I have to disagree - if someone just starts with oil painting, getting only expensive artist grade paints is the wrong way, this person usually then will use not enough paint or doesn’t paint very often, because they’re afraid of wasting the expensive paint. Getting some good student grade paint like Gamblin 1980 in such a case is the better choice, they aren’t afraid of wasting paint and will paint more and imho it’s the most important thing to practice a lot.

Enjoyed seeing you and your work at the 2024 Door County event last week

Great video, Vlad! I wish I had seen it before Easton. Would have been a good conversation!

Thank you Vlad! I noticed that too... So many are claiming that if you sign and complete the program and learn their techniques you can earn lots of money... 🤣 I am just doing it on my own. I have been an artist for many years so after being a working Mom I am now focusing back on my art. I just recently got a few of my pieces accepted into a small, but popular gallery in our city. So I am focusing on painting as much as I can... The more I paint the better I get... I can do my own research... I want to focus on my own style anyway... I love to do original work as I feel it is more spontaneous that way... 😊

Wow! I love watching you mix color with that knife! The bluestone greens on your pallet are beautiful! Is there somewhere that you list the colors?

Only 1 minute into the video and I already clicked Like. Love that director's viewing tool idea. I can tell this is going to be a great and informative video.

Show us how to do this panel and cradle.

Laughing at the cicada on your shoulder. We just went through a major cicada bloom in my neck of Tennessee this year. It was deafening ... kind of cool and kind of a nuisance.

Hi, thank you for a great lesson. One technical question: Why did you choose water mixable oils for this particular piece?

The correct way to say it is GRAND PREEEE, NOT PRIX, THE X IS SILENT.

The way you get a six figures income is to get online and get other people to pay for your courses

in my neck of the woods plein air painting is going out with a numbered canvas and returning 2 or so hours later with your finished piece. usually framed. I personally never use cameras or I pads, etc. i just set up and crop with my hands then do the painting, usually in a little over 2 hours. None of the paintings I saw here resemble paintings in that technique. i suppose some could have been. so what is a plein air painting? i was in a competition once where the winner said, he painted yesterday then took his small plein air painting back to his hotel room then made a 30x40 painting from his first painting. it was framed beautifully and was a great painting. It was not a plein air painting though. he later told me he had been in town for a few days prior. Who really knows if he even did the small painting outdoors. If you take a camera to the event then paint then return to your room and paint from the photo is that plein air? why not just show up hang your work and let the judges and buyers do their thing. i don't get it. after I posted this comment (the first half of the video) i was watching then suddenly you started the talk part of this video. I heard your preferences for this type of show. well your explanation helped and i understand but there are other competitions around that follow my procedure, i..e. show up, paint, frame and get judged the same day.

Ah, that is why I go by pigment, not names. But I bet if you compare three tubes of PG18 they would still be different.

Yes, MDF is a great surface to work on, and cradling is a very good idea for larger sizes due to tendency of boards to warp. Going up to 1/4-inch thickness helps too, for larger paintings; no warping up to two feet by 3 feet, I've found. Been doing lot of small studies this year in 6x8 and 8x10 so not much warpage in 1/8-inch panels. Gessoed (that's "Jesso-ed", Vlad! LOL ;D) is easiest but also can also glue canvas/linen to it for a nice surface if that is your preference. If you can't or don't want to risk your precious painting fingers on powered saws (LOL), you can get them pre-cut online at Amazon, in many sizes. They are boxed and "raw" and un-primed, so they are much cheaper than the ones that are "ready to go" paint on. I found one maker by Juvale that is great for the smaller sizes 6x8, 8x10, near 1/8 thick, for about 15 bucks for about 30 of them. They are sightly undersized, in thickness and length and width, but consistently accurate dimensionally, one to another, and fine for "studies; they, being measured in mm rather than inches. From China, I think. Cheers!!

How may 6 figure artists do you know?

To get to six figure income an artist needs to be at the level of a banksy, Julian schnabel , basquiat or other well know painters who have a prodigious output of work and talent that makes them unique. An average painter who merely spends 50% of his time on branding is misleading because if you have the talent and output of work a gallery will likely be able to promote you and sell everything you make which leads the artist to create more work at a levell that is closer to 100% of their time .

Would love to learn how to diy the mdf panel please

It’s so happened that my first acrylics were Chroma Atelier Interactive and I never understood that fear of the paints prematurely dried up. As long as you can spray them with water they would stay workable. And you don’t have to keep your brushes in water while working either.

Another great presentation. I would like you to talk about varnishing your paintings and how you select your frames. Not how to frame but what frames do you use. Thanks for all you do!

Usually youtube art channels are reduntant. You saw one, you saw all of them. This one is different though. It's like being an aprentice to a master and getting little secrets of the craft that nobody knows. Thank you so much mr. Duchev!

Can you do this using gator board?

This content was so helpful ... would love to see how to do gallery wrap, too!

I am very impressed with the dedicated effort that you have made recently to advance your technique to create a subtle yet distinctive painting style!

I use plywood or mdf panels (I like a rigid support) onto which I glue canvas (i love the texture of fabrics). With this method I have fun experimenting using linen, cotton, jute, burlap (although this one is too much texture for my taste) etc. Furthermore there are no problems of having to stretch the fabric of your choice, of slack canvas and so on

I usually use MDF panel, but I first apply the acrylic primer to protect the panel from oil from the paint, and then apply a layer of Gesso. I sand to the desired smoothness, depending on the subject.

👋👋👋👋👋👋👍👍👍

Yes, Vlad I would love to see you make that MDS panel. I’d also like to see how you take those and put them in frame or if you just leave them like that and hang them. Because I do not have the space for all of these canvases in my house I have started using just a piece of tacked or taped down canvas. Then, if the paintings sells, I will then apply it to a panel and frame. However, I have a hard time painting like that because the Canvas, even tacked down tends to buckle while I’m painting on it. Any advice?

Thank you for sharing:) i understood and the reason we want to be an artist is to paint what we want not to paint what “would sell” I’m from Moldova by the way so we are neighbors:)

Thank you for sharing :)

Great video Vlad, thank you.

Thanks!

This is really great- i personally like a slightly rougher surface that pulls the paint off the brush and the paint sinks in a little. I like Ray Mar linen #13 (or maybe 16 I forget)

Congrats on the award!! Glad you’re back doing videos. Missed the behind-the-scenes videos on your plein air contests, hope to see more.

I’m so glad you made a video of this! We missed it this year. Love your behind-the-scenes footage. Thank you and congratulations on your awards and sales this year.

So fun to see the gang! And awesome to watch Patrick do his magic!

After following all the professional advise, investing much time and money, marketing strategies and extensive work product, and even following a personal career in creative industry and education, I finally realized that success goes to those with the big money client bases. I had everything but that and I could never make a profit from all of my "fine art" work. I finally just accepted the fact that it will never be anything beyond a hobby no matter how good all my friends and family think I am. I just give my junk away these days.

Thx for the heads up , I go by the old phrase "be aware if it sounds too good to be true it probably is a scam", and I research research research before I spend a dime. Ty

Love your new ad in Plein Air Magazine!

Thank you Vlad . Spacibo!!! I am teaching myself from home .. my husband pays all the bills so I can just paint and have fun and if people will enjoy and buy my art from my website is fine if not I will enjoy it on my walls 😅

I wish I saw this a couple of years ago and saved my money. I enrolled in a couple of expensive courses and I agree completely with what you said. Basically they were focused on social media posting, especially Instagram, and Facebook, and going after previous buyers to buy more. The best thing I found was FASO where I have my website. They provide a whole lot of marketing content along with the website hosting. Highly recommended. I'm 73 and retired 12 years ago. I've painted all my life but wanted to start getting serous about my art. I'm in a gallery now but selling nothing. I have a one man show coming up in August. Financially, it's a bust. Anyway, I'm painting, learning and living art. What else is there? Thanks for all you do, Vlad. TMI? Sorry.

Vlad, you definitely went above and beyond here. Thanks for taking one for the team!

Radiate positivity and attract greatness! 💫

Well done, Vlad.

Vlad , thank you for telling artist about this book that my daughter wrote . She spent two years compiling the information and wanted to create something that was not available anywhere else . The book can be found on Amazon and was made primarily for college and university art students hence its more portable size . I am an artist and still find her book amazing.

Sarah is my sister! Thanks for highlighting her book. She is an excellent teacher!

Thank you for the tour of the show, I live up here and. Ould not attend this year, huge congrats on your Artist Choice Award!!!

Hi there! I'm working on several episodes between the events, and one of the episodes I was trying to knock out was this: Perspective Drawing by Sarah Haley. This book is a must-read for plein-air artists. It is simply one of the best books about perspectives. I highly recommend getting it in your toolkit. The next episode will be a short talk about ongoing fraud and how to get into six-figure sales... lol please watch it and don't get hooked on this... there is no easy way of paying $**** and getting six-figures in return :)

Thank you fore sharing this video, it gives a lot of inspiration, as I am mentually prepering my first competition in the US. By the way, do you have do the painting in one session, or are you allowed to do it in multible sessions ? I look forward to your next video 🎨🎨🙂

I love your discussion of art. I totally understand what you mean. Keep talking about it.

I'm glad your back and doing well. Congratulations on your win. Thanks for the education and especially the inspiration and encouragement to continue painting and learning.