Can confirm its a life changing experience when you normally only draw attractive looking girls and you go life drawing for the first time to get a 70 year old male model who stares into your souls for an hour
Thats basically what made me realize, "oh ok... i get it... so we try to make them more attractive to my eye". And that doesn't just mean make them more handsome of gorgeous, you can appreciate the wrinkling in their faces .etc
26:21 "You need to generate appreciation from within, and project that into the raw source material of visual perception and the world." Taking notes... whilst making a sketch of you in the meantime.
41:30 "If you have been drawing the world for a long time...then you probably already have had a deep insight into the fact that you make things lovely." This is a fantastic insight, which as far as I see it summarises one of the greatest values of art as a practice: to find beauty in seemingly trivial, mundane everyday things. It is an inherently optimistic act in a world that is plagued with pessimism. One of the most fantastic images I have come across this year is a painting of a kitchen sink and counter by Michal Sawtyruk. If you name the objects in the scene, it would be one of the most boring things you could possibly describe on paper: some dishes, an induction cooker, a window without a view, etc. And yet the colours and life expressed in the painting made it into a wonderful environment.
I think the point about extending this sense of beauty in all not only gives rise to a sense of community with the world and compassion to other but i appreciate you bridging that the self as whole. thanks for sharing these all
How did you learn to speak so well and think so deeply from seemingly simple observatons? It feels like I am uplifted to a better sense of self listening to this series. Then have no way of generating similarly acting thoughts from my own obsrvations. Love your stuff steven
I remember watching you draw in Mrs. Halpins 1st grade class when we were kids bro! You used to crack open the ink tubes inside ball point pens to bleed the ink out faster.. (big bird??) Its awesome that you really kept it up and your work is on another level! Im proud of you man!!
Good morning Steven, I love these deep dives into your philosophies, it starts my day off in a thoughtful way. I find your words lead me, myself to a deeper, different pathway of thoughts and understanding of my own beliefs. Thinking, one of my favorite activities and distractions from the sharpness of the world’s current climate. A transcendental experience. Thanks for sharing and always being brave enough to be authentically you.
As I have been grinding wrong (no formal art education) for so long, this videos are important reminders for me to look back whenever I have an art revelation revealed to me.
These talks are so incredibly insightful. Youve been challenging me to think in different ways and perspectives about not only art but the strange reality of life itself. I like the raw long form deep dives like this, they definitely have a place on this channel 🤍. Thankyou Mr Zapata 🙏
This is an abstract comparison but the whole talk is abstract. One day i decided that for a whole day i will consciously try to stand straight. Not because of posture or anything, just to feel how it feels to stand straight, weight equally on both legs. That conscious observation of my weight turned the experience into something interesting. Made discomfort into fascination, which i think mirrors the life drawing concept of generating appreciation for the unappreciated
came for the art talks, staying to expand my mind. I'm not spiritual at all and I'm an atheist, but you manage to explain things quite logically withought making them sound religious or spiritual. Really interesting ideas
Great point Steven. One of the things I live to draw is old wrinkled people and many people don't get it when they see it but there is a beauty in wisdom.
steven, these lessons from the deep are coming at an apt time in my development. i appreciate you sharing your wisdoms with us. 🤙🏾 i pray your dog is feeling better.
I truly enjoyed and am challenged by these lines of thoughts you introduced here. The appreciation I have for figures and drawing them started years ago, and then I fell more into the ideas you stated here about how in turn, it almost requires you to extend those observations onto ourselves. The challenge comes from living in a chronically ill body, and having worsened symptoms the last 3 1/2 years. Dis-ease in the body creates a friction that extends beyond the confines of self perception to then extend into how the self can function in a society not meant for it. That, is a mess of a headache. Sure you can simplify it to: well the body you struggle in is still keeping you alive, you should be grateful…but that walks into a camp of thinking that disregards much. I can appreciate the triumphs in the feat of living with this daily pain, and weave pretty threads through it to make it sound brave or congratulatory for being here despite these challenges. But when you are talking about chronic illness, you are talking about looking ahead to a life time of struggle, and looking back on the same. Most spaces hold conversations excluding the disabled or chronically ill community, and I by no means am saying this to upset anyone, but the context does change when the lens is so different. It can be difficult to speak about a perspective you do not live, but should the light not at least be shined there in passing? I can imagine people struggling with some of the points you presented (not because the idea of appreciating and loving yourself is wrong at all) because the hurtle of disability and chronic disease is so large in current and past society. And aren’t we all just products of the world then stumbling our way through it to grapple for autonomy and make sense of it all? Just some food for thought. Normally I wouldn’t leave a long reply like this, but funnily enough, this video dropped into TH-cam on one of the physically hardest days in recent memory. It brought up enough that I even had to watch this in chunks to slowly think through what you said. So I thought why not throw a different perspective into the mix. Thank you as always for opening a door to explore the fun and interesting aspects of life and art! 🙏❤️
Thanks for sharing your view and difficulties. Any discussion of appreciating your body of course intersects with those in difficult bodily positions, and I have people very close to me who struggle with this, but never having lived through it myself it didn't come up naturally in this discussion. There are, however, many great meditation and insight teachers who themselves have (or had) chronic disease who I think you could investigate. I can personally recommend Rob Burbea, who continued to teach a joyful and appreciative course of insight (with lots of attention on the body) for several years while knowing he would soon die from cancer. You can find many of his talks and recorded retreats here: dharmaseed.org/teacher/210/
I remember the first time I went to life drawing and in the midst of drawing their core I saw their diaphragm rising and falling; breathing. Transferring from photos to life is so surreal and paradoxically humanizing.
Haven't listened to the video - but this subject is exactly one of the things I need, I've been drawing for 3½ years and I've drawn from life less than a handful of times, I actually have a question - how would you approach it if you started doing it by yourself? The immediate feeling I get it that I would have somewhat of a barrier with the lack of freedom that there is compared to an almost completely intuitive, imaginative drawing - but I do believe after letting the initial thoughts settle and getting through 3 or 4 of them I'll find my joy within them, I really just want to get to dirty practical of how do I approach it? Do I hang up on the measurements for 1½ hours? Do I just get them out and figure it for myself? Do I just try a couple of times and assess where I would like to improve? It seems like there's some different goal when you draw from life, like a sort of ying yang of your idea of the beauty within the object and the actual qualities, proportions and textures (and so on) of the object, at least I would think so... Important to note that I am finding an interest in this because I am oriented to a career in art - excuse the length of the message, thank you so much for everything. Edit: Now listened to the video, question still relevant though
Just got into it a few days ago and I felt the same way before. It was an exhilarating time learning about breaking everything down into shapes. There is a proko video that is immensely valuable in teaching how to view subjects as a collection of shapes. Especially the part about manipulating a shape like a cylinder to give it an inflated bottom, and to think of shapes as something you can carve, squash, stretch, bend. Really brings the imagination back into drawing something that already exists. I hope you have as much fun as I did!
I think you'll find the video interesting on the ying yang concept and frustratingly light on techniques! As implied in the video, I don't think you should go it alone if at all possible. Either get to a class or create a life drawing group with friends (even 1), the "how the heck do I draw?" question will be handled many many times over within a group. Soon the problem will be FORGETTING everyone's ideas about how you should draw!
This is one of my more favorite ones, because I actually got to confront this idea from taking life drawing classes myself. I didn't extrapolate it as far though; I've only been to a few. I think it also offers equally cool insight into the things you do like to draw in models. It takes your idea of attractive things off a pedestal, and allows you to view them the same way you'd view the "unattractive" models. This isn't to say that it waters the domain of attractive things down, it actually expands it to places you didn't ever think to look. It unlocks a different way to dissect art, and observe. I hope that came out right. Thanks for the talk, Steven.
The first part of your video, talking about the true shape of things and the way an ant would experience the contours of a car, is highly reminiscent of what Nicolaides teaches in "The Natural Way to Draw". It's a fascinating way of experiencing things in the world, feeling an object to express it in a drawing, so I gotta ask, did this idea come from the book, or is it from your own independent thought?
I thought for sure you would at least acknowledge my last comment, but I guess you think your above the people in your past. Maybe its because I said bro, and you think your smarter than that, I'm not sure. I was just really excited to have rediscovered you after all these years and was blown away by the increase of your talent! I used to get in trouble with you nearly everyday for drawing in class, and until now I didnt think there was anything you could do to make me not like you! I should have assumed that you think your above people like me nowadays just by the way you talk and by the state you've moved off to! Or did I not use as expressive of a vocabulary when talking about your art? Did I not use words that were intelligent to your liking? Is it because I said bro? Maybe your ashamed and dont want people to know that your from texas and not New York, I dont know and i dont care anymore. But shuning people from your past though, makes you seem as if your trying to be someone else and that's what bothers me the most. It's all good though Steven, I'll stop embarrassing you by talking about your life before becoming an accomplished artist, because your obviously not liking it and completely avoiding it! Have a nice day, and I'll stop cherishing the memories of drawing with you in first grade. Obviously you made a bigger impact on my life then what I made on yours. but I know you remember, and your true character shined through by avoiding me like that. You arent above anyone, or anything though, dont ever forget that!
James, I assume you're trolling, but on the off chance that you aren't and you're actually disturbed by all this-- you definitely have the wrong Steven. Steven Zapata is a very common name, and I can actually name 2 others that are professional artists. I have never lived in Texas, never had a Mrs. Halpins in school, never got in trouble for drawing in class, never broke my pens open (I have always hated messy materials!), and I say "bro" to everyone all the time. If you find your friend some day.....chiiiillllllllll oooouuuuttt.
@@StevenZapataArt I'm only "disturbed" as you say, by your denying of facts about your past. It's cool though, trust me. I'm about to clear up all these discrepancies thay you claim that I'm wrong about. And if I am in fact wrong, I'll come back to apologize because I'm man enough to do that, I promise!
He is a new age Renaissance man. He upholds the most virtuous philosophies such as drawing, painting, anatomy, gaming, mediation, esoteric practices, doggo dad, husband, friend and leaving planet earth a better place for others.
Can confirm its a life changing experience when you normally only draw attractive looking girls and you go life drawing for the first time to get a 70 year old male model who stares into your souls for an hour
Thats basically what made me realize, "oh ok... i get it... so we try to make them more attractive to my eye". And that doesn't just mean make them more handsome of gorgeous, you can appreciate the wrinkling in their faces .etc
26:21 "You need to generate appreciation from within, and project that into the raw source material of visual perception and the world." Taking notes... whilst making a sketch of you in the meantime.
41:30 "If you have been drawing the world for a long time...then you probably already have had a deep insight into the fact that you make things lovely."
This is a fantastic insight, which as far as I see it summarises one of the greatest values of art as a practice: to find beauty in seemingly trivial, mundane everyday things. It is an inherently optimistic act in a world that is plagued with pessimism.
One of the most fantastic images I have come across this year is a painting of a kitchen sink and counter by Michal Sawtyruk. If you name the objects in the scene, it would be one of the most boring things you could possibly describe on paper: some dishes, an induction cooker, a window without a view, etc. And yet the colours and life expressed in the painting made it into a wonderful environment.
Drawing people on the tramway is one hell of an ethics class.
It's the new trolley problem
I think the point about extending this sense of beauty in all not only gives rise to a sense of community with the world and compassion to other but i appreciate you bridging that the self as whole. thanks for sharing these all
How did you learn to speak so well and think so deeply from seemingly simple observatons?
It feels like I am uplifted to a better sense of self listening to this series. Then have no way of generating similarly acting thoughts from my own obsrvations.
Love your stuff steven
Steven you re killing it lately, these videos will last the test of time
Love these videos ❤
I remember watching you draw in Mrs. Halpins 1st grade class when we were kids bro! You used to crack open the ink tubes inside ball point pens to bleed the ink out faster.. (big bird??) Its awesome that you really kept it up and your work is on another level! Im proud of you man!!
Good morning Steven, I love these deep dives into your philosophies, it starts my day off in a thoughtful way. I find your words lead me, myself to a deeper, different pathway of thoughts and understanding of my own beliefs. Thinking, one of my favorite activities and distractions from the sharpness of the world’s current climate. A transcendental experience. Thanks for sharing and always being brave enough to be authentically you.
As I have been grinding wrong (no formal art education) for so long, this videos are important reminders for me to look back whenever I have an art revelation revealed to me.
These talks are so incredibly insightful. Youve been challenging me to think in different ways and perspectives about not only art but the strange reality of life itself. I like the raw long form deep dives like this, they definitely have a place on this channel 🤍. Thankyou Mr Zapata 🙏
This is an abstract comparison but the whole talk is abstract. One day i decided that for a whole day i will consciously try to stand straight. Not because of posture or anything, just to feel how it feels to stand straight, weight equally on both legs. That conscious observation of my weight turned the experience into something interesting. Made discomfort into fascination, which i think mirrors the life drawing concept of generating appreciation for the unappreciated
came for the art talks, staying to expand my mind. I'm not spiritual at all and I'm an atheist, but you manage to explain things quite logically withought making them sound religious or spiritual. Really interesting ideas
Love me a good scope of fresh, goopy ideas. Mulled over to a crispy perfection. Thank you for once again giving my ears food while I draw.
Great point Steven. One of the things I live to draw is old wrinkled people and many people don't get it when they see it but there is a beauty in wisdom.
steven, these lessons from the deep are coming at an apt time in my development. i appreciate you sharing your wisdoms with us. 🤙🏾 i pray your dog is feeling better.
gracias Zapata!
beautiful. thank you for bringing me on this train of thought
finally got around to watching these! another banger video, your insights are a gift 🎁
I truly enjoyed and am challenged by these lines of thoughts you introduced here. The appreciation I have for figures and drawing them started years ago, and then I fell more into the ideas you stated here about how in turn, it almost requires you to extend those observations onto ourselves. The challenge comes from living in a chronically ill body, and having worsened symptoms the last 3 1/2 years. Dis-ease in the body creates a friction that extends beyond the confines of self perception to then extend into how the self can function in a society not meant for it. That, is a mess of a headache. Sure you can simplify it to: well the body you struggle in is still keeping you alive, you should be grateful…but that walks into a camp of thinking that disregards much. I can appreciate the triumphs in the feat of living with this daily pain, and weave pretty threads through it to make it sound brave or congratulatory for being here despite these challenges. But when you are talking about chronic illness, you are talking about looking ahead to a life time of struggle, and looking back on the same. Most spaces hold conversations excluding the disabled or chronically ill community, and I by no means am saying this to upset anyone, but the context does change when the lens is so different. It can be difficult to speak about a perspective you do not live, but should the light not at least be shined there in passing? I can imagine people struggling with some of the points you presented (not because the idea of appreciating and loving yourself is wrong at all) because the hurtle of disability and chronic disease is so large in current and past society. And aren’t we all just products of the world then stumbling our way through it to grapple for autonomy and make sense of it all? Just some food for thought. Normally I wouldn’t leave a long reply like this, but funnily enough, this video dropped into TH-cam on one of the physically hardest days in recent memory. It brought up enough that I even had to watch this in chunks to slowly think through what you said. So I thought why not throw a different perspective into the mix. Thank you as always for opening a door to explore the fun and interesting aspects of life and art! 🙏❤️
Thanks for sharing your view and difficulties. Any discussion of appreciating your body of course intersects with those in difficult bodily positions, and I have people very close to me who struggle with this, but never having lived through it myself it didn't come up naturally in this discussion. There are, however, many great meditation and insight teachers who themselves have (or had) chronic disease who I think you could investigate. I can personally recommend Rob Burbea, who continued to teach a joyful and appreciative course of insight (with lots of attention on the body) for several years while knowing he would soon die from cancer. You can find many of his talks and recorded retreats here: dharmaseed.org/teacher/210/
Love this
Thanks for making these
The MOST interesting video
the "aspirational" part made laugh so much and now every time i ll get it too i ll think the same , daaamn you , you have cursed me
LOVE these types of videos
I remember the first time I went to life drawing and in the midst of drawing their core I saw their diaphragm rising and falling; breathing. Transferring from photos to life is so surreal and paradoxically humanizing.
Haven't listened to the video - but this subject is exactly one of the things I need, I've been drawing for 3½ years and I've drawn from life less than a handful of times, I actually have a question - how would you approach it if you started doing it by yourself? The immediate feeling I get it that I would have somewhat of a barrier with the lack of freedom that there is compared to an almost completely intuitive, imaginative drawing - but I do believe after letting the initial thoughts settle and getting through 3 or 4 of them I'll find my joy within them, I really just want to get to dirty practical of how do I approach it? Do I hang up on the measurements for 1½ hours? Do I just get them out and figure it for myself? Do I just try a couple of times and assess where I would like to improve? It seems like there's some different goal when you draw from life, like a sort of ying yang of your idea of the beauty within the object and the actual qualities, proportions and textures (and so on) of the object, at least I would think so... Important to note that I am finding an interest in this because I am oriented to a career in art - excuse the length of the message, thank you so much for everything.
Edit: Now listened to the video, question still relevant though
Just got into it a few days ago and I felt the same way before. It was an exhilarating time learning about breaking everything down into shapes. There is a proko video that is immensely valuable in teaching how to view subjects as a collection of shapes. Especially the part about manipulating a shape like a cylinder to give it an inflated bottom, and to think of shapes as something you can carve, squash, stretch, bend. Really brings the imagination back into drawing something that already exists.
I hope you have as much fun as I did!
I think you'll find the video interesting on the ying yang concept and frustratingly light on techniques! As implied in the video, I don't think you should go it alone if at all possible. Either get to a class or create a life drawing group with friends (even 1), the "how the heck do I draw?" question will be handled many many times over within a group. Soon the problem will be FORGETTING everyone's ideas about how you should draw!
@@Multi-Waves_Music thanks!!
@@StevenZapataArt GABA DAY
This is one of my more favorite ones, because I actually got to confront this idea from taking life drawing classes myself. I didn't extrapolate it as far though; I've only been to a few. I think it also offers equally cool insight into the things you do like to draw in models. It takes your idea of attractive things off a pedestal, and allows you to view them the same way you'd view the "unattractive" models. This isn't to say that it waters the domain of attractive things down, it actually expands it to places you didn't ever think to look. It unlocks a different way to dissect art, and observe.
I hope that came out right. Thanks for the talk, Steven.
Thanks for making this, while I have experienced this elsewhere somehow I never made the connection to artistic expression.
The first part of your video, talking about the true shape of things and the way an ant would experience the contours of a car, is highly reminiscent of what Nicolaides teaches in "The Natural Way to Draw". It's a fascinating way of experiencing things in the world, feeling an object to express it in a drawing, so I gotta ask, did this idea come from the book, or is it from your own independent thought?
I've haven't read that book, but it sounds right up my alley!
@@StevenZapataArt I definitely would recommend it then!
Hey Steven! When we'll get a sale for your course? 🧐
Probably November!
high vizier worthy
pls make another channel for ur podcasts as it will be more organised and easy to go through in order
There's playlists on this channel that organize the videos by type. these are in "The Deep End" and "Talking Art"
I thought for sure you would at least acknowledge my last comment, but I guess you think your above the people in your past. Maybe its because I said bro, and you think your smarter than that, I'm not sure. I was just really excited to have rediscovered you after all these years and was blown away by the increase of your talent! I used to get in trouble with you nearly everyday for drawing in class, and until now I didnt think there was anything you could do to make me not like you! I should have assumed that you think your above people like me nowadays just by the way you talk and by the state you've moved off to! Or did I not use as expressive of a vocabulary when talking about your art? Did I not use words that were intelligent to your liking? Is it because I said bro? Maybe your ashamed and dont want people to know that your from texas and not New York, I dont know and i dont care anymore. But shuning people from your past though, makes you seem as if your trying to be someone else and that's what bothers me the most. It's all good though Steven, I'll stop embarrassing you by talking about your life before becoming an accomplished artist, because your obviously not liking it and completely avoiding it! Have a nice day, and I'll stop cherishing the memories of drawing with you in first grade. Obviously you made a bigger impact on my life then what I made on yours. but I know you remember, and your true character shined through by avoiding me like that. You arent above anyone, or anything though, dont ever forget that!
James, I assume you're trolling, but on the off chance that you aren't and you're actually disturbed by all this-- you definitely have the wrong Steven. Steven Zapata is a very common name, and I can actually name 2 others that are professional artists. I have never lived in Texas, never had a Mrs. Halpins in school, never got in trouble for drawing in class, never broke my pens open (I have always hated messy materials!), and I say "bro" to everyone all the time. If you find your friend some day.....chiiiillllllllll oooouuuuttt.
@@StevenZapataArt I'm only "disturbed" as you say, by your denying of facts about your past. It's cool though, trust me. I'm about to clear up all these discrepancies thay you claim that I'm wrong about. And if I am in fact wrong, I'll come back to apologize because I'm man enough to do that, I promise!
I thought you are a game streamer...very confusing these days, Mr. Zapata.
He is a new age Renaissance man. He upholds the most virtuous philosophies such as drawing, painting, anatomy, gaming, mediation, esoteric practices, doggo dad, husband, friend and leaving planet earth a better place for others.
I contain multitudes.
Nah 25 min in and really not vibing with this one, I’ve enjoyed the other long talks tho.
Thank you.
Where'd you get the mask in the background.
A gift from my wife! She found it at a swap meet.
@@StevenZapataArt looks so nice. I can't tell what country it originates from. Feel like it could be Mayan, Aztec, or even Polynesian.
@2Ferst thank you! That makes so much sense.