What's Your Figurative Painting Style?

[@beedee4427]

Another new sub from Australia! Didn't realise when flagging this to watch that you would be mentioning my own Mentor, Ali Cavanaugh!!!! I'm a watercolour portrait artist (having previously worked in acrylics and graphite) and I hate the way that I paint with a stick up my bum! I paint so tight and realistic and it's not the type of art that I love myself. Ali is helping me to loosen up but I'm definitely still working too tight - it must be really ingrained muscle memory or something. I think it stems from my belief that people are super impressed when you can produce a likeness that is pretty damn spot on. This means that you are a "proper" artist and they can be impressed by your technical skills level. However, to me, I'm a decent technical painter but it's the "artistic" part of being an artist that I continue to struggle with. Interesting that you mentioned trying the other mediums because I've just started playing with oil pastels with a view to "blocking" colour in a portrait more successfully. Anyhoo, really interesting vid and loved the result at the end. Now I just need to take a leaf from your book. Cheers from NSW!

[@joshsorrell]

Thank you for subscribing! I'm sure she's a really great mentor! I think that can be one of the hardest parts for anybody is changing a habit. I think successful artists become really great when they're able to break habits easily. It's as if the habit itself is being able to break habits constantly. I think that opens the door to a lot of new ways of thinking. As long as you're willing to change that's the key. Take care!

[@pattywickson9046]

Great work. Subscribed. From Australia 🦘

[@joshsorrell]

Awesome! Thank you!

[@claudiocruzat8777]

Hello Josh. Is that oil or acrylic? You nailed it with the realism topic. I use oils but its daunting to match colours like the ones you see on the screen . Im painting that still from ET when the kid hugs ET goodbye (picture from Google) , take a look to that image. Its a challenge. Maybe I should paint til its dry then mix it with colour pencils to get all the "finesse". Ive seen people doing that. Hugs from the Chili south of Chile.

[@joshsorrell]

@@claudiocruzat8777 this is oil. Sounds like a fun painting! Interesting idea adding colored pencils over oil. Not sure that's ideal to have pencil over oil, but give it a try. You can always paint over it!

[@markrego3317]

I loved the style of this portrait. How would you describe it?

[@joshsorrell]

Mostly impressionism

[@markrego3317]

@@joshsorrell I have done some portrait work but would like to move on to the type of thing you have done in this video. Do you teach?