So true! These days I feel my best are often paintings painted over a 'failed' painting. It was also a revelation to learn the most expensive painting in the world was in fact thought to be painted over another! .......Bought at auction in 2017 for $450,312,500, 'Salvator Mundi' (Latin for ''Saviour of the World'') is a painting attributed in whole or in part to the Italian High Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, dated to c. 1499-1510.[n 1] Long thought to be a copy of a lost original veiled with overpainting, it was rediscovered, restored, and included in Luke Syson's major Leonardo exhibition at the National Gallery, London, in 2011-12.[2] Christie's claimed just after selling the work that most leading scholars consider it to be an original work by Leonardo, but this attribution has been disputed by other specialists, some of whom posit that he only contributed certain elements.
@@harksta229 many of the 'old master' paintings were only partially done by the person they are attribulated to. Some were outright stolen. Look up Artemisia Gentileschi. According to art historians many works attribulated to her father were mainly done by her. Pax
And all underpaintings are failed painting in my case haha i come to expect any first layer is bad no matter how hard i try yet the second works well....so i just go for sketch composition
I don't know what to do. I've Avoided art allllllll my life, because I don't know whAt to do with the mountains of paintings which were left behind since someone decided they wanted many+++--- left me the rest. Some unfinished. Last summer, I FINALLY REPENTED and decided it was a sin NOT to use what was given to me. Now in 70's and just starting. To me, painting needs to be functional -- Will it become fun then? Any tips please?
Oh my gosh yes!!! I’ve never done a painting where i didn’t have at least ONE ( usually many more) “ I hate this! I’ve made a mess of it”) sessions! Tortured artist’s, that’s what we are!! 😄🎨
Before we learn to walk as babies, were we bad? Look at that crawling baby, he really sucks at walking. No. We were learning. We need to stop with this destructive, self deprecating attitude. Art isn't about "winning" or "failing" it's about finding flow and enjoying the wonderful feeling of being creative.
I would add this. The light in the room where you are creating the art matters. After you cover the canvas fully with color, take the painting off the easel, and look at it in different lighting. Verify that the overall painting key is not too dark or too light.
"Nobody care about the final results, except you." This is HELL DAMN freaking TRUE. When I understood that, I fell so free about the process. Thank Florent !
Man, you just appeared on the horizon like Moses with Ten Commandments and delivered me out of woods! It is advice every painter, and any creative person needs. Thank you.
@@dennisp1104 Relax, Buddy. Read my post once again. I am NOT referring to the ten commandments. I am referring to 'the way' Moses 'appeared on the horizon' with much-needed Ten commandments. Chill. Breathe in. Breath out. And Do some painting. All is fine.
I've actually never posted a comment on any kind of form or video but I was so incredibly excited about what you had to say in this video it is not even funny. I'm 68 years young and I'm just learning how to oil paint and how to draw. I spent $2,000 to take a painting course to learn how to paint in one year and was so overwhelmed and bog down by all the rules and anyway I was overwhelmed. So through your video I felt like I was released from a cage. What started out as being a fun retirement Hobby turned into a burden and yet I refused to give up, I went for several weeks without painting at all because it was so anxiety-producing. So I just want to thank you I'm so grateful for your videos and I will be joining your patreon and I look forward to having this return to a very fun fulfilling Adventure.
This man is is down to earth with his teaching. He is also a great speaker. He is truthful and sincere and you can tell his teachings are thru trial and error. Most successful men and women are successful by learning thru their mistakes. Very well done my friend.
Be yourself first and be true to who you are. The only artist that you should compete with is the artist you were yesterday. If you are open to learning something along the way, the only failure is when you don’t do it. Thank you for your valuable teachings.
I love this!! Thanks for sharing!! Brings me great peace to know that the only person I can strive to be is the artist who grows and learn from my mistakes and better than I was the day before.
What's funny is, all the stuff you said about using a good surface, not adding too much medium, keeping your process simple, is all stuff that will actually make it more archival, too!
Excellent advice. I would only add that always use a mirror, even in the sketch phase, to make sure it's balanced. I've regretted using a mirror too late in the process.
A good thing: walk away, yes! Walk away and then periodically return and just glance at it.... pretend it's not yours, what is off? Walk away again. Get your mind and your eyes on totally other stuff. Go back and forth until you see things anew and/or feel more open to moving forward.
I wish I knew that the " art teacher" my dad sent me to, was an idiot. He told a 10-year-old girl she had no talent and that it could not be taught. He crushed me and my dream. I never picked up a paint brush again. Flash to 60+, now learning and doing much better than I ever thought I could and having fun doing it. I totally get what you said about it being about you, what you love, what your vision is, not anyone else's. Thank you for this list, it is a great learning tool.
Hi its 440pm here in jackson michigan. I wanted to say thank you i appreciate every video that you put on here. You have given me more courage to start serious painting again. I am a self taught artist and i get extreamly discouraged with the outcomes of my paintings, when i feel that way i sit , breathe, and i start watching your videos all over again and that keeps me going as an artist and my love for painting. Sometimes i feel that im not good enough but again i watch your videos and gives me a differsnt way and more motavation to keep going. So thank you your awesome keep being ypu.
I started 8 days ago (after a decade of fear of failure!) and I love it! I wish I had known how simple it truly is to paint with such fluid and opaque paint.
I just wish I knew how enjoyable painting was. I had a fear of oil, actually, a fear of all paints. Then I decided to give it a shot and haven't look back. I look at techniques other painters use, if I like the outcome, I will continue to use it, If not, I'll set it aside and maybe try again later. It's frustrating and relaxing and still have a lot to learn. Your videos have been an inspiration to me, whether mentally or technically. Thank you
@@bio-plasmictoad5311 I couldn’t agree more. After several years of watercolor ( which I adore) I got into oils. I almost felt guilty about how quick and easy it was in comparison! Make a boo boo in watercolor? It’s a big deal…..make one in oils?….no problem, just paint over it!
I think the most important thing when you first learn oil painting is finding a good art teacher. Not always easy as there are many bad teachers out there. One who is good at teaching you to mix the correct colours and tones. Once you are confident enough then you can go out on your own. But you need to learn the basics of colour mixing and getting the tones right first.
Thank you. #10 is the best advice. I have been struggling with the pressure people tell me. Loosen up your paintings. I can not. I love detail and realism. Thank you, thank you!!!!!!!
I’ll second that one - but the problem usually comes from jumping in too early on the details. Some famous artist wittily said that you're not supposed to sniff the painting anyway, but enjoy from a bit of distance. :)
All great tips! I love painting because I don't have to be perfect. I can be completely abstract. I can break free from ASD and OCD. If you're the type of person to require perfection, I've got a tip. Before you paint anything just grab a colour and scribble quickly with the brush. Now you've messed up your canvas and don't have to worry about about making a mistake or being imperfect.
Don't be a painter your not suppose to be. I love your advice and you gave me the confidence to move forward as a beginner trying different techniques! Thank you!❤
I would maybe add getting out of your own way. I set so many assumptions in stone that I would exhaust myself trying to conform to them instead of just having conversations with the piece as it tells me what it needs. Thinking of it as work instead of an adventure. My first impressions are like the first marks. They are just placeholders for what comes next. I'm glad you tried all these things so you didn't wonder about them while following rules and not understanding why!
I can relate so much to what you are saying, i just started with oilpainting and the first ones really challenged me in almost all points which you mentioned 😅 but through the whole process of failure and sleepless nights i really learn so much about myself and the process of creating. Thank you for the video!
I loved this so much. I love your view on art. You have a heart of a poet. I was wishing and waiting for your new video. I needed this. Thank you. Great value as always
I’m very New to painting, and I get really nervous when I start to paint, and I start to rush everything because I want to see the end result to see ”if I am any good at this” XD Sometimes, most of the times, I can even feel my heart beating so fast. Recently I’ve been able to calm myself and enjoy painting, but it took a while :)
This was such a very helpful, informative, and encouraging video - I'm hooked! Thank you so much for your generosity, sharing your wisdom and hard-earned insights. As someone who's just rediscovering the love of making art, I find content like this very refreshing, encouraging, and helpful to just get going in the right direction, or in a more helpful and constructive direction. Fantastic video! Merci!
Your comments are not only important for beginners, but also for those of us who have been painting for many years. I was particularly struck by your point about technique not being more important than subject - we can all get obsessed by technical questions; if you want to pursue them, by all means do; but they shouldn't be your primary focus. Very useful video, thank you.
I’ll be sharing this as its brilliant.. Thank You .. Every child should be taught art this way.. Be yourself.. Don’t be influenced by an art teacher who doesn’t respect your individuality.. Explore your own world, who inspires you and who you want to learn from.. I love to learn from J.M.W. Turner. He was brave and the world didn’t understand him yet he had fun and enjoyed his art.. Humanity needs to have fun and painting in oil is amazing.. I taught a class of 7 year olds to paint in oil.. It was Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee.. The children all painted The Queen in Oil .. If a child can paint in oil so can anyone.. I taught them to paint, keeping their colours clean, using a pallet knife.. Using a very little medium and a different brush for every colour.. The results were pure colours with a child’s imagination.. Oil is the most flexible medium, which is why it’s so popular.. And yes … Take time.. Life is happier in the slower lane sometimes! ..
More pure gold 🙏❤️. Thank you for your generosity and your honesty Florent. #10 is literally priceless. I’ve wasted about 13 years wrestling with digital painting (from a traditional background) and only recently had the epiphany that the digital medium is just not me. More importantly, I realize that I am just fine with that. I have gone back to what feels comfortable for me which is working with traditional tools. Let’s just say that #10 really resonated with me 🙂
Aww thanks for the tip about boards with gesso. I mostly use canvases or pads of mixed media paper but would like to do some large works - I put too much pressure on myself with canvases because they cost more and it is never my best work 😅 my tip is to know when to stop as I am a massive over-blender, but if not take photos along the way, so at least you know in retrospect that you should have stopped, and maybe you can go back 😅
I have to be honest and honestly it feels great to say this. You explain it so well, so even if can understand what you are explaining. I always love to draw, and was decent at drawing people's faces, but I always wanted to paint with oil colors. For the last 35 years i have been a sign painter. I have been lettering with enamel based paints and have done so,even portraits with them that came out decent. So when I tied my hand at oil painting, I thought it would be basically be the same technique. It wasn't, so I watched many hours of differant artists, and still I didn't click. Feeling miserable after painting for hours, only to then whip off hours of work, I found your videos and it honestly made sense to me. It finally clicked! It's only been a few days, but I look at everything in a differant light, and have been painting with more direction. I know I'm a beginer and my paintings will be awful compared to someone who has been doing it for years apon years, but I love painting, am learning new techniques and it's so exciting, even to fail. I am very sure to that one day in the future I will be doing decent potraits that I am proud of. Practice and time. Thank you very much I am very grateful for your videos. GOD BLESS EVERYONE
i'm taking a painting class right now as someone who's never properly learned how to paint and I'm struggling, but your videos are helping quite a lot!! thank you!!!
I have a unique problem. I am 70 years old. My first degree was BFA in oil painting. I am an experienced artist and musician. Two years ago my heart disease began to express itself. As my heart got worse the oxygen level in my body decreased. Three months ago at what I hope is the end of a long road with my health I had triple bypass surgery. Before the surgery I had been drawing mostly for shows and other art work such as commissions. After surgery I wanted after years away from it to start oil painting again. But because of the lower oxygen level in my body over two years I found out that I “lost” oil painting. I mean my brain forgot all I knew about oil painting which was considerable since I had a degree in it. Now I feel I am starting at the beginning again. It is embarrassing for me. Your channel is helping me to remember and make progress toward mastery again. So thank you. I just subscribed.
As an older painter, I think this is all good advice that will be mostly ignored, because it's part of the process you will go through as an artist. You need the experience to learn it all. (aka youth is wasted on the young) But I did enjoy the video.
As a beginner- I use the cheapest canvas pad ( not even stretch canvas) and practice often, will update to stretch canvas and high quality canvas as my skill progress- great advise as usual 💕- your passion is inspiring and it shines through 🥰
I’ve just spent the past week painting over my earliest paintings from ten years ago that just didn’t work and I am very happy with the results and as for mediums I just use the paint straight out of the tube . There have been times when I had set out to do a painting by putting a drawing down first only to find the painting goes it’s own direction as I get frustrated with trying to be controlled with a framework so the way I paint is messy and loose and it’s me not someone else painting. I let the paint tell the story because that is what painting is , telling the story that is within you and you’ll be surprised what shows up when you put paint to canvas
Most valuable advise, as a first time oil painter. I’ve been painting with acrylic paints and the biggest challenge I’ve taken upon myself is painting my two beautiful grandchildren. Yeh, I think I’ve gone crazy. Love the way you express yourself with so much love and patience and you want each artist to flourish and learn with this advise. Thank you sooo much.
Hi Florentino. I have been oil painting for years however watching this video was such a good reminder of some important basics that can get lost in the myriad of information we receive. You reminded me that it’s okay to keep it simple. That simple does not mean my art is of lesser quality. Thank you.
Thank you, I’m halfway (should say “was”) through sorting all the things you were saying! Now thrown all that out and have fun. Funny how we make things complicated when all you want is to enjoy. 😂😂😂😂
Thank you for your sincere and encouraging video. I am feeling so bored at my art class and I feel like i can be more myself and have fun learning on my own. Not everybody has to paint the same way as you say. Being original and unique is much more interesting ❤
My future self definitely appreciates my present self watching this video right as I'm starting to learn oil paints. 🙏 This was so helpful and comforting as a beginner artist going into the process! Thank you for this video, you can tell these are genuine, relevant insights to any artist. Much much appreciated!!
Inteligent and practical advice, inteligent also, thank you. I am following your channel for many years now and it is very nice to observe how mature and wonderful you and your art are becoming. Thanks for sharing the process an go on !!!!
Your creative advice is spot on. I recently decided to pick up different media tools like color pencils, graphite pencils, acrylic inks and other mediums and I have six or seven paintings that are not comlpete in oil and acrylic. I usually come to a wall that stops me because of a technical problem that I feel I can't solve so I set the work aside because continuing on would surely be a failure and I don't want to ruin a decent idea. It's time to take a few daring chances and finish those...if I'm not satisfied at least I might learn what to keep and what to ignore on the next study and painting. A great coaching video! Thank you!
Oh well it was just today I told myself to stop trying to do wet on wet and do thinner layers that dry in between sessions. Ha ha. Now that I finally got the poppy seed oil to slow drying time. I have all other oils too. So fat over lean. Besides it gives a beginner a chance to do more painting because in my mind it’s kinda like doing three different paintings letting it dry in between. Not exactly but yeah.I concede. I need to do it the easier way for some time. Took me awhile! Felt like you were talking to me! On a couple other points too. Thanks as always.
I mostly paint this way now. Paint one until it's wet, and move on to another. I can paint wet on wet however. I've found that the type of brush you use, and how you hold it helps. A soft brush like a sable will blend the paint, which you may not want to happen. A boar bristle brush can be loaded up with paint, and held using the side of the brush to slide the paint on. You don't actually touch the brush to the surface, only the paint. Using the end on the other hand will remove the paint you are trying to cover. Starting thinner works best most of the time, unless you are painting from life.
@@beccagee5905 yes. a light touch helps a lot with wet on wet. I watched Carder do a horse head. Maybe he had done it before but he was careful where and how he put each application of paint and had the colors he wanted all pre mixed. He rarely went over the areas he’d applied paint already. Well he might have because there was fade out and back in so the video wouldn’t be all real time thus too long. It was a great horse head but reminded me of a kind of paint by numbers organization. I know I make a lot more work for myself by being less organized type but I’m a student so it will teach but yes I am going to the wet on dry process until I ever get a very satisfying color portrait! Be a a year or more and so...I might have a happy accident and I will account for there are always improvements that can be made but it’s important to know when it’s time to quit and leave it be and not worry over improvements too much. Or it would not be very fun ever. I think wet on wet for capturing likeness is indeed a challenge for experienced artists! Doing flowers and such would suit a student better while learning wet on wet. I’ve figured out quit a bit. I also read once the Painting Alla Prima 2 by ....hmmmmm but he loves burnt sienna and he doesn’t really do eyes. He’s great though! I don’t read many such books. It was recommended and expensive but I found it in pdf form for $9 so thought what the heck. Just doing and practicing is how I learn the best but it has really helped me following Farges two courses and I did the patron thing a few months too for a little extra explainations plus have seen nearly all his UA-cam posts. Learning for me is weird. Always has been but I get it in the end just what I call the hard way....mistakes and repeated mistakes as well! Dense? Not really. I have focus issues I think and worse now I’m 68. I’ll deal with it and keep on a going. It took me too long to get this committed....and I haven’t got my whole life in front of me anymore! Thank you about the hog bristle. I have just gotten some extra long kind of real quality I mean real hog and Chungking or something. Light touch. I had to remind myself that one dozen times! And your right....really really light some places....like paint sliding off description. But then there is me and my weird brain....I like stiffer paint! Ha ha. Just a contrarian I guess.
As always great video, I'm 8 years into painting. I'm just now learning oils this last year. I consider learning painting as a mastership skill. Everyone's learning time is different, it's a journey. I paint many subjects although plants, insects and flowers i'm always gravitated to. I always find something of value in your vids thank you for making them. I'm a thinker and like to analyze so you really make sense to me. Thanks again from Canada
0:00 right it took me twenty years to find out that the old masters put a piece of wood underneath the canvas and applied at least three thin chalk ground layers with an iron spatula and fine sandpaper until the canvas was completely smooth and no cloth fabric visible.
Oh lordy, I've learned so much more in the last 1/2 hour than I have in a long time. Thank you so much. I started years ago with oils then went onto watercolour but have had a passion to start oils again. I'm going to give it my all this time. X
Paint detail if that is what draws you. My eye delights in detail and this is where I find beauty. Your advice to go with what we enjoy doing and naturally are attracted to, has lifted my day.
Very nicely, very immaculate discourse. All beginners should go through before plunging in. The best part is Paint like yourself. If painting induces stress, nothing worse can be this.
I'm still about to start my first oil painting. I'm glad I've watched your video; I've gained so much insight! Honestly, I'm feeling anxious to start my first piece but your reminders took me back to the feeling that painting is an activity to relieve myself from stress. Be an artist, not a machine. ❤️
I'm starting my first one too. I would love to hear how you did. I'm starting with the monochrome scale to figure out blending and then the color wheel for more blending and understanding. I can't wait. How'd yours go?
I love the "prioritize fun" section of this video. I began painting because I was drawn to it naturally. I loved it and I was relatively good at it at the beginning. But once I really started to focus on it, I wanted everything I did to be "great". I realized I was so tense while I was painting and only focusing on the outcome instead of having fun. BREATHE - your breath will show you if you are tense or not. Thanks for the video-always great content!
You are amazing! I loved this video sooooo much! I am a professional painter, but I was so unhappy with the direction of my work. Since the pandemic started I have barely painted but drawn or worked with wet mediums on paper, trying to figure out in which direction to go. I had worked abstractly for years but found myself really deeply drawn to representational world for the first time in a very long time. Also I had not worked with oil for ages because I am extremely sensitive to solvents. Just recently I have been working with oil and gave up on trying to work so much with drying mediums, etc. that force me to wear a respirator constantly. I’m still figuring it out because I don’t want my work not to have any brushstrokes visible and just linseed oil (if I thin down too much as you’ve discussed here) can flatten everything out. Just in the last month or two I have realized that my ability to see with great detail and render it but also my love for looseness and not getting too tight are assets in my own work. And slowing down and losing myself in the process and feeling my live of the subject matter are what give my paintings life. These things that I’ve avoided for years are the things that give me great joy! And for instance a painting I’m making right now I wished I could have had considered for an exhibition but I love the piece and don’t want to compromise it. So instead I offered one I made earlier. I recognized that my work takes as long as it takes and forcing it into a rushed situation will damage the point of my making the painting. Anyway, I wish I had know all ten of the things you shared here long ago. Thank you so much for sharing them with me and others. It’s clear to me that you know what you’re doing because as a longtime artist, your attitude in this lesson is one that resonates with me: it’s a sense of deep understanding and generosity derived from the peace of having grown through your work. Thank you, again!
Critique at 6:32 I think; it says don’t make paint too stiff or too fluid, I am glad we got both visuals for what stuff and runny is for the paint but I think if you have an idea of what you think the paint consistency should be it would’ve been a huge leap for some people. No hate, I love the channel keep it up just subbed.
I just started oil painting, and I think it is a good idea to use sketchbooks for oil painting than canvases. For it makes me to think my painting as practice like many pencil sketches.
Number 8 is pretty universal and is analogous to the writing version: Write drunk, edit sober. Most of them actually have parellels to other art forms!
Thank you, Florent. You're No. ten tip was so true. I'm sure so many of us have been frustrated trying to achieve something we don't really believe in.
Hello. I paint on canvas boards in packs and 2 packs of 60x80 canvas panels. I don,t like canvasses. I always gesso my panels before i paint. Thats the first thing i prepare and do so i have allot of panels to paint and work on.
Paint like yourself !! Be yourself ! Very powerful!! Thank you ! I’ve been struggling with this concept!! I’m a very detailed person and trying to paint loose is a challenge!! Thank you for this ! Makes me rethink and relax more!
I am so glad that I watched this video before I started painting. You address many concerns that I had as a typical perfectionist. It is like you knew what I was brooding about before I started. You spoke to my heart! Thank you, Florent.
I listened to this 6 months ago when I started. I listened again and now I REALLY get it. Thanks so very much for sharing these very important tips. Merci!
'Failed paintings' are just really colourful underpaintings.
Thank you so much... yes ..be yourself
So true! These days I feel my best are often paintings painted over a 'failed' painting. It was also a revelation to learn the most expensive painting in the world was in fact thought to be painted over another! .......Bought at auction in 2017 for $450,312,500, 'Salvator Mundi' (Latin for ''Saviour of the World'') is a painting attributed in whole or in part to the Italian High Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, dated to c. 1499-1510.[n 1] Long thought to be a copy of a lost original veiled with overpainting, it was rediscovered, restored, and included in Luke Syson's major Leonardo exhibition at the National Gallery, London, in 2011-12.[2] Christie's claimed just after selling the work that most leading scholars consider it to be an original work by Leonardo, but this attribution has been disputed by other specialists, some of whom posit that he only contributed certain elements.
@@harksta229 many of the 'old master' paintings were only partially done by the person they are attribulated to. Some were outright stolen. Look up Artemisia Gentileschi. According to art historians many works attribulated to her father were mainly done by her. Pax
And all underpaintings are failed painting in my case haha i come to expect any first layer is bad no matter how hard i try yet the second works well....so i just go for sketch composition
Not so much a failure, more of a lesson ?
"If you fail, you are going to learn alot more than by NOT doing it." Thank you, Florent.
You're welcome ! Have fun painting ! 😊😊😊
It's part of the process of becoming a painter.
Yes, we don’t learn from that which we do well ... we only learn from our mistakes.
When painting, be YOURSELF because nobody can do it better (there's only ONE you 😔). God made only one "you"🖌️🎨🖼️
I don't know what to do. I've Avoided art allllllll my life, because I don't know whAt to do with the mountains of paintings which were left behind since someone decided they wanted many+++--- left me the rest.
Some unfinished. Last summer, I FINALLY REPENTED and decided it was a sin NOT to use what was given to me. Now in 70's and just starting. To me, painting needs to be functional -- Will it become fun then?
Any tips please?
"There are a lot of ugly stages before a painting is finished." That one took me much too long to understand. Excellent video, thank you!!
I always call it the "awkward teenage phase". Sometimes I push through and it turns out well and other times I paint over it. :)
I've mastered the ugly stage.
Oh my gosh yes!!! I’ve never done a painting where i didn’t have at least ONE ( usually many more) “ I hate this! I’ve made a mess of it”) sessions! Tortured artist’s, that’s what we are!! 😄🎨
@@jcepri YES!! Me too!!
Before we learn to walk as babies, were we bad? Look at that crawling baby, he really sucks at walking. No. We were learning. We need to stop with this destructive, self deprecating attitude. Art isn't about "winning" or "failing" it's about finding flow and enjoying the wonderful feeling of being creative.
I would add this. The light in the room where you are creating the art matters. After you cover the canvas fully with color, take the painting off the easel, and look at it in different lighting. Verify that the overall painting key is not too dark or too light.
"Nobody care about the final results, except you." This is HELL DAMN freaking TRUE. When I understood that, I fell so free about the process. Thank Florent !
This is not true to me, all ppl surrounding me kept caring my final results while I don’t ever care
Just your mother but she`s just being polite
@@szewing0923 well it’s your painting..does it really matter if they care?
@@brindha6008 ya, I think i should care less of what the others think of my painting
@@szewing0923 yes! Now I like that mindset! 💪
Man, you just appeared on the horizon like Moses with Ten Commandments and delivered me out of woods! It is advice every painter, and any creative person needs. Thank you.
So true Mohammad very helpful
😂😂😂😂😂😂🤸♀️
Best comment ever!
Truer words never spoken!
@@dennisp1104 Relax, Buddy.
Read my post once again. I am NOT referring to the ten commandments. I am referring to 'the way' Moses 'appeared on the horizon' with much-needed Ten commandments.
Chill. Breathe in. Breath out. And Do some painting. All is fine.
I've actually never posted a comment on any kind of form or video but I was so incredibly excited about what you had to say in this video it is not even funny. I'm 68 years young and I'm just learning how to oil paint and how to draw. I spent $2,000 to take a painting course to learn how to paint in one year and was so overwhelmed and bog down by all the rules and anyway I was overwhelmed. So through your video I felt like I was released from a cage. What started out as being a fun retirement Hobby turned into a burden and yet I refused to give up, I went for several weeks without painting at all because it was so anxiety-producing. So I just want to thank you I'm so grateful for your videos and I will be joining your patreon and I look forward to having this return to a very fun fulfilling Adventure.
Being 78, I resonate fully with what you say here. It is playtime - let this second childhood flourish!
“You are allowed to start”. This morning, I start. Thank you, thank you.
how is it going?
This man is is down to earth with his teaching. He is also a great speaker. He is truthful and sincere and you can tell his teachings are thru trial and error. Most successful men and women are successful by learning thru their mistakes. Very well done my friend.
Be yourself first and be true to who you are. The only artist that you should compete with is the artist you were yesterday. If you are open to learning something along the way, the only failure is when you don’t do it. Thank you for your valuable teachings.
True, true. X
You sound like my mother, ahh such days
I love this!! Thanks for sharing!! Brings me great peace to know that the only person I can strive to be is the artist who grows and learn from my mistakes and better than I was the day before.
i compete with musicians, it's a much greater challenge. but never, ever, with living artists.
What's funny is, all the stuff you said about using a good surface, not adding too much medium, keeping your process simple, is all stuff that will actually make it more archival, too!
Indeed ! Oil and pigments on a good surface is the way to go ! 👍
@@FlorentFargesarts does Japan dryer or accelerant/ affect the color of reds/blacks.....
Excellent advice. I would only add that always use a mirror, even in the sketch phase, to make sure it's balanced. I've regretted using a mirror too late in the process.
"Appreciate oils drying time" - excellent quote that will stay with me - great video Sir.
Beside the valuable information that you deliver you have a nice personality, Thank you for everything.
A good thing: walk away, yes! Walk away and then periodically return and just glance at it.... pretend it's not yours, what is off? Walk away again. Get your mind and your eyes on totally other stuff. Go back and forth until you see things anew and/or feel more open to moving forward.
@@-trisld- this is great advice
Very helpful and heartfelt😂
I wish I knew that the " art teacher" my dad sent me to, was an idiot. He told a 10-year-old girl she had no talent and that it could not be taught. He crushed me and my dream. I never picked up a paint brush again. Flash to 60+, now learning and doing much better than I ever thought I could and having fun doing it. I totally get what you said about it being about you, what you love, what your vision is, not anyone else's. Thank you for this list, it is a great learning tool.
'The best painting style is the one representing your personality'. This is the one of the best pointers I learned from this video.
Eeeps! I try painting to ESCAPE my personality, not immortalize it! :)
@@palominox64 hahahahaha sometime I do hahahaha
Hi its 440pm here in jackson michigan. I wanted to say thank you i appreciate every video that you put on here. You have given me more courage to start serious painting again. I am a self taught artist and i get extreamly discouraged with the outcomes of my paintings, when i feel that way i sit , breathe, and i start watching your videos all over again and that keeps me going as an artist and my love for painting. Sometimes i feel that im not good enough but again i watch your videos and gives me a differsnt way and more motavation to keep going. So thank you your awesome keep being ypu.
Alright mate - you just made me get out 3 unfinished paintings and I'm looking at them now like unruly children.
lol. that is exactly what they are!
I have way more than 3!! lol
I have a huge one and it has been sitting staring at me for a year!
That's the spirit!
@@elsiegreer826 put it away till you have forgotten it, then you might be objective when you see it again.
I started 8 days ago (after a decade of fear of failure!) and I love it!
I wish I had known how simple it truly is to paint with such fluid and opaque paint.
I just wish I knew how enjoyable painting was. I had a fear of oil, actually, a fear of all paints. Then I decided to give it a shot and haven't look back. I look at techniques other painters use, if I like the outcome, I will continue to use it, If not, I'll set it aside and maybe try again later. It's frustrating and relaxing and still have a lot to learn. Your videos have been an inspiration to me, whether mentally or technically. Thank you
Oil paint is the most forgiving compared to acrylic and water colours. Oil paint is perfect for beginners and nobody really talks about this.
@@bio-plasmictoad5311 I couldn’t agree more. After several years of watercolor ( which I adore) I got into oils. I almost felt guilty about how quick and easy it was in comparison! Make a boo boo in watercolor? It’s a big deal…..make one in oils?….no problem, just paint over it!
@@Bindismom absolutely, it's totally different. I do love watercolor though even though I'm a oil painter at hart.
I think the most important thing when you first learn oil painting is finding a good art teacher. Not always easy as there are many bad teachers out there. One who is good at teaching you to mix the correct colours and tones. Once you are confident enough then you can go out on your own. But you need to learn the basics of colour mixing and getting the tones right first.
"You can't paint like someone else"......I really needed to hear that. Thank you
This is really excellent advice. You can see joy and passion in your face when you talk about this. Thank you for sharing ❤
Thank you. #10 is the best advice. I have been struggling with the pressure people tell me. Loosen up your paintings. I can not. I love detail and realism. Thank you, thank you!!!!!!!
I am with you, let’s keep the details, it’s our personality! 😋
I’ll second that one - but the problem usually comes from jumping in too early on the details. Some famous artist wittily said that you're not supposed to sniff the painting anyway, but enjoy from a bit of distance. :)
Thank you Florent. I am a beginner artist. I struggled with almost everything you mentioned here. This was extremely helpful.
I like your teachings.
"Feel the paint under your brush" So true. I'm going to put this on a piece of paper and hang it on my wall. Thanks for all the great tips.
All great tips! I love painting because I don't have to be perfect. I can be completely abstract. I can break free from ASD and OCD. If you're the type of person to require perfection, I've got a tip. Before you paint anything just grab a colour and scribble quickly with the brush. Now you've messed up your canvas and don't have to worry about about making a mistake or being imperfect.
I was almost in tears listening to you - your passion and the way you compared the painting to music and writing really spoke to me.
Don't be a painter your not suppose to be.
I love your advice and you gave me the confidence to move forward as a beginner trying different techniques! Thank you!❤
I would maybe add getting out of your own way. I set so many assumptions in stone that I would exhaust myself trying to conform to them instead of just having conversations with the piece as it tells me what it needs. Thinking of it as work instead of an adventure. My first impressions are like the first marks. They are just placeholders for what comes next. I'm glad you tried all these things so you didn't wonder about them while following rules and not understanding why!
I can relate so much to what you are saying, i just started with oilpainting and the first ones really challenged me in almost all points which you mentioned 😅 but through the whole process of failure and sleepless nights i really learn so much about myself and the process of creating.
Thank you for the video!
There are many ten things I wish videos, but rarely are they so honest. Thank you Florent.
Everything you said is true and very important !
Great advice for a beginner oil painter such as myself.
Thank you Florent!
You're very welcome!
I REALLY needed to hear it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, my friend
I loved this so much. I love your view on art. You have a heart of a poet. I was wishing and waiting for your new video. I needed this. Thank you. Great value as always
Thank you so much 😀 Glad you like my videos 🙏
I’m very New to painting, and I get really nervous when I start to paint, and I start to rush everything because I want to see the end result to see ”if I am any good at this” XD Sometimes, most of the times, I can even feel my heart beating so fast. Recently I’ve been able to calm myself and enjoy painting, but it took a while :)
Try a layered approach, methodical and relaxing.. Fun is important, methodical painting for the win
Painting is like meditation. Meditation is good to train your mind to focus and ignore the noise
This was such a very helpful, informative, and encouraging video - I'm hooked! Thank you so much for your generosity, sharing your wisdom and hard-earned insights. As someone who's just rediscovering the love of making art, I find content like this very refreshing, encouraging, and helpful to just get going in the right direction, or in a more helpful and constructive direction.
Fantastic video! Merci!
Your comments are not only important for beginners, but also for those of us who have been painting for many years. I was particularly struck by your point about technique not being more important than subject - we can all get obsessed by technical questions; if you want to pursue them, by all means do; but they shouldn't be your primary focus. Very useful video, thank you.
I’ll be sharing this as its brilliant.. Thank You .. Every child should be taught art this way.. Be yourself.. Don’t be influenced by an art teacher who doesn’t respect your individuality.. Explore your own world, who inspires you and who you want to learn from.. I love to learn from J.M.W. Turner. He was brave and the world didn’t understand him yet he had fun and enjoyed his art.. Humanity needs to have fun and painting in oil is amazing.. I taught a class of 7 year olds to paint in oil.. It was Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee.. The children all painted The Queen in Oil .. If a child can paint in oil so can anyone.. I taught them to paint, keeping their colours clean, using a pallet knife.. Using a very little medium and a different brush for every colour.. The results were pure colours with a child’s imagination.. Oil is the most flexible medium, which is why it’s so popular.. And yes … Take time.. Life is happier in the slower lane sometimes! ..
More pure gold 🙏❤️. Thank you for your generosity and your honesty Florent. #10 is literally priceless. I’ve wasted about 13 years wrestling with digital painting (from a traditional background) and only recently had the epiphany that the digital medium is just not me. More importantly, I realize that I am just fine with that. I have gone back to what feels comfortable for me which is working with traditional tools. Let’s just say that #10 really resonated with me 🙂
Aww thanks for the tip about boards with gesso. I mostly use canvases or pads of mixed media paper but would like to do some large works - I put too much pressure on myself with canvases because they cost more and it is never my best work 😅 my tip is to know when to stop as I am a massive over-blender, but if not take photos along the way, so at least you know in retrospect that you should have stopped, and maybe you can go back 😅
Paint like yourself. Yes! Thank you, Florent!
The tips given by you are so applicable to me as I am going through all those dilemmas you mentioned above…will follow what you said thank you 👍
I have to be honest and honestly it feels great to say this. You explain it so well, so even if can understand what you are explaining. I always love to draw, and was decent at drawing people's faces, but I always wanted to paint with oil colors. For the last 35 years i have been a sign painter. I have been lettering with enamel based paints and have done so,even portraits with them that came out decent. So when I tied my hand at oil painting, I thought it would be basically be the same technique. It wasn't, so I watched many hours of differant artists, and still I didn't click. Feeling miserable after painting for hours, only to then whip off hours of work, I found your videos and it honestly made sense to me. It finally clicked! It's only been a few days, but I look at everything in a differant light, and have been painting with more direction. I know I'm a beginer and my paintings will be awful compared to someone who has been doing it for years apon years, but I love painting, am learning new techniques and it's so exciting, even to fail. I am very sure to that one day in the future I will be doing decent potraits that I am proud of. Practice and time. Thank you very much I am very grateful for your videos. GOD BLESS EVERYONE
I LOVE THIS GUY. He makes perfect sense every step of the way!
i'm taking a painting class right now as someone who's never properly learned how to paint and I'm struggling, but your videos are helping quite a lot!! thank you!!!
Amazing video. So true. Really needed it … thanks ❤❤
I have a unique problem. I am 70 years old. My first degree was BFA in oil painting. I am an experienced artist and musician. Two years ago my heart disease began to express itself. As my heart got worse the oxygen level in my body decreased. Three months ago at what I hope is the end of a long road with my health I had triple bypass surgery. Before the surgery I had been drawing mostly for shows and other art work such as commissions. After surgery I wanted after years away from it to start oil painting again. But because of the lower oxygen level in my body over two years I found out that I “lost” oil painting. I mean my brain forgot all I knew about oil painting which was considerable since I had a degree in it. Now I feel I am starting at the beginning again. It is embarrassing for me. Your channel is helping me to remember and make progress toward mastery again. So thank you. I just subscribed.
Great information, very valuable. Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks
Okay, find yourself and find your style...... but what do you do in order to DO THAT?
As an older painter, I think this is all good advice that will be mostly ignored, because it's part of the process you will go through as an artist. You need the experience to learn it all. (aka youth is wasted on the young) But I did enjoy the video.
As a beginner- I use the cheapest canvas pad ( not even stretch canvas) and practice often, will update to stretch canvas and high quality canvas as my skill progress- great advise as usual 💕- your passion is inspiring and it shines through 🥰
Thank you for your honesty and insight.
I’ve just spent the past week painting over my earliest paintings from ten years ago that just didn’t work and I am very happy with the results and as for mediums I just use the paint straight out of the tube .
There have been times when I had set out to do a painting by putting a drawing down first only to find the painting goes it’s own direction as I get frustrated with trying to be controlled with a framework so the way I paint is messy and loose and it’s me not someone else painting.
I let the paint tell the story because that is what painting is , telling the story that is within you and you’ll be surprised what shows up when you put paint to canvas
Most valuable advise, as a first time oil painter. I’ve been painting with acrylic paints and the biggest challenge I’ve taken upon myself is painting my two beautiful grandchildren. Yeh, I think I’ve gone crazy. Love the way you express yourself with so much love and patience and you want each artist to flourish and learn with this advise. Thank you sooo much.
I was giving up, not good enough ...
You put me on track again.
Thank you so much !!!
The best paintings have mistakes in them.
Hi Florentino. I have been oil painting for years however watching this video was such a good reminder of some important basics that can get lost in the myriad of information we receive. You reminded me that it’s okay to keep it simple. That simple does not mean my art is of lesser quality. Thank you.
I’m a few years into oil painting and your list is spot on. I wish I knew all of those things earlier on. Thanks for this list.
Thank you the ideas. I learned a lot and got a confirmation of myself being an artist. God bless!
Thank you, I’m halfway (should say “was”) through sorting all the things you were saying! Now thrown all that out and have fun. Funny how we make things complicated when all you want is to enjoy. 😂😂😂😂
Thank you for your sincere and encouraging video. I am feeling so bored at my art class and I feel like i can be more myself and have fun learning on my own. Not everybody has to paint the same way as you say. Being original and unique is much more interesting ❤
My future self definitely appreciates my present self watching this video right as I'm starting to learn oil paints. 🙏 This was so helpful and comforting as a beginner artist going into the process! Thank you for this video, you can tell these are genuine, relevant insights to any artist. Much much appreciated!!
Thank you for being so thoughtful and inspiring.
Inteligent and practical advice, inteligent also, thank you. I am following your channel for many years now and it is very nice to observe how mature and wonderful you and your art are becoming. Thanks for sharing the process an go on !!!!
So nice of you ! Glad you're here and still supporting my work ! Thank you so much !
Your creative advice is spot on. I recently decided to pick up different media tools like color pencils, graphite pencils, acrylic inks and other mediums and I have six or seven paintings that are not comlpete in oil and acrylic. I usually come to a wall that stops me because of a technical problem that I feel I can't solve so I set the work aside because continuing on would surely be a failure and I don't want to ruin a decent idea. It's time to take a few daring chances and finish those...if I'm not satisfied at least I might learn what to keep and what to ignore on the next study and painting.
A great coaching video!
Thank you!
Oh well it was just today I told myself to stop trying to do wet on wet and do thinner layers that dry in between sessions. Ha ha. Now that I finally got the poppy seed oil to slow drying time. I have all other oils too. So fat over lean. Besides it gives a beginner a chance to do more painting because in my mind it’s kinda like doing three different paintings letting it dry in between. Not exactly but yeah.I concede. I need to do it the easier way for some time. Took me awhile! Felt like you were talking to me! On a couple other points too. Thanks as always.
I mostly paint this way now. Paint one until it's wet, and move on to another. I can paint wet on wet however. I've found that the type of brush you use, and how you hold it helps. A soft brush like a sable will blend the paint, which you may not want to happen. A boar bristle brush can be loaded up with paint, and held using the side of the brush to slide the paint on. You don't actually touch the brush to the surface, only the paint. Using the end on the other hand will remove the paint you are trying to cover. Starting thinner works best most of the time, unless you are painting from life.
@@beccagee5905 yes. a light touch helps a lot with wet on wet. I watched Carder do a horse head. Maybe he had done it before but he was careful where and how he put each application of paint and had the colors he wanted all pre mixed. He rarely went over the areas he’d applied paint already. Well he might have because there was fade out and back in so the video wouldn’t be all real time thus too long. It was a great horse head but reminded me of a kind of paint by numbers organization. I know I make a lot more work for myself by being less organized type but I’m a student so it will teach but yes I am going to the wet on dry process until I ever get a very satisfying color portrait! Be a a year or more and so...I might have a happy accident and I will account for there are always improvements that can be made but it’s important to know when it’s time to quit and leave it be and not worry over improvements too much. Or it would not be very fun ever. I think wet on wet for capturing likeness is indeed a challenge for experienced artists! Doing flowers and such would suit a student better while learning wet on wet. I’ve figured out quit a bit. I also read once the Painting Alla Prima 2 by ....hmmmmm but he loves burnt sienna and he doesn’t really do eyes. He’s great though! I don’t read many such books. It was recommended and expensive but I found it in pdf form for $9 so thought what the heck. Just doing and practicing is how I learn the best but it has really helped me following Farges two courses and I did the patron thing a few months too for a little extra explainations plus have seen nearly all his UA-cam posts. Learning for me is weird. Always has been but I get it in the end just what I call the hard way....mistakes and repeated mistakes as well! Dense? Not really. I have focus issues I think and worse now I’m 68. I’ll deal with it and keep on a going. It took me too long to get this committed....and I haven’t got my whole life in front of me anymore! Thank you about the hog bristle. I have just gotten some extra long kind of real quality I mean real hog and Chungking or something. Light touch. I had to remind myself that one dozen times! And your right....really really light some places....like paint sliding off description. But then there is me and my weird brain....I like stiffer paint! Ha ha. Just a contrarian I guess.
You´ve said everything I needed to know and I didn´t knew, and in a most sincere way. Thank you.
As always great video, I'm 8 years into painting. I'm just now learning oils this last year. I consider learning painting as a mastership skill. Everyone's learning time is different, it's a journey. I paint many subjects although plants, insects and flowers i'm always gravitated to. I always find something of value in your vids thank you for making them. I'm a thinker and like to analyze so you really make sense to me. Thanks again from Canada
Excellent! Loved: "The best style is what matches with your personality", "You cannot force yourself out of your personality". Thank you!
0:00 right it took me twenty years to find out that the old masters put a piece of wood underneath the canvas and applied at least three thin chalk ground layers with an iron spatula and fine sandpaper until the canvas was completely smooth and no cloth fabric visible.
FABULOUS Video! Thank you for sharing! Quite helpful!
Oh lordy, I've learned so much more in the last 1/2 hour than I have in a long time. Thank you so much. I started years ago with oils then went onto watercolour but have had a passion to start oils again. I'm going to give it my all this time. X
excellent video! thank you
Paint detail if that is what draws you. My eye delights in detail and this is where I find beauty. Your advice to go with what we enjoy doing and naturally are attracted to, has lifted my day.
Very nicely, very immaculate discourse. All beginners should go through before plunging in.
The best part is Paint like yourself.
If painting induces stress, nothing worse can be this.
I'm still about to start my first oil painting. I'm glad I've watched your video; I've gained so much insight! Honestly, I'm feeling anxious to start my first piece but your reminders took me back to the feeling that painting is an activity to relieve myself from stress. Be an artist, not a machine. ❤️
I'm starting my first one too. I would love to hear how you did. I'm starting with the monochrome scale to figure out blending and then the color wheel for more blending and understanding. I can't wait. How'd yours go?
I also came here with the same anxiety, let see how it goes. Today is my first day to paint with oil.
I love the "prioritize fun" section of this video. I began painting because I was drawn to it naturally. I loved it and I was relatively good at it at the beginning. But once I really started to focus on it, I wanted everything I did to be "great". I realized I was so tense while I was painting and only focusing on the outcome instead of having fun. BREATHE - your breath will show you if you are tense or not. Thanks for the video-always great content!
You are amazing! I loved this video sooooo much! I am a professional painter, but I was so unhappy with the direction of my work. Since the pandemic started I have barely painted but drawn or worked with wet mediums on paper, trying to figure out in which direction to go. I had worked abstractly for years but found myself really deeply drawn to representational world for the first time in a very long time. Also I had not worked with oil for ages because I am extremely sensitive to solvents. Just recently I have been working with oil and gave up on trying to work so much with drying mediums, etc. that force me to wear a respirator constantly. I’m still figuring it out because I don’t want my work not to have any brushstrokes visible and just linseed oil (if I thin down too much as you’ve discussed here) can flatten everything out. Just in the last month or two I have realized that my ability to see with great detail and render it but also my love for looseness and not getting too tight are assets in my own work. And slowing down and losing myself in the process and feeling my live of the subject matter are what give my paintings life. These things that I’ve avoided for years are the things that give me great joy! And for instance a painting I’m making right now I wished I could have had considered for an exhibition but I love the piece and don’t want to compromise it. So instead I offered one I made earlier. I recognized that my work takes as long as it takes and forcing it into a rushed situation will damage the point of my making the painting. Anyway, I wish I had know all ten of the things you shared here long ago. Thank you so much for sharing them with me and others. It’s clear to me that you know what you’re doing because as a longtime artist, your attitude in this lesson is one that resonates with me: it’s a sense of deep understanding and generosity derived from the peace of having grown through your work. Thank you, again!
You are wise beyond your years, young man. Thanks for this!
I love how you talk about art, so passionate!
In my humble opinion when the painting process becomes an intense meditation for you, you have become a painter.Cheers from India.
Does oil based gesso give a different surface to acrylic?
Critique at 6:32 I think; it says don’t make paint too stiff or too fluid, I am glad we got both visuals for what stuff and runny is for the paint but I think if you have an idea of what you think the paint consistency should be it would’ve been a huge leap for some people. No hate, I love the channel keep it up just subbed.
Such a good teacher you are, and your passion for oil painting is so contagious xx
Thank you Florent for sharing your kind perspective on creation. Good luck !
Thank You for watching and for the comment, all the best
Thankyou - needed to hear that last bit about doing what feels natural and not forcing 👍
Glad it was helpful! 👍
I just started oil painting, and I think it is a good idea to use sketchbooks for oil painting than canvases. For it makes me to think my painting as practice like many pencil sketches.
Some great advice Florent, thanks!
Excellent tips! I can use them all. Thank you!
You're so welcome! 🤗😸
Number 8 is pretty universal and is analogous to the writing version: Write drunk, edit sober.
Most of them actually have parellels to other art forms!
yeah, the writing starts when the first draft is done!
Thank you, Florent. You're No. ten tip was so true. I'm sure so many of us have been frustrated trying to achieve something we don't really believe in.
The fun part of all is the process of learning as we go... just enjoy the process and keep on learning! Blessings to you all
Hello. I paint on canvas boards in packs and 2 packs of 60x80 canvas panels. I don,t like canvasses. I always gesso my panels before i paint. Thats the first thing i prepare and do so i have allot of panels to paint and work on.
Thank you Florent, I needed to hear number 10 as I am still trying to find my style. Love your videos and love your work.
Paint like yourself !! Be yourself ! Very powerful!! Thank you ! I’ve been struggling with this concept!! I’m a very detailed person and trying to paint loose is a challenge!! Thank you for this ! Makes me rethink and relax more!
"the technique is not more important than the subject" - THIS
Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!
This is the way I wish instructors and teachers on the web would do their presentations
I am so glad that I watched this video before I started painting. You address many concerns that I had as a typical perfectionist. It is like you knew what I was brooding about before I started. You spoke to my heart! Thank you, Florent.
You are so welcome!
I listened to this 6 months ago when I started. I listened again and now I REALLY get it. Thanks so very much for sharing these very important tips. Merci!
This is such a great video, you would be an incredible teacher with your positivity and optimism . Waitng for the Farges Academy of Fine Arts !!