3 Secrets of Going from Retiree to Professional Oil Painter

[@ChelseaLang]

✨WOW! ✨I'm so excited to see how many of you are helped by this video! To help you all reach your goal of painting full time in retirement, I put together a free downloadable guide that you can access here: webinar.chelsealang.com/paint-full-time-in-retirement Happy painting!

[@JZB1101]

Hi Chelsea. It's your student Julia that you mention in this video. I am grateful that my experience may help others that are at a similar stage of life. You and your Alla Prima Bootcamp have helped me so much...to a degree I did not think possible. Your course modules are so well structured and have accelerated my growth in a way that I only thought possible in a school or workshop setting. And the live critiques and valuable directions you give during the live zoom calls has given me tremendous confidence in the fact that I am now a professional full time artist. I can see that success is not only possible, but that path to success is clear. And since starting this course, I have already experienced huge growth and many wins. I highly recommend the Alla Prima Bootcamp to anyone hesitant about starting this journey at a later time in life.

[@mirtaxiomelyssandin2001]

Thank you so much for sharing and the encouragement in this video blog. I’m a woman in my 50 and looking forward to retire as soon as possible. More for the cause of get started as profesional artist and do this with my heart and soul. Lately I’ve been working,thinking and reminding myself that I can do this. Procrastination is my biggest enemy when painting. My mayor medium is watercolour. I experiment a lot with other medium as well. I still not finding my way in this art jungle. The social media circus is no longer my priority. So beautiful that this video comes in the most coincidence time. My friend from work is much into astrology and tarot cards. She said past week that this weekend I’ll find myself thinking about career change. And so are you now talking about it. God is my witness and my savour that put you in my way. Thanks so much. I contact you with pleasure. God bless you and your channel ☺️🙏🏾💜

[@scottkendall5655]

This video really spoke to me. I retired at 59 in '19 with plans for golf and travel. In 2020 everyone who had ever painted apparently took it up again, me included, starting with watercolor, although I had done some oil in my 20s. But one problem is I've been led by the four winds of various mediums, WC, acrylic, pastels, and oil and all of the sub species in each. I have the dedicated space, I have the supplies, probably more than I can use for years. I have easels, and pochade boxes, large glass and paper palettes, and most of the electronics needed to conjur up references. But to my extreme frustration, I'm sitting on it all, going unused. I do paint, but I am the "dabbler" mentioned. I didn't consciously begin painting to make it a living in retirement, but that creeped into the forefront of my mind as I got a little better than rank amateur, but only slightly better. I've watched many of your vids as well as dozens upon dozens of other on line artists. I know the theories and practical side of a lot of it, and have a stack of starts and bad finishes. I know I want to paint realism but with the style and boldness of Sargent. Being a night owl doesn't help; not does being a perfectionist. Also, I'm not keen on the whole seclusionary thing needed to force myself into my studio to paint for hours alone, so I'm not feeling pulled towards loving the process. Sorry to ramble, but your video helped remind me of what I need to do, that I'm not, and the factors I've e mentioned, your video covered. I feel like a ship without a rudder. Thanks for the encouragement. I'll check out the free guide you mentioned above.

[@asamtaviajando8388]

This is one of the best videos with advice I’ve seen of yours. I’m living a lot of this. ❤

[@suzannebonham583]

Thank you, Chelsea - it is so relaxing and very educational to watch you paint, and I am so very grateful for the fact that painterly skills-development can be on a longer timeline than just a year (given what all has happened to me this year). I've also got the 10,000 hour concept in my body with regard to the furniture finishing, and so I am not jaded with an unrealistic expectation on oil painting. I put in my 10,000 furniture hours under extreme pressure to make income, and so I am very grateful to have that now as my bread and butter while I learn to paint better. I so appreciate your mentorship and for talking about student achievements. 💫

[@coopart1]

I have painted 40 years. In recent years I started wondering if anyone really collected paintings anymore. But then I live in a small town. Recently I started back at it after a three year break. Thanks for your tips and encouragement!

[@toby7738]

Thanks for the encouragement Chelsea.

[@fuzzydragons]

having my own little corner for me to create helps so much🙂 i am surrounded by supplies and colour

[@ChantelleArts]

this is fantastic, a wonderful video ❤❤❤

[@chukukaogude5894]

I'd like to know how Huang approached, his art at the beginning. Knowing he came from a science background he knew how to isolate the problems fast. Meaning he probably could isolate his own problems. Then test certain approaches to things. He also knows how to reproduce the results. So he probably made sure he had a foundation to reproduce his results on. Science is all about looking at the world and understanding it clearly and concisely. Then trying to find something that may have never been seen or overlooked. After that a scientist has to reproduce that new finding to confirm it's not a fluke. Then explain it clearly to other humans with steps and in a universal language (mathematics) they all agreed to use so that they can confirm the observation was correct. I somewhat come from a science background. My brain is all over the place. I have certain questions I want to answer about life before my end. So I look to all sorts of areas to find those answers. Right now I am just putting the pieces in place. Hopefully when I hit 50, they all fall into place. If it doesn't that still just as fun lol. I believe that any human can accomplish what another human can do. I believe knowledge is transferrable. Every time I learn something new, I don't think about it being "hard" or "not for me" It's all for me because I am human, and another human has done it before means I can do it. It may not be exact; it may not be at their level. I know that if I put in the time and effort, I'll reach a level that I am proud of. I will never forget when I was taking quantum mechanics for the SECOND time. I had that "not for me" and "I just can't understand this." The first time I took it, I would be halfway through trying to get the work done and then quit. There was no way I could learn that information and get it done in time when it was due. So I would get 50s and 60s. Then I failed the class. The SECOND time I took it, I got further in the class, but I was still teetering. Then I got that feeling of "I just can't do it. It's impossible." So I gave up halfway through again. I went to class and was going to turn in the half-done work. The professor came into class and said, to the whole class turn it in by the end of the week. (3 days). So I went home already given up that I could never finish it in that time but opened up the book for the hell of it. For some reason, everything started to fall into place. I started understanding everything. I wondered what changed. Why could I do this work now? I realized one important thing in my life. I was wasting all the time WORRYING that I wouldn't be able to do the work on time and all the consequences instead of ACTUALLY DOING THE WORK!!!!! I was the one holding myself back. I am glad I am out of college now. I mean truth be told the fear of losing thousands of dollars failing a class and having to retake it actually INHIBITED me exploring topics to exhaustion. I realized pushing myself to fail fast and analyzing why the failure occurred was the best way to learn and build a strong foundation. For me, college didn't allow me to do that. It was like I was on a rollercoaster with a set path from start to finish. Instead of a road trip that I can plan and change over the interval. The question in college for me was "what do I need to do to pass this class, so I don't have to take it again". I am rereading all my books and realizing why I loved mathematics, physics, computer science, chemistry, biology, art, history, economics, etc. In my 30s I see everything SO differently without the stress on my back. Everything makes so much sense. I think it has to do with my age and how I perceive the world. In my early teens and 20s, I only saw one path in a sea of darkness. Now in my 30s see many paths on a bright lit day. It's so strange because when I read comments, I can guess a person's age pretty close. The way they form their logical arguments tell me a lot about them. I wonder sometimes if I am the only one who sees this. I know I can't be we all pretty much grew up on the internet.

[@patrickedwards1378]

So encouraging. Thanks so much for sharing the great insights.

[@sp9138]

Thank you

[@Toqueville2023]

You mention dining room table . That's where I paint now.

[@beautifulmorning7103]

Hello Chelsea, thanks for all your helpful tips. I like your videos and art. How come your paint does not get muddy when you put all those layers on wet paint? Thank you for your time.

[@jaynedoe80]

What kind of panels to paint on do you use?

[@user-hg9ed5nu7c]

Hi Chelsea, thank you so much for this tutorial. is it possible to get the real picture on the screme. so we can see what you painting

[@user-mq7iu4my4q]

هذا مذهل ❤

[@suzannebonham583]

Oh and BTW, is that a Raymar panel?

[@Muthukaviyarasan]

😃👍🙋🏻‍♂️

[@doddagopi4933]

I am not convinced that this is a good way of painting portraits in oil. Lot of fooling around

[@Handotr]

It’s a thin layer and fairly dry. Such is her style. There are dozens of ways to paint a portrait. This is hers. Make your own video

[@andrewlm5677]

I’m not sure I’d be pleased with the likeness either if that were a portrait of me (jaw line is not right)