September was a bit of a rough month for me. I was feeling really overwhelmed, burned out, and just generally uninspired. I decided to take a step back and start creating art for the joy of it—no outcome anticipated other than joy. This felt phenomenal for a few days, but I was still left with an empty inspiration well.
In my hour of need, I decided to turn to YouTube.
Are there some acrylic techniques I’m missing?
Is there some cool art trend that I can practice?
What about my portraits? How can I get better?
As I perused the offerings, I came across four really great finds:
1) Struthless: Campbell Walker is the Australian artist/cartoonist who runs this YouTube channel, which has been a go-to gem for me. In a turn of events, I actually haven’t really watched his art videos, if I’m being honest. What captured me was his videos on his personal development and well-being, which if you are an artist or have delved into art at all, you know that your emotional well-being is very much reflected in your art and it’s perhaps even more important to be tapped into yourself than it is to be tapped into the latest art trends.
The first video I watched was called “The Drawing Advice that Changed My Life”, which inspired me to take on a year long sketching challenge (which I will spotlight in my next post). What struck me was how honest and raw he was about his own journey and why this advice he got was so impactful. The way he described the beginning of his journey really resonated with how I feel about where I am now. I moved on to several of his other videos about what he’s consuming and what he’s putting out in the world as well as reflections on some self-help questions and ideas to ponder.
Long story short, I really dig his YouTube channel and will be tuning in regularly to see his content.
2) Proko: I love this guy. Seriously, I want him to be my best friend right now. I found his videos as I was searching for tips and tutorials on portraitures. His videos are straight to the point, clear, and instructional. I don’t think I’ve found a bad video yet.
As a teacher, Stan Prokopenko comes off extremely warm and clear. He doesn’t take to cussing at everyone or degrading people for their work (yes, I’ve seen those types of YouTubers too and they won’t be featured on this blog post…or ever). He’s just very positive and it’s clear that he’s passionate about what he does.
If you are looking for some instructional videos with amazing quality, this is the channel for you. Highly recommend.
3) Kirsty Partridge Art: I actually first encountered Kirsty’s videos a few years ago when I was really started to dive into portraits. She’s a hyper-realistic artist who specializes in watercolors and colored pencils. Her techniques are really great and I appreciate that she does a lot of do’s and don’ts videos. Her voice is also very lovely to listen to and like Proko, she is very instructional and her videos are high quality. I definitely recommend her channel—especially if you are interested in watercolors and colored pencil, which I am looking to get into as well!
4) Alphonso Dunn: I can’t end this list without including Alphonso. I haven’t watched his videos recently, but I follow him on IG and his talent is out of this world. I also own his book Pen & Ink Drawing, which is excellent for both learning foundational skills and learning how to draw with ink.
Alphonso’s talent lies in his renderings using hatching and cross hatching with ink. He produces works with such amazing detail that you are left wondering how one human can have the patience to draw that many lines. He’s a truly talented artist and his videos provide wonderful instructionals.
There you have it! Art is definitely a journey and I hope these teachers provide you with a little something to move you along your path.
Comments