How to Bring Your Art to Life

#realism #bringarttolife #oilpainting
How to Bring Your Art to Life
In this open art critique, we talk about the most effective, actionable tools we can use to bring your art to life.
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👀 View Daniel Folta's Artwork: danielfolta

[@crisalidathomassie1811]

Third time watching this video and it blows my mind. I thank you so much for the detailed critique and emphasis on the core fundamentals. Amazing! Now I need to put it in practice! Great job! Blessings and take care.

[@elizabethreems187]

To me painting is joy and peace even if I struggle with it. If I can't get it right I will try something else.

[@user-rz6gx4es5j]

Thanks, I learned a lot. I already knew the principles, but this is the first time that I saw how they can work together to bring such a difference.

[@evolveartist]

So glad to hear that! Merging them together takes time and experience. It's great that you know these principles and I hope you can continue to improve using them to create relationships in harmony with each other 😊~ Daniel

[@amysbees6686]

They say, "Value does all the work, while color gets all the credit."

[@amysbees6686]

Daniel, Can you do more of these types of critiques with your digital changes? Very illuminating!

[@evolveartist]

@@amysbees6686 thanks for the feedback! I’ll definitely keep it in mind :)

[@roguenine2000]

Fantastic video! When you were talking about how the reference photo holding Mick back, I couldn't help but laugh because, simply put, that is just what life looks like here in the UK and Ireland (where I'd wager both Mick and I live)! @Daniel I was wondering if you had any advice about how to create strong relationships in the low contrast lighting conditions such as those we are blessed with over here?

[@evolveartist]

Ooooh great question! Watch the fundamentals playlist on our channel and then come back to this comment. Okay, so you have 3 moving parts - values, edges, color. Even if your values are low contrast, you could play with contrasts in your edges and your colors. There are stunning paintings that work with subtle relationships to create elegant and even serene paintings. Even if you have less contrast, you can still have contrast at a subtle level as long as you can maintain the relationships and structure. You still want distinction, but you can have subtle distinction as long as it’s structured. For example, maybe instead of “very warm / yellow lights” and “very cool / blue shadows” you could work with “just a little warm / creamy lights” and “slightly cool / blue shadows.” Or another example, rather than work with values from 10-1 (10 being dark and 1 being light), you could work with values from 4-6, and have a beautiful painting as long as you “compress” those values into relationships that still make sense. You could argue that it takes more restraint and more careful management over those relationships in order to help the contrast exist, but you can certainly do it. Again it comes back to the structure - you would have a muddy / gray mess and the contrast (however subtle) wouldn’t be clear without the structure. And the structure starts with light and shadow. This is one of many reasons why we teach our students grayscale painting with only 4 values, so that they HAVE to paint based on the process / structure we give them, rather than copy what they see. And the 4-value paintings do have an elegant feel to them, because of the lower contrast. Let me know if you have any questions about this / need more links to explain this further ~ Daniel

[@LYBEY06143]

Daniel, I really enjoyed the facial expression you really get into the mood when you speak about highlights and shadows. Yes it’s the yin & yang thing did it for me. Once I understood highlights and shadows of photography it was ah done deal for me. highlights and shadows are what breaths life into the artist expression weather it in photography or ah oil painting! 😊 I just joined Evolve and can’t wait till I start working with the rest of the students of the course. Thank you kindly Daniel!

[@evolveartist]

That's awesome Lenwood! I can't agree more, and it's great that you see the power of light and shadow. Glad to have you with us 😊

[@toycoons]

This feedback and your changes were poingnent - love how this turned out

[@evolveartist]

Thank you! 😊 ~ Daniel

[@peterreynolds8146]

I’m going to have to put this on a continual loop and watch it for about half an hour excellent work!

[@evolveartist]

Thank you Peter! I really appreciate that 😊 ~ Daniel

[@ginacasper1136]

Love this! So very helpful!!

[@evolveartist]

Thank you Gina! 😊 ~ Daniel

[@JamesWilks-if3bv]

Mind-blowing. Thanks

[@ealykke427]

Excellent video, thank you!

[@amorfati0309]

Best video I ever seen! 🤩

[@nigeldonaldson1647]

I would say to simplify things, "what gives any painting life, is CONTRASTS. contrasts between light & dark, but also contrasts between colours, the same principle, black v white and let's say a rich navy blue next to a more pale pastel blue. this creates the illusion of depth, it is all - lights, darks and half tones, I would also say (when working from photographs) that your interpretation is only as good as the source material - an image with...flat lighting (little or no shadows) will result in a flat lit drawing/painting no matter how well drawn/painted, this may not be as obvious as it sounds

[@elizabethreems187]

I struggle with things because of a head injury that put me in a coma back in 1994. I had to learn to walk, write my name, drive, talk to people,etc... I couldn't breathe on my own for four days. I still have a memory problem and maybe always will, but keep going. Then 2019 gets here and my daughter gives me for my birthday a big bag of Bob Ross painting supplies. My daughter was with me on that horse ride. Christopher Reeves (played superman) was in a horseback riding accident as well a few months before me. My daughter was 14 yrs old and I was 34. Now I made it to 62 and daughter is 43.I will be 63 in November. I have two grandsons. Wow time fly's and I feel like I will run out time before I learn to paint well. Two jobs and other things hold me up. I always liked nature and taking pictures, but never thought I could paint anything. Yep I just keep going and will probably never stop. Someday I would love to paint well enough to sell paintings for a decent amount of money. I love watching your videos and thanks for listening to my story !!!

[@evolveartist]

There's just no stopping you! Have you tried art courses or looked into getting a complete education? ~ Daniel

[@elizabethreems187]

@@evolveartist no I can’t afford to pay for classes. Barely holding on to money.

[@tomhighsmith]

Thanks, I learned a lot.

[@sunceraysalazar1120]

I loved it .... I used to paint to be close to God...I want to be close to him again so I'm coming back home through painting.

[@evolveartist]

That's beautiful! I really hope that you find that connection and closeness again 😊 Personally, I also feel closer to God when I create. It's helped me to appreciate and find my own significance in this beautiful world that we live in. 😊~ Daniel

[@1950tennis]

I enjoyed your insights of art i just need to go back and watch the videos in again and to learn how too take my time with my art

[@evolveartist]

Thanks Jacklyn! It's great to see that you've renewed your efforts since this comment and are now in our Advanced Program :) ~ Daniel

[@aprilynnebarrett3239]

Super feed back Daniel!

[@evolveartist]

Thanks Aprilynne 😊 ~ Daniel

[@kristrappeniers]

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@markmaher1225]

So, painting overcast scenery invokes a depressive feeling and this video made me know exactly why that is... interesting!

[@evolveartist]

Great observation, yes! I talk more about these kinds of relationships and the importance of light and shadow in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oqq4eoBuaZVkoNU

[@idagarcia3607]

Wow just wow!!!! I am blown away by the information in this video and how well you put it. 👏 👏 👏 I’ve recently felt much more fired up about what I want and desire for my own artwork. This resonated so much! Amazing!

[@evolveartist]

Thank you so much Ida! That's really exciting that you've felt more fired up about your art 😊what kind of art do you see yourself making? ~ Daniel

[@idagarcia3607]

@@evolveartist after seeing the masterclass from Evolve I definitely see myself branching off in many different types and styles of art. In general, I love to create art. So far, I’ve only delved into watercolor painting and started with nature and doing animal portraits but I will learn how to use different types of paints. I just want to keep growing and keep pushing myself in doing new things with my art.

[@evolveartist]

@@idagarcia3607 That's really awesome Ida! Wanting to grow and get better at expressing yourself through your art is a really great mindset to have and aim for. We often talk about how learning art is like learning a language - start with the fundamentals (alphabet, words, basic grammar), so that you are equipped with the tools to eventually create "visual poetry." I'm actually working on a new video right now, making the argument that for people who want to learn how to paint in general, oil paint is the best paint to start with for learning (contrary to popular opinion). Keep an eye out for it next week! Are you looking into joining the Evolve program? ~ Daniel

[@idagarcia3607]

@@evolveartist why is oil paint best to start off with? I will keep an eye 👁 out for it! Oh yes I am looking to join the program but not yet. I’m really happy to have come across this on FaceBook. It really helped opened up a new perception towards art.

[@evolveartist]

@@idagarcia3607 you'll have to wait for the video for the full explanation, but the gist of it is that the fast drying time of acrylic is a disadvantage for beginners because it adds a layer of complexity and unwanted haste, which gets in the way of simplicity and quality control. It's also much more difficult or complex to make smooth gradients with acrylic. Gradients can be seen all around us and they are essential for painting and gaining a command over your artwork with a paintbrush. Don't make what is arguably the hardest beginner skill even harder for yourself by trying to do it with acrylic or water color! Oil, on the other hand, blends into itself easily and it is the most forgiving paint to work with, making it perfect for learners to thoughtfully take their time and develop their skills at their own pace. In the video I'll go deeper in this explanation and also address common objections like how oil paint is more expensive and I'll address the myths that oil paint is toxic and intimidating. In short, acrylic is great for people who want to find out if they like painting - but for people who really want to get good at painting anything, oil paint is the most efficient, cost-effective path to reach pro level painting skills. In the Evolve program we get our students to pro level skills in about 350 hours, and using oil paint is just one of the reasons why we're able to get our students there so fast. Glad to hear that you found us :) regardless of what medium you're working with, I made a playlist on the fundamentals of art and they apply to any paint you're using, including watercolors - kzbin.info/aero/PLlBZ6D4J51BMfilYd3PhLTsjmt9pabRu8 ~ Daniel

[@hughperry774]

good explanations

[@evolveartist]

Thank you Hugh! ~ Daniel

[@devinmichaelroberts9954]

Right relationships i think can be boiled down more to just "values". Having engaging simplified and correct values is the key as referenced by the fact that there are thousands of really realistic or life like and engaging black and white pieces of art. I will say though that correct values wouldnt have saved this piece of art because the selection wasnt good from the start. Too many beginner level painters dont understand how important the selection is to the success. You cant just pick an ackward photo, it has to have the ingredients in the scene to begin with meaning strong engaging value pattern and focal area or point.

[@evolveartist]

Hey Devin, yes I can't understate the "value" of values enough. Using the term "right relationships" was my attempt at going both more broad / conceptual and deeper, because it applies to values, edges, and color among many other things. Taking it one step towards specificity leads us to light and shadow, which affects all of those important relationships. And finally, if we take one more step towards specificity, among those relationships there is nothing more important than values. So you're completely right - without values everything else begins to fall apart. I appreciate your thoughts! 😊 ~ Daniel

[@sunceraysalazar1120]

I sound like a scarry person lol but no life would hurt me in rage me and make me want to do something anything I would pray then paint and when I was done for the day all the pain in My soul would be gone and replaced with pure joy and love peace I want that back

[@evolveartist]

What are you doing to get back to painting? Are you committing more time to painting, freeing up your schedule, dreaming up images, looking to learn more, etc.? ~ Daniel

[@sunceraysalazar1120]

@@evolveartist I'm freeing up time and looking in to things as I start working twords my goals

[@evolveartist]

@@sunceraysalazar1120 that's awesome! I made a free mini-course on 3 things you need to reach pro art skills - might be really good for you as you are figuring out how to reach your goals! bit.ly/proartskillsminicourse Also, have you checked out Evolve's training program? What did you think? ~ Daniel

[@flovisser3381]

Hi Do you know of folk who after having done Evolve gone on to be Sea Scape artists.

[@evolveartist]

Hey Flo, I'm not aware of any of our graduated students who are focusing specifically on seascape paintings. You could be the first! We teach our students the fundamentals of art-making in a way that allows them to be able to paint ANY subject matter - including seascapes. Do you want to become a seascape artist? ~ Daniel

[@funlightfactory6031]

The painting has equal value. He's not leading your eyes with values. If it's the waves, then lower the values in the background, and increase the values in the waves, nailing the scattered light under the waves.