision board that contains all of the art that you are truly driven to make look at it in one place before you proceed so rather than having a folder on on your computer that maybe peruse from time to time or scattered throughout your saved posts on Instagram are some of these favorite paintings I would make sure that you can view all of these pieces in one place all of them next to one another so that very quickly at a glance you can really take in what their visual similarities are I really like using something like Pinterest for this and this sounds really simple but I see this over and over with artists whose exact goal is to go from good to great they have a general idea of what direction they are headed and they don't think that making this vision board is really going to change the equation that much but as soon as they're able to see all of their favorite pieces in one place suddenly so many things click and they get that much more clarity about exactly what has to start happening in their own work and that's really that first step to actually allowing those things to happen for you next I want to talk about what to do do if you have a big vision board of all your favorite paintings but it seems to go in all sorts of directions and you feel like you were falling victim to shiny object syndrome if this sounds like you I would ask yourself if there is any work on that vision board that you really love but you don't feel like you personally have to create in order to enjoy it take those pieces and filter them out until you only have a vision board of the work you cannot live without making this is a really important step no matter where you are in this journey because it's really easy even if we're almost at that finish line to Greatness and achieving what we really want in our paintings to suddenly feel pulled in a direction that best case scenario is a big distraction worst case could really derail all the progress that we have put in and wind up starting us over at square one so no matter where you are in the process if you keep getting plagued with this fear that maybe you should be making this other kind of painting the best thing you can do is to pause take a breath revisit your vision board ask if there is some update that the vision board needs make sure it still reflects the work you are most driven to create and then you should be able to proceed forward with the confidence that you truly are headed in the direction that honors where you honestly want to go from here if you have a clear idea of where you're headed but you aren't painting consistently I found that the most common culprit is that your reference simply isn't setting you up to paint like your goal so if you want to paint portraits that convey emotion and tell stories but you have a model just sit for you in front of a blank background with a blank expression on their face it is no wonder why you aren't feeling inspired the same thing goes if you want to paint with Vivid color and Light but the lighting in your reference always feels drab if this sounds like you I would go back to that vision board and get really clear on exactly what you imagine the reference looked like for your favorite paintings get really clear on this try and picture that favorite painting as something like a photograph or a setup in an artist's studio take away the fancy brush work and Larger than Life color and imagine what it would look like to have that model standing right in front of you if you're doing this well you should have two main takeaways here the first is that oftentimes the reference really does look remarkably like the painting the artist has to invent very little to go from a really good reference to a really great painting but the second takeaway is that suddenly you realize how much care went in to carry reading exactly the right reference for the job how this probably wasn't just any old model in any old outfit with any old lighting Instead This was probably this really carefully choreographed dance of having the right wardrobe to complement the model's skin tone to complement the lighting to create a compelling composition from here you can ask yourself what would I need to get that kind of material to work from then make that your first priority once you have created the beginnings of a reference library that you know you can pull from to set yourself up for Success the inspiration should feel like it's suddenly been turned back on and that consistency won't be a concern anymore for me a big part of this was biting the bullet and prioritizing taking my own reference earlier in my art career I would obsess and waste hours upon days trying to figure out where my favorite artists got their reference material from we're trying to figure out how they could just magically visualize the scenes they had floating around in their imagination so that they could get it onto canvas but now I realize that the best paintings come from artists taking the time to intentionally create the reference that they want and that is what I did for the painting you are watching me create here and trust me I know that setting up a photo shoot or asking a model to sit for you to get that reference can be intimidating I have taken far too few photo shoots since I have really gotten serious about art making but every time I have just done it anyway I am reminded of just how powerful this exercise is and it really begs for me to underscore just how important and helpful it is to be taking your own reference the thing is when I take my own reference it fills me with inspiration in a way that is honestly difficult to put into words for this video there is something about having your own image that you yourself crafted that gives your painting just this extra layer of specialness for lack of a better word I am always so much more excited to paint off of a reference that I took rather than one that I simply found I am so much more likely to see that painting through all the way to the end rather than giving up Midway through because I simply get bored of it and I love knowing that because I took the time to create something new as my reference to work from that this is going to be the first time that anyone has seen an image like the one that I'm sharing so if this is the push that you needed to get out get clear on your reference and start getting the images you need to set yourself up for success can't wait to see what you do in 2023 and if you know that you want help to make certain that you level up and Achieve that greatness this coming year I have limited slots available to talk with artists to see if we are a fit to work together simply check out the link in the description to find out more about my mentorship foreign

Channel: Chelsea Lang

Views: 30,699

Keywords: oil painting, time lapse, art, painting tutorial, art tutorial, art time lapse, alla prima, chelsea lang, painting, oil painting techniques, chelsea lang painter, alla prima oil painting, chelsea lang artist, canvas painting, paintings, painting ideas, painting for beginners, how to paint, paint with me, oil painting portrait, painting videos, oil painting tutorial, art painting, portrait painting, how to oil paint, painting time lapse, oil painting time lapse

Id: -kxCiF719gI

Length: 13min 54sec (834 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 24 2022