A peek into my process with Nicholas Wilton

I like to paint boldly and a little out of control, especially in the beginning. If the picture is giving you bold, clear messages, you can better respond with the same. In other words, it is easier to know what to do next.
A strong start can make your progress easier and a lot faster.
Today I am sharing a few tips about how I make my art. I know how much it helped me to discover how different artists make art. Maybe one of mine will help with your art-making.
Let's crowdsource some helpful tips from our practices below in the comments!
Just one might have a dramatic impact on how you make your art.
Enjoy the day!
Nicholas
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[@debbiefoote4127]

You’re so generous ! Thank you for your continued inspiration!

[@sachet22]

Beautiful Share Nicholas and helpful…Thank you for giving us a deeper look…

[@user-tb4dh8iw1l]

Thank you. I feel gratitude for your willingness to share!

[@MJ-iv8ww]

😆 Brilliant! Thank you soooo much! 😄

[@nancycloonan4646]

Love this video! So much fun to watch anyone paint, and you provide your commentary in live action. Your manner is great, and I appreciate you ☺️

[@lesleykoenig2041]

I heard artist “advisors” saying the art is supposed to have some message and it sn’t about YOU and how YOU feel….I have to say that totally stopped my mojo as a painter. I thought, what’s wrong with me that I can’t figure that out? I must be so shallow, so disconnected…The more I looked, the more lost I felt. Then I listened to your recent podcast with Gary Komarin, who’s work I’d seen in Kent, CT about 5 yrs ago. I was like, these two successful painters are just talking about the fun of painting and how it’s enriching their lives; It was SO cool. Totally relatable. I felt so connected to myself listening to that; the opposite effect of an advisor’ suggesting to conjure up a civic connection as a “What is your why?” (I didn’t pay for that advice, thankfully…) My art is me expressing my best self. There’s no intentional esoteric, ‘higher meaning’ behind it. This is my TRUTH, period. It’s like people demanding to explain a Talking Heads song. Why the insistence for a scientific analysis? Just enjoy the creation. I am grateful to encounter this at this moment in time. Thank you!

[@karunadevidiller5761]

Love this share! What a hilarious story. It’s so refreshing to hear someone being so candid about what goes on inside the head of an artist. I have been enjoying your video insights & advice and find your manner to be so approachable. It inspires me to keep going. Thank you for keeping it real!! Your work is so happy.

[@carlhagemann1636]

My favorite video so far. Thank you.

[@MicheleNishikatsu]

I love this video demonstration, Nick! I haven't worked at large scales yet...and am very eager to. Thank you for sharing yourself so eloquently.,,🦚

[@yasg2514]

I really like that painting it's so vibrant.

[@michellegraven7786]

Have never enjoyed watching paint being “smooshed” onto a canvas as much as this!!! Your energy is boundless, Nic.... fricken amaZing 🤩

[@c.retana-holguin8318]

Very clear and beautiful work!

[@debbiegarland7124]

I know right? I find naming my work quite hard because I feel it can cheapen it if it’s not some profound intellectual title lol I love listening at the big galleries if they’re explaining an artists work, how do they really know what the artist was thinking, they don’t, it’s hilarious. Too much analysis, you either feel it or ya don’t. Happy creating

[@stefanstern3542]

So VERY helpful! - I could spend hours and hours just watching you do paintings from beginning to end, while sharing your thoughts that motivate the each next move!... Thank you for your art and all these great videos!

[@debbiemarkhannahgarlandwil6460]

Me too. That thick paint looks like cream, sorry smooth and yummy

[@marygem]

Use a Thesaurus for paintings' names, especially for a series.

[@PatriseHenkel]

I tried that the other day and found something great! Poetry is my other go-to source

[@bil_chamberlin]

Amazing! thanks, I a bit of the same way, I create a problem initially then try to "fix" the problem. Love your channel!

[@leonormartinez6378]

Very helpful. I’m new to your channel and fairly new to art as well. Your videos and interviews are so inspiring. Thank you.

[@anitajulaniya1959]

I loved being a part of the process. So generously shared tips and information. Loved that ladder too. Thanks.

[@shawn5632]

This is immensely helpful and very timely for me. Thank you...honoring the process!

[@pinkdaisy5934]

really enjoyed seeing this & hearing your thoughts =)

[@janetstarr10]

Given that you mix such large quantities of oil paint, how do you store the left over paint? Do your buckets have lids and does the paint last long enough for your next painting session? I think you mix your oils w/ Liquin, correct?

[@jrccdowning500]

Thanks! Beautiful work!

[@christinemooney5883]

Nicholas,so helpful thanks for sharing.

[@jalynefidler5613]

You have given of your time and talent and inspiration so freely! You are one of my Art Hero’s! I have learned a great deal from your videos and classes. I believe what goes around comes around. May your success continue to grow and may you always keep your easy going and generous ways!! ❤️ You are making a Huge difference in the world! Especially for me! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! ❤️ Jalyne in Utah

[@viviannedelavega605]

I really get what you are saying. I find that when I think my painting becomes a natural. I love the create and adjust create and adjust and create until you love it💯‼️

[@patriciacoughlinphd1852]

Thanks - this is great. It really makes the point that is all about our personal preferences. I love the Pink!! You don't like it. That's what makes our art so interesting.

[@paulramsey2922]

Thanks for sharing your insight. I'm just getting started at age 62. This assures my own process given just about everything I do and create is an experiment. Less discouragement, more fun!

[@joykumar7332]

You are a great reacher.

[@lizsganga8440]

Thank you Nick! Always so inspiring and interesting to see you work. Why do you use oil when painting big as opposed to acrylic like you do when painting small?

[@lizsganga8440]

Thank you Nick. Always inspiring to watch you work. I am curious why you work in oil when doing large versus acrylic?

[@debbiemarkhannahgarlandwil6460]

Thanks Nic I always feel inadequate because I don’t have some long drawn out explanation about what a particular piece means. Having to name it is always a pain but important to buyers. It’s like it tells them what you were thinking but really it just feels like a necessity.

[@jeffreyolson2139]

What a great, helpful video! I appreciate your easy, humble approach to making art & your insights are gold. I believe that one of the most difficult aspects of being an artist is to give ourselves permission to follow our instincts & also to fail, rather than be uptight or afraid of making something "bad"! Your approach is very honest & I like your idea of starting out bold & aggressive; it feels very freeing to me. I really enjoyed your interview with Gary Komarin from ine of your podcasts; that was amazing. Thanks so much for your content Nicholas!

[@tonyandrea7613]

You alway have the right things to say.

[@divinethreads7827]

I have really enjoyed your videos. Just starting in to painting abstracts, which I am absolutely in love with! I am curious to know what your paint mixtures are, because they are so much thinner than oil paints right out of the tube. Thanks for sharing all your knowledge in such a humble way. Kathleen Towne (Fine Art)

[@monicastella9149]

Thank you for sharing

[@fatimagrocki386]

Hi Nick! I really would like to attend one of your workshops. I have a lot to learn. I paint mostly realistic landscapes and I would like to switch to abstract art. I experimented a few techniques and a didn’t feel like any of the abstracts I painted were me. How do I go about overcome this and find my own style! Thank you!

[@juliebabb3365]

Thanks for another great video. Do you prefer to “cover up” the parts you don’t like with a white?

[@anabelhopkins5221]

Similar to what I do. I may plan some colors, but the design develops as I just lay paint on without much of a plan, then paint over and over, often totally changing the whole thing. Thats what I like about acrylic! Im going to try the oil pastels, new to me!

[@lindatobey4051]

How long of drying time between sessions? Thank you so much sharing your talent.

[@shirleystuhmer4005]

What paint is in your bucket? Latex Acrylic or oil. Can you put acrylic over oil sticks?

[@sherrillpearson7140]

A good rule to remember to answer your question: Only fat over lean. Acrylic will be repelled by the oil stick or any oil based paint Cheers

[@frankfolino3118]

Exactly!!!

[@JyPVazquez777]

how do you get such large buckets of OIL paint?? do you mix it with something? it looks so fluid.

[@LinDiaVio]

Very helpful, hearing you articulate your thoughts. I have a technical question. Do you let your layers dry before adding another layer? With oil that must take a while. (I’m impatient and would find it difficult to wait, and would lean towards acrylic for that reason.)

[@Art2Life]

Yes, I let them dry. I work on multiple pieces at once, so this is easier to do.

[@creativityworkoutsforartan6951]

I create the art and then let it tell me what it is. Maybe that brings out an even deeper meaning that my conscious verbal mind just can't grasp - maybe not (LOL!).

[@noumine]

I work on a piece until I feel a connection to it by way of familiar imageries and then call it done :D

[@angiewillsonarte]

Cy Twombley has a similar quote in Sally Mann's book - as in - don't know what the hell this is....this was late in his life, but it's wonderful to not take art so damn seriously

[@billpippel2667]

In these kinds of videos of yours, I almost always like the original version at the beginning of the video better than how it looks at the end. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's rawer and less civilized. Or maybe I just have a taste for that kind of thing.

[@sonjalambert7142]

Hey Nicholas, thank you for sharing your Art. I have a question and sorry about my english 🙂 Do you use acrylic paint after you worked with the oil pastel stick? Thank you for answering

[@itsjudystube7439]

I like to throw on paint and then stand back. I gaze at it and look for anything that reminds me of something. I enhance what I see. Then I pause again. I sit in my garden chair and look out of the window and then tidy up. Then I look again and throw more paint on and see what happens. Usually a topic comes to mind, a subject. It’s subconscious. Then I bring out the subject matter but leave in lots of the original. I scrape back so under layers show. I lose the subject and find it again. I use acrylic and put down a layer then scrape it across to make tramlines or smears. Then I enhance subject reminders again. If I have to look and think what to do I leave it for a while and do something else. When I get back maybe in a week or more I sit in front of it and let it tell me if it’s done. This is the most important part. The tea and coffee and water and lounging around balance out sometimes frenetic activity.

[@nicolahulme3263]

Hi, I’d like to ask if you ever use an underpainting. I’ve seen artists use a raw umber base before starting, what’s your view?

[@lisadugua3126]

THIS IS THE FUNNIEST THING IVE EVER HEARD!!

[@daledanby6831]

Are you painting with acrylic as it covers your oil pastels

[@patriciacoughlinphd1852]

R and F sticks are pure oil pigment. Isn't that different from on oil pastel?

[@cristinamallol5413]

Yes

[@heikestockhardt6774]

Sorry, my english is not that good .... I would like to know if the whole painting is done in oil paint?

[@angellove8329]

🤦‍♀️

[@Jacklette]

terrible!