How to Take the Stress Out of Oil Painting

How do you stop stressing out when you paint so you can develop a regular painting practice?
M E N T O R S H I P
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C O L L E C T
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[@liexicof]

Exactly what I needed to hear. I put an immense pressure on myself to not only make an extremely realistic likeness no matter the subject but to also make every attempt at art profitable. It's no wonder I find it stressful and daunting. Exceeded capture of movement in your piece. I love the lost and found edges.

[@gosiagosia5934]

You make it look so easy and you have incredible gift! thank you for sharing

[@dogloverjb6873]

I agree..the more we try new things, the better our paintings become.

[@shamsart]

Great video and beautiful painting. Thanks for sharing.

[@shadowstarr7]

Thank you Chelsea, I did need to hear this today. Your horse painting is joyous!

[@user-mb6rk8in4f]

How pleasant it is to watch the work of a real master !! Very beautiful work !!

[@ConfluenceNutrition]

I'm not a painter, but I can relate to your message as a musician...especially when I'm working on recording. My teacher is always encouraging me to PLAY and not be afraid of messing up. And I can also say that the combo of time lapse painting and voice over is so soothing and peaceful. Thank you for all this food for thought :) (And I am a lifelong Bob Ross fan...I've loved him since I was a little kid!)

[@maureenbrophy7852]

Bob Ross lost all his money to the man & woman who managed him. His son lost the name etc. Love your painting Thank you I will go back & start again My last painting someone near to me advised how would be better & really just helping me!! I put this big painting in the bin I know I was being childish, but I also felt it was bad Now I will go & have some fun 🥰

[@swapneelswami7925]

Nice painting, voiceover and yes Happy Accidents. Lol. Loved it.

[@mihaigarleanudunca7521]

Hello! Your paintings are wonderful! And ther is a plus, your voice is so eaisy to listen to. Thankyou for this vlog!

[@user-sb8ks1ij7b]

Beautiful painting 👏

[@suzanneaitken5939]

Did you make this video just for me? It is good to know that an experienced artist struggles with this. As a learner of only 10 months, painting is torture sometimes but the amazing times keeps me trying. Painting has changed my life for the better.

[@ginamarayart]

Out of all the high value wonderfulness of your videos I gotta say this is my favorite so far! Y❣️E❣️S❣️ Play✨✨✨👏👏👏 right on and Beautiful sharing!

[@m8kuplvr]

Very inspiring. Thank you for sharing. It’s so good to hear others with the same thoughts on painting.

[@huntsail3727]

Your comments were insightful and helpful, the painting beautiful!

[@beccahess1390]

Thank you for posting this today! It was just what I needed to hear. ❤️

[@kamrankazemi]

Waoooo... Really beautiful..... ❤️😍👌👌👌👍👍👍👍👍

[@belindahall5220]

Definitely resonates:) Beautiful painting! Thank you Chelsea!

[@englemanart]

I really needed this. I'm going to play this weekend. Thank you!

[@joalphillips]

Holy cow a voice of God telling me to get back into painting again. My little space studio in my apartment has easels and paint and brushes waiting me for a year since Covid. Fear of imperfection has kept me frozen to pick up my brush again. Depression breeds as a result of this stupor of inactivity. My goodness, thank you for speaking to my heart. Amazing.

[@alexis5350]

As always your commentary is so perfectly worded and says just what I need to hear! Thank you, Chelsea. Your paintings are gorgeous and something I strive to reach some day!

[@free5pirit01]

Great advice! I have a commission to start tomorrow that I'm been dreading because of the subject matter, but this is a great mindset from which I can approach it. Beautiful painting too by the way!

[@sarahrbaileyart]

I can really connect with what your saying as I've been feeling very similar! Beautiful painting and video!

[@Toqueville2023]

"Iterate" is more descriptive than "Evolve"..What a great concept..and the simple idea of one painting each day for 30 days..one simple, small , perhaps 11 x 14..

[@chukukaogude5894]

I have been digital painting for about a year, but if you look at my speed paintings, you'll see its just a bunch of errors that I compare to the source. What I mean by this is no stroke I put down during the beginning and middle that is the perfect stroke. They are there to tell me about what to do later in the painting. There is a methodology but I always go in painting thinking that it will turn out horrible. So the first stage I try to get the correct form of the animal, head, or whatever. I do this with a quick sketch and the most basic of values to fill in the form before thinking about anything else. I realized at the beginning without the form set early, the face will come out bad no matter how well you can draw the eyes nose or mouth. Then I look start to look for slightly smaller shapes than the bigger ones and the values are relative to what I put down rather than the picture I used as a reference. It sometimes looks over the top. I do this so that I don't waste time harping on getting the exact right colors considering colors are relative to each other. Values is what is more important. So the over the top colors are there to tell me about value changes to work on later. Then I start to add smaller shapes and continue to bring values closer to the photo but relative to the painting. What I mean by this is yes, the brown on my painting is strong, but if I were to look at the reference photo, what strength of the brown when it changes the value. Then when I finally start seeing something forming I start putting in things like the eyes, nose, mouth, ears, etc. Then I look to see if I can push the values apart even more with little effort. So far this method works well for me for anything. When I paint, I don't look at things. I don't think it's a person, tree, car, etc. at the beginning of the panting. They are just objects with light interacting with them. Then when I start to SEE the person, tree, car, etc. THAT'S when I know it's time to start adding in details. Every time I pick up the digital pen, I know my painting is going to start with a mystery aspect to them. I do have a methodology, but that mystery aspect is what helps me not get to rigid about painting. Trust me, I was a very rigid person. I use to draw maybe one stroke every 5 to 10 minutes. The stroke was well placed actually. The problem is that method took HOURS to just get a perfect line photo with no painting. Then I found out I would have to paint over it otherwise it will look like a coloring book. So I threw out my old habits and jumped into unfamiliar territory. That's why I always keep my beginnings loose. I was harping too much on the details that made the person instead of the light and shadows that made the person. That's when my skills jumped fast. I had to take a 3 month break on digital painting because I had no AC and my laptop was overheating. However, now I can start back again. It's in the 50s now. All that time however I was watching many YT videos on many aspects of painting that I can't wait to try. I don't use undo, I don't use layers, I don't reshape the whole painting, I "mix" the colors on the digital palette. I try to keep it as close to traditional while learning. The extra stuff can wait.

[@vickiduron7218]

This video is really hitting home for me. Thanks for sharing.

[@edisonliburd7817]

Refreshing, therapeutic, inspiring

[@maureenbrophy7852]

Beautiful horse👏👏👏👏

[@kathyhutchinson2416]

Thank you so much!❤💯

[@arnelarttutorial5655]

This is awesome

[@user-rj3jk1eb5d]

Beautiful painting, very useful information. My thoughts are I would never know how to keep layering in all those different colors. I cannot see it, which causes me great frustration with myself. This is the reason I keep putting off a project. 😢

[@lindajakub624]

I would love to be able to paint half as well as you! Wow. You are so good!

[@eduardosuarez4239]

Hermosa obra de arte, felicidades 👌👌👌👌....

[@destructiveeyeofdemi]

Nice one!

[@beccagee5905]

I've learned not to beat myself up if a painting is not where I want it to be. I step back and think about, what it is about the painting I'm not happy about, and usually the solution will come to me, sometimes in my sleep. I do place the painting where I can see it often as I work on another painting, doing household chores, or come in from a walk. Sometimes I will turn the painting upside down, or look at it's reflection in a mirror, and the errors can suddenly become clear. One thing you do especially well is paint loosely, while capturing an amazing likeness of the subject. I paint looser during the sketching and block in phase, yet paint more deliberately and tighter later. I think I'll give myself a painting where I just allow myself to play.

[@davidvstokessr.5040]

Thanks, I picked up a lot.

[@beccagee5905]

@@davidvstokessr.5040 You're very welcome.

[@renatonotturno6050]

Cavolo, sei bravissima complimenti👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@alinserea4179]

Thank you very much for the beautiful. Video I was very amazed thanks Very interesting thanks for sharing please, please stay connected 💖 ... 💗💖...💞.💕..💗 .

[@914peru]

I have the same feeling

[@dawnemile4974]

I like the loose style of ths painting. I tend to be painstaking in achieving realism.

[@jebbylawless]

I love your work! You are such an inspiration! A topic that you may want to consider is how to deliver at a consistent standard. Personally, I am a pretty good artist. I like what I create (generally) but many of my commissions (pets and house portraits) have ended up far below my usual standard. There are many factors that contribute - quality of reference photography, untested approaches, specific requirements ("the house has to be this exact color"), deadlines, and tight pricing. Anyway, when I look back on some of my commissions it gouges my ego deeply and I can't believe that I actually charged people for some of these paintings. I struggle with how to deliver everything at the same quality standards and how to move on in a positive way from some of the wrecks.

[@sandragustafsson3125]

Playing is actually really important for our brain and mental health. Play, in whatever form, allows the brain to relax and feel safe, and it also makes it more effective in learning new things. These are basic evolutionary functions we have lost as modern adults. Ryan Munsey about this in his book "F*ck your feelings" (I highly recommend it!). Playing is something I take more and more seriously these days. For the longest time I've been afraid to create, because somehow I've gotten into my head that EVERYTHING I create HAVE to be a masterpiece. Silly, I know. But in reality - the best works a create are those I make while playing (some of the worst too, but it's only play so it doesn't matter ^.^).

[@Akil-]

Well said! I actually just started experiencing bad anxiety and find it hard to paint. I'm thinking toooo much but, your perspective has given me a different way of approaching my painting. Thank you!!

[@Manifesting_Secret_Sketchbook]

It's one of the secrets to attract Positive energy my dear.

[@thorstenh]

I so agree with that daily commute study, too much time to myself lately. Relieved at 6:21 about the hair gone :-) Remember how you played as a kid, maybe even before the moment you discovered painting, drawing and noticing these things.

[@ibtesamsaleh1504]

Thanks 😊🙏😊🙏

[@IzzyCubito]

What is the demotions of the painting, what is your general size you work on? great work..

[@kath182]

I would LOVE to own this painting. 🙂🐴🐎

[@tinkerquinn8580]

This video & the last one didn’t show you varnishing. That part is so satisfying to watch. Please show that when possible at the end :)

[@ChelseaLang]

Will do! I've waited on the last three because I was still waiting on the painting to dry while putting the video together. I'll try my best to time it so that I can include the varnishing, though. :)

[@NineEyedOracle]

So weird. I've been having the same realizations about painting lately as you are having here. Also, I can't help but notice that I looked at the timestamp for what you were saying and it was at 5:55, there are and 44 comments before I leave this. I'm the kind of person that (though I don't follow them religiously) feels there is some significance in synchronicities like those. That it's a sort of subconscious psychological confirmation or something. Anyhow, I appreciate your videos so much lately! You and I have been very much on the same brain-wave with this stuff. :) Can't wait for your next post.

[@africo9104]

We very saldom see your photo or setup of what you are painting, or is it all just from memory ?

[@kunalkulkarni542]

Hey Chelsea I am very much new to oil painting. Very much fresher. Did you use a mixture of turpentine/Gamsol and colour for the initial blocking of the values for your first layer/underpainting ??? Please can you reply ?

[@finfan1009]

Can you do a beginners painting like this one please,not so fast.ty.

[@Toqueville2023]

Working at Ford as a contract designer, I remember Ford trying to cultivate creativity among the engineers. They started a class, called , "Structured Inventive Thinking". The name points out the obvious contradiction in the title.

[@gusposey8218]

You should do one of a robot fighting a dragon.

[@KAFRO12]

Ich liebe Pferde und ich liebe Ihre Art zu malen. Viele Grüße aus Deutschland

[@elliemathews6884]

Anyone who can make fun of Bob Ross clearly is jealous of his popularity and success. The gifts he gave to the world while he was alive is incalculable.

[@erezgolan1]

ציור יפה. המפתח זה לצייר יותר ולדבר פחות. תנסי. עוזר גם לנפש.

[@Manifesting_Secret_Sketchbook]

My darling horsy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxi LOVE You my Cutie xxx XxxxxxAnimals are friends forever. Protectors of earth. Guardians companion Xxx we must not give up on them. Animals see things in other dimensions because they don't watch tv / the news. They spend time in nature so live in the NOW.

[@Toqueville2023]

Wouldn't doing one painting per day regardless of size begin to realize the consistency? Success is intimidating .