How to Paint a Multi-Figure Narrative with Oil Paint

[@PietroColombo-em5mz]

The original composition and a brilliant use of light , remind me some of best Caravaggio's paintings. 👏👏👏

[@stevechmilar1215]

Thank you.

[@strawberrymc]

From one artist to another, it's so interesting to see your process and the amount of time and patience you put into creating a composition before starting the painting. Awesome.

[@stevechmilar1215]

Thank you. Yes it can be kind of crazy-making sometimes but I never regret the results of extra effort.

[@capitandelnorte]

I am simply in awe at your work ethic. I had no idea so many props were used in the making of a painting

[@stevechmilar1215]

Thank you. It does seem like a lot for one person to do by themselves but I am always influenced by the film industry. So many people to make one project work. I pretend to be ‘many people’. 😂

[@capitandelnorte]

@@stevechmilar1215 I try to make multi figure drawings from imagination myself. Am I going the wrong way? Should I start using props/figures

[@RVSeal]

The thumbnail says you are criminally underrated...keep up the great work, brother❤

[@stevechmilar1215]

Thank you. I am appreciating recent attention.

[@ciucinciu]

hell yeah man! another great painting. i saw the video just before going up the mountain and lose mobile signal and had to wait 3 long days to watch the video. awesome to see you passed 1K!

[@stevechmilar1215]

Thank you for waiting three long days. Greatly appreciated! 🤩

[@christians_kunst_ecke]

awsome 👍👍

[@troyvalin2992]

Very fascinating to see and learn about your process, Steve. I also love the tractor, a bit of a nod to home 👌 Keep up the great work, very proud of you.

[@stevechmilar1215]

Thank you Troy!

[@rayray-ew1we]

tractor crash at the ethereal foot spa sounds hysterical but it looks fkn awesome I'm obsessed❤

[@erik_carter_art]

The title of Lana Del Rey's new album. 😂

[@stevechmilar1215]

Thank you. The title came first. I use the word ethereal in light of its overuse in the fantasy/surreal art world.

[@huwwackman]

Very skilled. Well done

[@stevechmilar1215]

Thank you!

[@christion.miraca1942]

I knew the secret had to be in the Lithuanian Oak. Now I can make some art!

[@stevechmilar1215]

Thank you for the only comment thus far about the vast wood selection! 🤡

[@davirballard]

Incredible as always Steve! As a painter myself, I find your videos very inspiring! 🤩 Thank you 🙏

[@stevechmilar1215]

Thank you for saying so David! I hope the rest of 2024 is a great painting time for you.

[@svenlechtenberg8119]

Haven't seen anybody doing no underpating while using oil, love it 👍🏾

[@ricbulow]

But... He -is- doing an underpainting. He even speaks of it in the video. It's a technique called ébauche.

[@svenlechtenberg8119]

@@ricbulow yeah my bad should have specified I mean a "normal" underpating so one layer of a brown'ish tone before going in with colors it's really refreshing seeing something different and as you can guess oil painting isn't my specialty, so I just talk about what I have seen 😇

[@ricbulow]

@@svenlechtenberg8119 Sorry if my reply came out sounding rude, that wasn't the intend. I work as an art teacher and even -I- rarely see this underpainting approach, so it was even refreshing to see for me as well. The Burned Umber underpinting with values is definitely the most used.

[@stevechmilar1215]

Thank you. I have worked in the more monochrome grisaille methods before but was experimenting with something else here. Always trying alternate ways to keep it interesting. I’ve found that different underpainting techniques seem to benefit each type of composition in unique ways.

[@GailReidArtist]

That's great Steve, so useful. Thank you for sharing, I'm just about to start a big multi-figure painting, so it's perfect timing. I don't think it was boastful, just a good intro.

[@stevechmilar1215]

Thank you. I’m glad to hear my boasting wasn’t too much. Good luck on your new piece.

[@brookemaxwell2276]

Fifth! But also, holy flippin' doodle Steve! Incredible, inspiring work. Amazing. May the God of Algorithms smile upon you and make the Universe make sense again.

[@stevechmilar1215]

Thank you Brooke! The god of algorithms is currently treating me better than I expected so I'm okay with this. This universe will never make sense so we'll build another one from scratch.

[@rodrogar]

Great painting, love your process, very nice!!!!

[@stevechmilar1215]

Thank you Kovalsky. I appreciate your comment.

[@Lauren-nr1wk]

It's so interesting to hear this perspective. I want to start selling my art and have been battling with this. Copying a reference exactly as it is feels stifling and doesn't represent the art I want to create. Anyone can find that reference online and recreate it. I love how you build and design your references! Thank you for sharing.

[@stevechmilar1215]

Thank you for the lovely comment Lauren. I hope your upcoming art experiments go better than ever. Happy to help!

[@77talles]

Amazing process, to make a good video like this takes time, I find few videos like this on KZbin that show the process of composing the work of art, this becomes enriching for people like me who are starting out in the artistic life, your line of work is incredible. Thank you very much for sharing.

[@stevechmilar1215]

You are very welcome. Comments like yours fuel future video motivation. Very happy to help!

[@HimmelsscheibeNebra]

What a great and inspiring video. In my opinion, the painting looks beautiful and interesting. The process is amazing.

[@stevechmilar1215]

Thank you Himmelsscheibe! I appreciate your comment. :)

[@MI-gn9lg]

Lovely work and excellent video. What primer do you recommend for aluminum? Also, does painted aluminum age well? I imagine that there aren’t too many historical examples of this particular medium and support combination.

[@stevechmilar1215]

From my experience talking to pro art conservators (my favourite people) their opinion is very high on aluminum. I'm sure the old masters would have used it if they could have. All in all, I believe there are more drawbacks to wood and especially canvas. I just use Liquitex gesso, very thin in a few coats sanding between each. I've read that aluminum doesn't need a primer and can be painted on directly on as that is what our tubes are made of. I gesso not for a barrier but to color my ground to a certain value.

[@MI-gn9lg]

Thank you, very helpful reply. I love the old “cabinet” pictures, which are often painted on copper. Aluminum enables the same work on a large scale. I am amazed that you do everything with small round brushes. It is contrary to what we were taught and it seems like a recipe for RSIs but whatevs, each to their own. “Technique is for being inventive”, like they say at my school (AAC, Toronto).

[@scottferguson1756]

As an artist myself I love the glossy jewel look of a painting, however it can backfire if you cross up paint brands in the intermidiate stages. I have learned to stick with one brand thoughout the whole process of an underpainting or final layer. Micheal Hardings is an excellent brand , pretty much no extra oil is need

[@stevechmilar1215]

Good point. I don’t have a lot of Michael Harding paint, and I know they are great. I heard Michael himself say in an interview while he was standing in front of their mediums in his factory that he doesn’t recommend mediums if they aren’t necessary. I use mostly Williamsburg and they seem consistently great. Even within that brand there are minute differences with different pigments and of course with different thicknesses of paint. I too like the glossy look. That is why I use stand oil in the final layer(s) to not depend on varnish to fix things in the end.

[@tabbi888]

Stunning work ❤

[@stevechmilar1215]

Thank you!

[@jamesguacamole3246]

big fan of the intro - I think you hit the mark this time - timing perfected to the femtosecond

[@stevechmilar1215]

Thank you Mr. Guacamole! Always trying to improve.

[@snafudance]

Great video! Keep them coming

[@stevechmilar1215]

I will and there is one thing you will do about it?

[@astrorobinson3716]

K, the maquette thing- having the ability to build my design with miniatures would really help. Man… going to look into maquettes I guess. BEAUTIFUL work.

[@stevechmilar1215]

Glad to help. The smaller the scale, the easier to light..to a point.

[@chrisgriffith1573]

To address the blazer in this video "drawing" on the panel before painting... I recently have begun to tint my gesso. I now have four mixed gesso's, with four different grades. Titanium dioxide for white of course, Graphite black for a cool black, iron oxide for a warm black, and a neutral gray which is a mix of all three. This gives me a total tonal range that becomes very informational and totally compliments the underpainting- as well as holds all the information of a grisaille, but IS gesso. The advantage? Well, getting a grisaille that speed the dry time for the first layer of oil color, for starters, and also you get past all the problems of pencil lines showing into your underpainting as you lay down the first coat, eliminating the need to seal a pencil layer entirely, as some do, which could become an archival nightmare to think about- is that layer helping to prevent graphite from tainting your future painting, or is it itself eventually going to do something funny after 100 years? Making PVA gesso is super simple too, buy the glue in bulk, get the pigments, mix them into distilled water overnight, then add the glue before use. I add chalk, gypsum and pumice for more or less effect, but usually, the pigment is enough to cut the surface tension and produce a rough surface for the oil paint to adhere. Adding these will matte out the gesso- and also lighten the tint, which is preferable to a grisaille, which should leave room for darkening via the color layers. I hope I inspired you with a little bit of my process... :)

[@stevechmilar1215]

Thank you Chris. That is a useful point. I have thought about that before and it is cool to know that someone like yourself is doing that. There definitely are so many ways to work now with our vast selection of materials. I have started using coloured gesso over the past few months. Always changing which keeps things interesting to me. Even used very dark burnt umber gesso, didn't enjoy the design part in white only. Recently I've also been experimenting with just plain white again, definitely some advantages there. Thankfully, I haven't had any problems with graphite showing through the paint. I think because I keep it quite sparingly. I guess I would see in 100 years but some of the work that I had done more than a decade ago is still good with no graphite showing through. Cheers!

[@AndyDePooter_Art]

Excellent video, man! Well put together! And a great design and final result as well. Also, I did not know that a muted color underpainting had a name, haha. I learned a couple of useful things, thanks!!

[@stevechmilar1215]

Thank you Andy! Hey, nice work yourself. Nice to meet you via youtube. :)

[@AndyDePooter_Art]

@@stevechmilar1215 Thanks Steve! Well met!

[@VictorFota]

I enjoyed every second of this video

[@stevechmilar1215]

That means a lot coming from you Victor. Thank you for watching every second. Next video will look even better on full-screen as much of the first half footage on this video was with my old camera. Techy tech tech.

[@Mohamed-tr7fi]

Hey there. I just watched your video on the aluminium panel preperation. Is it an archival surface? Thank you

[@stevechmilar1215]

Yes, I cannot see any reason why it would not be far more archival than traditional wood and canvas panels. If it were available in the old masters time, I'm sure they would have used it.

[@Mohamed-tr7fi]

@@stevechmilar1215 ok, thank you for the advice and how many layers of gesso would you recommend and can i paint on the panel without any gesso?

[@stevechmilar1215]

@@Mohamed-tr7fi You could paint on the panel as is, as long as it is sanded first. A coarse surface is required for the paint to adhere. Therefore, the number of gesso layers does not matter as it is not required to prevent oil from touching the substrate. I prefer at least a few thin layers, sanded with higher than 280 grit sand paper.

[@RichardThompsonCA]

Amazing work!

[@stevechmilar1215]

Thank you Richard!

[@sinfall5280]

No yeah i agree with you And hard work pays off

[@stevechmilar1215]

It does.... sometimes later than we expect but better late than never.

[@devikamenon2239]

Wait, you paint using both hands? 🤯 Also, great work, very inspiring 🌞

[@stevechmilar1215]

Hi Devika! Yes, only because I forced myself to with a cast on my left arm in 2017. It distributes the wear and tear on my left arm and is really not as difficult as one might think, especially for larger mark making. Tiny detail with my right hand is still challenging.

[@nickrodis6862]

Salamat po

[@farmerfox3332]

Very cool. Just subcribed.

[@stevechmilar1215]

ThaNk you foR subscribiNg!

[@Misana]

What's that cylinder around your paintbrush?

[@stevechmilar1215]

In 2017 I broke my wrist (left dominant hand) and was given foam grip expanders by a hand clinic in Toronto. I put them on my brush at the time to help ease hand muscle strain when my slightly atrophied muscles just got out of the cast. I decided to keep using them and I haven't had any tendonitis issues since. 8+ hours per day with tiny brushes in hand can be taxing to small muscles. The foam cylinder is that little edge to easing tension.

[@Misana]

@@stevechmilar1215 Going to look into this. Thank you for sharing.

[@xTwistedFleshX]

Funny you mention Twombly because I far prefer work like his and especially Rothko, but I enjoyed this a lot. I paint non-representational but I greatly appreciate representation especially when it all comes from the imagination.

[@stevechmilar1215]

Thank you for watching this kind of work. I appreciate the cross over. 😊

[@oogalaboo]

This is beautiful! Are they all high or is something else going on?

[@stevechmilar1215]

Thank you. One of my favourite things is to hear questions like this. I'm not sure that I know the answer. Yet.

[@itmatters107]

Wow...

[@FlakoBarrios]

How long did it take to start making income from your artwork

[@stevechmilar1215]

I spent four years painting at least 40 hours per week before selling anything.

[@peninsulagallerycanada5238]

Cannot believe that I did not subscribe before

[@stevechmilar1215]

As we are all lost in the vast ocean of social media - the raft lost at sea bumps into a tiny undiscovered island.

[@martawitkiewicz]

How big is your dolls collection?

[@stevechmilar1215]

Ten times bigger than the doll collections of the real manly men that I grew up around. They are jealous! These dolls are each tokens of my unf***withableness of not caring about anything else but getting this done like a turkey dinner in a cold winter ditch. What?! Thank you for your submission, you are hired.

[@martawitkiewicz]

@@stevechmilar1215 Done. Pick me up in 12h27min41s. I'll bring my dinosaurs collection, your dolls will have SO much fun.

[@NaosAugust]

Love you ❤

[@stevechmilar1215]

Love you right back!

[@canalcerrado2433]

Colore can also deal with imaginary compositions , great Venetian painters for example… it’s not exclusive to just copying nature . Delacroix is also that example as opposed to the academic Ingres …

[@stevechmilar1215]

Yes, good point. My simple generalization off-the-cuff narration misses so very much.

[@dallassegno]

Hey man I met you lol

[@stevechmilar1215]

Excellent! I wish I could remember where?

[@LaoZi2023]

I doubt you're totally self-taught. Either you learned from books, other people's videos on how to do sketches, and composing; your drawing and sketching is professional. Although working from two dimensional images is easier than real life. You have some education in your back-ground.

[@stevechmilar1215]

Thank you. Yes, everyone is both a product of what is out there and ‘self taught’ to some degree altogether. Perhaps ‘self directed’ or autodidact are better terms. I have found working from life to be as easy as from two dimensions if it is a still pose or object at the correct viewing distance in the ideal light. Working from photos can be more difficult if all the desired extra information isn’t in the one pic.

[@LaoZi2023]

@@stevechmilar1215 , yup. So true. I use both photos and real life. But when I really want to see, real life offers you to capture that the dimensionality that brings a painting to life.