I know so many people are in this situation : if you went through a long hiatus without making art because of life circumstances, please share your story in the comment section. Keep the Inspiration going !
U r an angel for me, I just got out of 2yr of depression being an Artstudent who was best in the college. It sucks I was not able to draw, a single thing I used to cry out when I hold my pencil , I lost my whole identity.l Now I am just starting my way like a kid again..... Still I have so low esteem that i can't even talk out this to my proffesors. My rank dropped from 1 to failed. But now I am grateful that i am healthy and feeling a bit like me again .it's so heartwarming you discussing such an underrated topic ✨✨✨✨✨✨❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ No matter what don't take emotional mental or physical health for granted 🌸
I had a huge art break when I was dating my ex. I was really depressed and had almost no desire to paint or even draw. I broke up with my ex and Its been a few years and I have come back to art again, painting, drawing and even making polymer figurines. Its sad how a person can suck the life out of you so much that your desire to learn and make art is completely gone. Making art nowadays is so refreshing, amazing and I feel like a kid again. I love learning about painting and art in general. It makes me feel alive and gives me purpose.
Iam 33 now , almost all my life suffering anxiety and having some sort of depression ..the only time that I remember felt pure happiness and peace was when practicing pencil drawing back in my sixteenth..I started oil painting just 8 months ago and by all means it's as I have a new wonderful life again ...also it turned out that my back ground of studying accounting , mathematics and reading about light physics was very helpful in practicing art ...thank you for your inspiration 🙏🙏
Hi Florent, thank you so much for this video! I have a similar story..: I went to artschool in Rotterdam when I was 18 years old, and didn’t understand a thing about myself and the world at that time, being too young! I quit school when I was 21 years old and began to make a career and a living as a singer. Never touched a brush for two decades. After 20 years I became a music teacher in primary schools, for 3 days a week, and still kept on singing. After another 10 years I had a burnout and had a vocal-surgery which forced me to be in silence for weeks… in the middle of the pandemic. Time was actually on my side and I started to PAINT again for the first time in more than 30 years. I completely re-invented myself as an artist, and finally awoke as a painter. I’m painting like never before and eventhough I’m 55 years young today, I have a lot of great plans and made another career-switch in 2 years time. The internet and TH-cam helped me so much by providing me knowledge and inspiration. It’s never too late to look within and create the life that belongs to you. Much love, Monique
35 years of being "a responsible adult" and doing all of the things the people I trust most in my life expected me to do. I have done small bits and pieces of art along the way, but now I'm throwing myself into it 100%. I have not lost a step, it all came back instantly, in fact, I think I'm better at drawing and painting than I ever was. More relaxed, more free. It is as though everything I've always tried to learn has finally clicked. I think the difference is the self acceptance I have now and the lack of self-judgement that comes with the years. It is a beautiful homecoming!
I used to do a lot of drawing up to my early 20s, an England international footballer asked me to do a caricature of him for his home after I asked him to sign one that I had done. Anyhow, I let that drop in my 20s and picked up oil painting at about 30 for a year until my 2nd son was born and I stored everything away. Now, 30 years later, Ive got the oils out again. Have tried some alla prima (following Bob Ross and Bill Alexander) and realised I needed to go back to square 1 and start afresh.
Thank you for mentioning Bill Alexander! Most people don’t know that the painting show was his before he retired and passed it and his technique on to Bob Ross. He even originated the “happy little tree” mantra. I had trouble watching Ross because he was imitating Bill Alexander.
About 10 years ago, I was an art student diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Needless to say, my focuses in life completely changed and making art became less and less of a priority... But the other day I picked up a pencil and found that I can still draw. Not as well as before, but it's still there. It hasn't been that long for me but I really appreciate what you had to say in this video. Thank you, it's very encouraging, and I can't wait to make more art.
Thank you for this video. 40 years... Life just got in the way. I had a couple of careers... 23 yrs in the military, a couple of wars. Then I went back to college and became a chaplain at hospitals. During my college time, I took some art classes gen/ed classes. I figure art would give me an easy A. I got a lot of encouragement as an older student. So I went into my chaplain work. COVID burned me out, and I retired altogether. In the late 70's I told myself that I would return to my art after I retired. I retired at 63, and I kept that promise. I came back last year. I made a few oil paintings, and my friends saw them on Facebook. They wanted me to do some commissions. After I sold some, and I was shocked, I've made 5 or 6 portraits Each one, I worked on technic on things I thought I could do better. I a few landscapes, and they sold. I did an action figures painting and used my practice landscape technics. I just keep building on learned technics. I watch TH-cam videos on art if I get stuck on something. Now I am making my own art studio in my basement. My friends and family were stunned. They all said, "I didn't know you were into art? We have known you for years, and you never spoke about being an artist." I have at least 8 or nine ideas for more paintings. I spend 8 to 12 hours a day playing my music while doing 3 or 4 paints simultaneously; I'm so happy that I'm back. You hit on so many of my critical thoughts on how to get around.
So encouraging as usual, Florent. I lived and breathed art through high school until I allowed a negative comment to kill the dream. Fortunately, that gift never truly dies. After 40 years of rearing children and a satisfying nursing career, I wondered if I could still draw. To test it I sketched a figure that will always be an inspiration and reminder for me to keep going. That was seven years ago and even though I have lapses from time to time (life still gets in the way), I continue to sell, donate, and gift my art, including portraits. I’m so grateful for the availability of education today that was never there when I was young. What a wonderful time we live in for anyone passionate for art. Thanks once again for your contribution.
After 35 years as a graphic designer, I returned to fine art and was inspired by your intro video Oil Painting for Beginners. Now the time between sessions becomes less and less, and I love it so much. I still watch that video when I want to feel that excitement of renewal. Many thanks for sharing your story.
Your story hit home with me. I've always been very creative an drew and painted until my sophomore year of college. I didn't major in an art-related subject due to objections and pressure from my parents. I majored in psychology, which in hindsight wasn't much better, in my opinion. I eventually loss inspiration to draw or paint. About 8 or 9 years later, I'm drawing and painting again, and I feel my style has really matured. In high school and college, my drawing style was heavily inspired by anime. Now, that style doesn't interest me anymore, and I've found I do much better doing more realistic subjects.
I can relate to everything you had said through your pathway. I was an art major all my life and was one in my freshman and sophomore year of college. I did photography, graphic design, drawing, painting, sculptures , etc. In high school. I went to psychology and then switched to sociology. But it didn't go so well for me, I didn't feel like it was in my element. And so I felt inspired during covid to go into painting like I used to when I was a kid. So when I was painting, I kept stopping because of past trauma of getting bullied by teachers and students from painting and being a perfectionist because of it. But I am trying to get out of that mindset. Because I know I am meant to be a Painter. My art style has gotten better as well.
After many many years thinking of myself as talentless in drawing, I realized that it was an etiquette I put on myself when I was 13. When I realized this I was 38. As soon as I realized it I began to draw, then went to an academy in Florence. It was the best realization I had. I recommend everyone the TH-cam channels you recommended. Thanks for this beautiful touching video. ❤️
Well, when I started 4 months ago, I hadn't drawn anything for the 40 years in between being 12 and 52 years old. I am learning something from EVERY move of the pencil, charcoal, and every brushstroke. And I am seeing things in a totally new way, it is incredible. Thank you to everyone who shares what they learn, their knowledge, and their skills. It is a generous gift and I am an appreciative recipient!
Me 2 its been 44 years and unthinking I was amazed at brushstrokes I learned in jr. High just naturally came out and then I remebered" wow I remember learnin this and now it just naturally came out
I always loved to draw, but never thought I was good enough to pursue it as a career. After marriage, raising a family etc, I was in my 40s and I borrowed my daughter’s pastels and drew one of our horses, the fire was relit, that was 20 years ago and I haven’t stopped painting since, other than a couple of times when I have had to care for loved ones. Getting back into it is always exciting. I can’t live without painting now.
What a beautiful, wise and encouraging video. I used to draw and paint all the time as a child and wanted so much to go to art school. It was my best subject at school, I thought. Unfortunately I failed my art O' level when I was 16. Which meant I was unable to do A level art and had to give up on my dream. I felt so embittered by what had happened I didn't draw or paint for 40 years.However during the pandemic there were a lot of fantastic art shows on TV, and I felt a strong yearning to paint again. I decided to find a real life art class,which I did. My goal was to be kind to myself, not to judge myself and just to learn. So I was thrown into the world of oil painting, which I had always assumed would be really difficult, but found that I loved it! I feel like it's brought me back to life and given me a new purpose. Watching your incredible videos and videos of other artists has taught me so much. This term we are going to do portrait painting which I am very excited about! Thank you for sharing your skills so generously, I love your exquisite works. Merci beaucoup!
You know i am a 3x stroke survivor and it has messed me up a bit, i am doing my level best to retain and remember the basics and practice often. I use to paint and draw full time , now i feel i am always practicing.
The Andrew Loomis book is a treasure...my artist parents used this book in the 1940's and I often took it off the shelf when I was a child ...studied and made drawings...still have that same book and has served and continues to serve me well 60 yrs later
I took maybe a ~10 year hiatus partly because of my living situation and I went back to school for a career change. I would doodle or sketch occasionally but not very often or seriously, but I was concentrating on school and later growing my career. I started painting a little over a year ago because I had ideas for paintings that I wanted to make and ultimately I think it was time for me to return to art. I've applied myself more than I did before and I have seen a lot of improvement.
Thank you for your videos, they are poetry to me. 💜 You, Alpay Efe, and Andrew Tischler were my biggest inspiration to get back painting. I binged watched all your videos. They were the fuel I needed to get back drawing and painting. I stopped doing art for more than 15 years, do to life circumstances. I wanted to make art again, but I thought I didn't even knew how to pick up a pincel or a brush anymore, and didn't knew where or how to start. But I knew I really wanted to make art again. So in the beginning of 2020 I started just doing studies on cheap paper, old sckecthbooks, no pressure, just learning and practicing. And I came back stronger than ever. I got requests for commissions right from the first works I posted. I am working a full-time job and 2 part-time jobs, and have stopped for a while, a few months, but always thinking of making art, always wishing to find time to do it. In the meantime I was able to fit time for art in my schedule. So if I can, so can you!
The last painting I made was in 2017, I was so happy with it, it was technically the best I had managed to achieve in oil paint, and I couldn't wait to push myself further. Then, life happened - personal and professional upheaval, trauma from losing loved ones to tragedy, a job change, etc. I stopped painting, and barely so much as picked up a pencil. My inner creative world became a dark prison. I am a graphic designer, and work each day on digital projects both static and motion-based. I have found that even though I make use of my creativity professionally and have gained alot of experience and skill in commercial design, the work I do for my job does not fulfill me in the way that painting used to, even though I am still 'a creative' each day. I have come to realise that part of what I need to continue to grow in myself as a healthy human being is to re-engage with that child inside of me that wants to play and imagine and create, that child that wants to express himself just simply for being alive with a unique set of eyes, heart and mind to experience this crazy existence. It is this impulse, this need to EXPRESS mySELF, that I have neglected, and after 5 years I am tired of not giving this part of me the respect it deserves. I encourage everyone who has neglected their inner artists to begin to express again, to take what is inside you and bring it out into the world - not for the sake of the world necessarily, although this is equally important, but for your own sake, for your own joy and fulfillment and sanity. We must express because it is our way of making sense of ourselves and our lives. We are stuck in a consumer culture - all the time we consume consume consume. It's too much. We need to stop consuming and start expressing more again. Only when we express are we truly 100% present in our own minds and bodies, unplugged from all the noise. Thank you Florent for all the work you do, you can't imagine how much you are inspiring people like me, it means a lot! Greetings from South Africa.
I had been married 19 years to a woman who was an abstract expressionist teacher. I love the renaissance art. My drawing skills were more advanced than hers. She had a great jealousy so, to keep the peace, I kept with music. The marriage ended in divorce. I gave my guitars away. I now live in Italy, paint like my heroes and continue to refine my techniques and further my education. It's a blessed journey. It takes dedication and commitment on a daily basis. I even learned how to make my own sketch books. Thanks to "Crafty Loops" videos.
This really spoke to me. I was a classical ballet dancer, and retired from the stage years ago, but the urge of creating art never went away. Two years ago I started picking up paint brushes, and painting is now filling my life with the artistic joy I have been missing for almost a decade. Thanks for this and all your other videos 🙏
Omg I alway thought I was the only one in this world who came back to art after 25 or so years, though I alway kept a sketch pad close, drawing now & then. But coming back to oil painting has been like coming home, and I find painting so therapeutic, feeling the texture of the canvas, the flow of colors, the strokes of the brush, the smell of the paint, & of course, the end result: your thoughts on the canvas!
I can't thank you enough for this. I cried a little! I wanted to be an artist by the time I was 12 and so I studied art all the way through to degree level. I graduated and painted for about 3 years. Through a series of challenges (to get onto an MA course) and general confusion and lack of knowledge in how to be a working artist, coupled with some personal struggles, I just quit. That was in 2005. I focussed on other creative avenues (thankfully!) and continued with things like jewellery design, pattern design, and then graphic design, which is now how I make my living. I have lived my life since 2005 with a heavy heart whenever I thought about art. I had 100% written off any concept of returning to painting. Then one evening in November last year I decided I just wanted to try again. I bought all the tools and paints again (not cheap as you know!). I purchased books. I cleared a space for a studio after working out of my bedroom for a couple of months and now I am restarting this whole process of getting creative again with graphite and paper. It's challenging, it's deeply rewarding. It's still confusing, but I am mature enough to work with the confusion instead of letting it stop me. All your advice is spot on! I did a number of "where's my ability at?" tests and found that my biggest weakness was not technical ability (although it is quite rusty!) but patience. Unfortunately the last decade of working with digital tools has left me very impatient with traditional tools and methods. I know I won't get far without working on this so I need to practice that as much as the practical skills. My future feels so much more exciting now. :) Thank you for reading.
i stoped making art 10 years ago ,im 30 now, the reasons are very deep, i fell into a profound depression after i felt i never got the validation form my family or my friends then on that time i was also very attached to my older sister who was an artist i was being smothered by the society i lived in because my drive for art was falling off because of my depression i also was not able to get a boyfriend or any type of meaningfull relationship that didnt made me feel like i was some sort of psycopath, after abandoning art i tried defernt things in the art industry but nothing felt right, my older sister passed away and i felt like my whole life went in to the gutter, last year i met the love of my life he is a very dream like human and he likes to inspire me to look for creativity and know im looking for new ways to recover my love for art and i feel like im getting back slowly but i think im finly able to be happy
I used to draw since I was able to hold a pen, but my mother always told me, I should not waste my time and do something productive, I‘m not good enough, to make money or effort with my drawings and will never be an artist. When I was a teenager, drawing felt like a deep secret and I often felt ashamed of spending my time with art instead of working for school, a big career, etc. I never stopped drawing, it‘s a part of me, but it took me about 15 years to except, that I‘m an artist and that’s fine. There were times, I „lost“ my sketchbook, I couldn‘t remember, where it was, sometimes for month, even years. A few years ago, I started a new one and it felt, I improved so much… I never lost my sketchbook since this moment, carrying it everywhere (it‘s the third one now)and making art, whenever I feel for it. I understood, that I‘m drawing for me, it‘s something I need like water, air or sleep. There is nothing to be ashamed of doodling, sketching, drawing. I‘m improving every single day and even it is hard work to come back to art, getting un-rusty, it was worth it and I never regret going throw.
as a person with a BA in fine arts, and having made a living doing art for over 10 years, you have no idea how spot on you are with this video. After you hang up your brushed for a while, it is very scary to dive in again. Thank you...
As always just the type of stuff any one who is doing Art now needs to know I am also one of them that took to Art after years of work and not really enjoying the life I lived last year I decided to take up Art as my only and lasting career till to the end of my life. By end of the year I learnt a valuable lesson I’d been chasing success all my life like we all do and are expected to do so by society and families. But now I know better,and hence I’m happy as an artist I “Chase Excellence not Success.“ wish you a wonderful year ahead. Thanks again.
Thank you SO much for this! I started doing artwork again after several DECADES of absence. I went to art school in my pre-teen years and left it to do other things. (Got a degree in Philosophy too!) It was only during the pandemic that I had time and space to get reinfected with the love of drawing and painting. You are so correct. I had natural talent as a child but not the discipline and patience I developed as an adult. A year after I started making art again, I exhibited and sold my first pieces. There are so many resources and such wonderful teachers like yourself online. You would have had to go to art school for years to get what you can start learning and studying now in a few weeks. I am so grateful! I cannot thank you enough for what you are doing.
Your words are so smart and inspiring. And most importantly, you're positive and kind. I can get so down on myself about how I procrastinate with my painting, putting everything else first, and I love the way you point out that maybe there was a good reason why we took a break, or resisted it for so long. I also like the way you focus on fun. For me, drawing was something I did for pure fun since I was a child. The fun continued through art school. But as soon as it became a business, the fun slowly disappeared. Life took over and I put the pencils and brushes aside. Now, 30 years later, I've started painting again. And all that I've experienced - good and bad - is coming through onto the canvas. I still have to remind myself to have fun, but I have hope!
Weird, that happened to me after a (very long) hiatus. I was in art classes, mostly drew, back in Jr. High/high school (about 13 to 15 years old); started back recently at 53. And my eye for proportions is VASTLY improved since then. (Like especially when doing a lay-in, proportions, "structural visualization", whatever) I mean like, back then that was my number one weakness, and now I'm very good at it, it's even really easy and fast. I don't know what the hell happened in the interim! Weird, huh? Faces are still hard though.... (I just haven't undertaken a concentrated study of drawing them yet. I'll get to it...)
Thank you for this. I have been on a long hiatus after my husband was in a very bad accident and I fell in a very bad depression. Watching this gives me real hope to return to where I was artistically. It's been hard getting back to art out of doubt and lack of hope to return to the skill level I had before.
I've had a five year break because my studio became a storeroom before we moved from UK to Australia then I had to wait for renovations to be done before I could start again. My first painting is an old gum tree in a dry creek bed. All the background branches and mid ground scrub are doing my head in. I'm almost too anxious to go into the studio now. I'll get there. Midground first and work forward. Then maybe something more familiar. Thanks for the great advice. I love your channel. 🙏👍
As a kid I always wanted to become an artist, go to art school and do fine art. I was even forced to draw a still-life subject every day by my mother to keep the skills up. In 2017 a sudden burst of deep depression hit me like a rock, I was about to end my entire career as anything. Although the one thing that kept me sane was still drawing, lots of it until it too, slowly disappeared like anything else that made me happy. I finished high school at the age of 21 and now I'm studying archaeology and antiquity, but not art. Everyone thought I'll be studying art but like Florent here, I just can't find the school that I want and neither do I fully understand what I want to do with it. Currently I'm still trying to pull through, surprisingly drawing something small everyday now-which took me months to warm up to. Who knows, where it'll go? I love art purely as it is and will try those tips handed to me in this video.
This video and these comments are exactly what I’ve needed to help soothe my heart and my mind. I’ve maybe drawn two or three things in the last ten years, and I’ve been grieving the atrophy in my art skills lately as I try to start again. That ten year period was so full of trauma, near-death experiences, and mental illness that I couldn’t give any time or focus to my art. I had to focus on surviving and healing. Now that I’m through the worst of it all, I have the time, space, and desire to make art again but I feel so lost, and anxious. I tried finding videos and experiences that reflect my own, but wasn’t coming up with anything until now. Thank you so much. This is going to be a massive help, and I appreciate everyone else sharing, too.
I loved art at high school and won the art prize. But being a musician was also my passion, so I became a professional orchestral percussionist for 12 years - total obsession. Then I needed to financially establish myself, so went back and studied an MBA and Communication Design and started a web design studio - not as a visual artist but as a UX designer and programmer. Now 20 years later I am 2 years into rediscovering the passion that has been burning away for years. I am loving the journey and discovery of being creative again - even as a weekend warrior. I have space and time to enjoy painting. Love your channel!
For me, the challenge wasn't so much having a gap in art making, but like you mention in this video, it was that I didn't have a formal art education. I think that stopped me from making art for years because I felt that I didn't have the credentials to do so. But, exactly like you say here, art (in my case drawing) found me, and made me start up a regular practice.... and for that I'm forever grateful! :) Also so grateful for this channel for the constant inspiration! Thank you Folrent
Thx Florent, coming back after some 30 years away. Never was really good but drew for myself as a pastime. Now kids are grown, I’m well ensconced in the career, social work, needed something more than just scrolling. Learn a little every time out. As long as I see progress I’m happy with that. After my first graphite and charcoal,portrait when people said they were really good I considered it validation of my choice. Now moving into painting, very humbling, but it’s coming along. Thx for everything, I suspect I will becoming a patreon subscriber soon.
This video is serendipity for me. I have always thought that it was rare to have dropped art for decades only to be interested again later in life. Now I discovered, thanks to this video of yours, that there are many people in my situation. I am almost 60. You described it perfectly, it's as if art has been calling me back all my life; I only stopped because I got so busy with life doing other stuff.
Bought your 10 hour course and I have watched 3 videos so far. Great material!👍😃🎨 Your course really "demystifies" oil painting. As a small child I drew on the walls 😁😱 (mom wasnt very happy) and as a teenager I was told that I was good at art (of course I wasnt painting onbthe walls anymore😄) . Then adulthood made me focus on other things and when the pandemic started I finally got back to painting. It's hard, much harder then I remember, but so much fun! 🖌️🎨 Thank you again for the massive information in the course, loving it and will rewatch and learn alot from it!👍🎨😃 Your art is amazing! 🎨👍
I love Andrew Loomis! I learned so much from his Figure Drawing for all it's Worth - drawing the figure in action, especially. This is a very good video, Florent, thank you!
I drew a lot to get through my tough teenage years, and I used it to make money to survive the college days. Making it into a grind to survive and having to compete really ground the enjoyment out. Now ten years later I'm going back now that I have my own stable job and am out of those tough situations. It feels much better
Thanks for this video Florent! It was so encouraging to see so many peoples stories in the comments. I had been drawing ever since I was 11 on and off for years , and later on I started painting and surprisingly started doing art shows, and commissions. Unfortunately I started battling depression for a couple of years and completely stopped. I have been desiring to paint again, but struggling to start again due to fear. This made me realize that I will be okay and the second coming will be better ❤️!
Before the first lockdown I thought that I couldn't draw a straight line, I still can't but I try my best 🤣 I sketch all day in the taxi and at home and I love it 🤣
As always, thanks again for your inspirational talk Florent! Well, my art journey kind of a unusual one I believe… unlike most of the visual artists I heard, I never learn drawing/painting or even doing any form of draw/paint in my entirely life until about 18 months ago/when the Covid 19 Pandemic start… & due to the lockdown everything stop and luckily my local senior club for people over 50s held a free online art zoom class (40mins weekly) to helping the local elderly have something to occupy instead of gone crazy/mental from the lockdown. After 2x seasons the art class got cancelled (as no longer have funding unfortunately), after that, I continue self-learn from you tube/online (& your channel is one of my learning source! Ocean of thanks to you…) and I paint every time when I have free time. Perhaps, it was because of the encouragement by my art teacher, who had given me many good comments of my art and he once said ~ I’m a nature born artist & very creative and I should never give up on art… Since then, I have been making painting to family, friends, and co-workers & too having many good feedbacks from them. And, now, I’m planning make art as my future career.
I used to draw and paint all my life from really young age, go to an art school. I even did an exam for bachelor of architecture, but I wasn't good enough to study there for free(51st out of 50 places in the rating). After that I realized that I was extremally bad at art and refused to do anything related to that. That was 9 years ago. 9 month ago I experienced war. I moved out the country and recently I felt like I want to paint with oil. You are inspiring me and I see that realistic art isn't dead in any way. Thank you a lot
i drew tons as teen, then realized it wasnt gonna be a career, 25 yr hiatus, started doing caricatures with pen, about 200, got bored, took up piano, now at age 50 started painting, Florent you are terrific inspiration.
Thanks for this video. Very inspiring. So This is very much my experience as I've read many other comments here. As a kid as far back as i can remember I drew a lot, I got a scholarship in the fine arts when i was 16, and I drew as a graphic artist for about 2 or 3 years then got into drugs hardcore and lots of other bad things happened to me when i gave up and threw it all away never making much money either. Almost 20 years passed with me almost never touching a pencil. I'm married and almost 40 now and don't touch any drug whatsoever and just got back in to drawing about 2 months ago. I feel better than ever. My art has matured, My subject matter has matured and I'm disciplined and obsessed more than I've ever been. I'm loving it and resinspired in my art. My new routine is to get up around 3am and just draw everything until I've got to go to work. This new habit has filled about 2 new sketch pads. I Take this more serious than I ever have and can see a big difference. I've definitely come a long ways as a teenager and 20 year old punk-as$-kid.
I was offered a scholarship for art and turned it down because I didn't want to be a "starving artist" or teacher. I too studied other subjects but art came back to me 2 decades later and now I love and appreciate it that much more. Very inspiring video, you've gained a new follower.
I felt deeply identified with your story. I used to draw and paint, and I was good at it, but at some point when choosing my career I was very disappointed by what was thought to be "art" in the art schools at the time... so I chose to become a graphic designer. Then throughout my career I used Illustration as a tool. I used it for infographics and I even took a few illustration commissions, but very sparingly and so my skills became progressively rusty over time. Now almost 30 years after that crossroad I want to recover my "artistic self" and and re-learn drawing and painting to reconnect with that feeling of just doing art for the art itself. Your video was very inspiring, thank you.
I really enjoy your comments cuz I'm back to painting after a 7 years break (my second one). Mainly stop because of some frustration in not achieving my goal as a painter. And also from transitioning from a employee in the health care system to a self-employed professional. What makes me come back to paint as to do with all at's been going on in 2022 up to now: Covid, with omicron, been more resilient again vaccines, pandemic fatigue after 2 years, trucker convoy (I'm close to Ottawa), the war in Ukraine. So to get away of all that I start looking for art, mainly videos about famous painting and the interest to get back for it. I finish some project started years ago....
Florent, Thank you so much for your very inspiring words! I am a returning artist, a little over ten years, I have finally picked up the brush again, (And pastel ) and I have been experiencing the rust and impatience, But this video has gave me the tools to work through this, I will be watching all your videos and I look forward to watching you paint, you make it look so easy! Thank you again, Aaron
I used to put re starting off because ….a lot of reasons! I have shared so I won’t go in to it. Now I’m an old person. I remember saying to people who were interested in my little starts and stops that I guess I’ll be a Grandma Moses. Not even really knowing much about her mind you. It took over 6 months of persistent psyche myself up to draw a first effort! I immediately learned ….all I need to do is start! Ha ha. Oops. But it wasn’t a waste of time because I did commit. Florent forgot my favorite idea when it comes to work and discipline. It’s obsession. We are raised to think obsession is some kind of mental illness. I wonder why? I mean I really do wonder why? Nurture, I say, nurture any obsessive feeling towards doing any art. Let it out of the box that it’s been stuffed in to for whatever reason. I finally took a break because of a heat wave and it’s ok. I was afraid I had “ fallen out” returning to apathy and escapism doing nothing but it was easier to restart this time. I just started pastels! I’m old. I would avoid starting a painting project because I like wet on wet and this means spending many hours with little breaks in a day and to return to same schedule next day. Once it gets tacky you know it’s kind of over. I have times I’m not as healthy as I want to be. Or as young as I want to be! I would sketch or flat out render a drawing in pencil or charcoal but really loving color. I love the color part a lot. Yeah so. I’ll still do oil. It’s the best medium in my opinion. Pastel is oh so new and I like it! I got Henri Roche ( broke agsin) and pastel board. Richie has a pumice in it so special Pastel paper isn’t as important. It’s a nice change and I can still mix colors. My new direction is low chroma portraits fir now. I know! The pastels are so bright and rich. I’ll do other stuff with their brightness. I’ve learned to do other stuff besides portraits sometimes because it’s good for you to do that. Yes I took Florent’s oil painting course and color theory. Helped to really get going and overcome the mountain of frustration going DIY regarding a lot of adjectives. Like over the hump situations. True patience. Explore OBSESSION. It’s safe after all if you have an outlet. Enjoy the process. It releases dopamine!!
Hello Florent - You are definitely not alone when you say "Art always forces it's way back...It's like an existential need..." I became distracted, in my early 20's when I realized that I "...had certain materialistic needs..." So I dropped out of Art school to attend a Technical College, where I studied Mechanical Drafting and Computer Aided Design (CAD). I was fortunate to be hired by a great aerospace company. And this "job" provided me and my wife a very pleasant and comfortable existence. BUT --- Every so often, I really "needed" to take an Art Course at the local Art Center...just to feel free and fulfilled!!! And now that I'll be turning 60 this summer, I want to be free to reignite my artistic passion via an early retirement. So I wanted to let you to know this video landed on me at just the right time! Thank you Florent and thank you to all the people who already commented on this video, Very inspirational! Lelan
35 ans avant d y croire et de retrouver le plaisir de observer, imaginer, dessiner, peindre. Depuis tous les jours je vis avec l art, dans la tete, dans le coeur. Une renaissance...
I'm back! About thirty years ago, I begun to have some success with my writing, with two SF novels published in the early noughties and, as I concentrated on this sphere of my creativity, my painting fell be the wayside. However, whilst in the first English Lockdown, I watched a programme by Grayson Perry and this encouraged me to break out a canvas. Folks, I assure you I can tell you great story, and that I love writing, but painting, for me, as I have rediscovered, unreleases a passion I had forgotten. And Florent is correct: you come back stronger. I'm now 63 and I whilst I sometimes wonder what I might have painted had I not diverted into writing, and wonder how many pictures I have time to do, I feel energised. That passion is still there, but matured. If you've painted before, I guarantee it's still there.
39 soon but like you I was not pursuing art as a training path by lack of finding a school or course that touched me in France. I drew on the side but stopped drawing after not finding any idea of what to draw next. I came back to it but nothing came. I took up photography when I lived in Japan as a means to rekindle with art (and to create my reference library for the time I'd take again my pen). One year ago I decided to take things more seriously and to start, inspired by your videos and other content creators like Brunet. I still don't know what to draw but I don't want to stop my pen this time :)
I can relate so very much with what you are telling here. Your story explains why it makes me feel like at home when watching your video's. Thank you for this!!
Hello my name is ian huff, great video and so true! about a year ago I packed up all of my canvas, paint, brushes, threw it all in a box and gave it away! told myself I'm never gonna paint again! Well lately it's been really pulling at my heart! Can't wait to start again! Love your video God bless!
ICU nurse 25 years. Actually started painting in 2017 after not touching a brush since high school. Have been selling, and doing commissions and now fast track trying to get a website, do some art fairs and hopefully get out of nursing by next summer. I have to. It's necessary for my survival now.🤪 But also, I feel this is almost forcing me to just paint. Paint ALOT. When I do a little series I call it rage painting. Although the "rage" is just a burst of ideas. Not literal dark looking stuff.....but that term kinda goes with today's climate of my day job. Found this channel a couple years ago and find it very helpful and inspiring. I am really trying to transition from full time nurse to full time artist. A reinvention of myself I hope.
I went to a life drawing class last week, first time I put a mark on paper in 15 years. The timing of this video for me is perfect. I quit a graphic design job (burned out and creatively bankrupt) in 2000, went into the military soon after. Between two hurricanes, an auto theft, a storage unit flood, two deployments, a hard drive crash and over a dozen moves, I've lost everything I'd done multiple times and eventually just gave up altogether. Because what's the point, it''ll be stolen, lost or destroyed in a few years anyway, right? Now I finally have the right combination of time, space, stability and money I bought some charcoal, newsprint and linked up with a local group; now that I'm settled and (hopefully) all the catastrophes and obstacles are behind me, I start again from square one and re-learn.
You come across as so genuine and inspiring and really resonated with me. Thank you so much for your integrity and your talent. I have just purchased the first book your recommend and have taken on board that I should just enjoy without pressure. Thank you.
I got away from art for a while after I had converted a bedroom into a studio. Work was harder at the time and I was dog tired in the evenings. So I’d come home dog tired and then feel guilty. I made a deal with myself and decided if I was going to do any painting I needed to be in that studio and set aside just two hours a week. One hour on Sun afternoon and one hour on Thur. night. I even put it in my calendar on my phone. I didn’t have to paint just be in the studio for an hour at a time. I got bored just sitting there that I found things to do, straightening up, rearranging stuff. Going through old notes getting inspired by old ideas. Within a couple of months the calendar reminders weren’t necessary anymore. I did a showing of my art about a year later. Paintings were selling before I could get them off the easel.
This is a great video and the fact that you mention other artist speaks a lot about you. Also, your philosophy background transpires in all your videos. Thank you for your great insights 🙏🌟
I was on an art trajectory at 18-20 but my parents discouraged it. They encouraged me to get a "real" career. I settled on architecture but along the way I became very interested in pure math. I switched to pure math and ended up teaching math at various community colleges in my area for the last 10 years. By the end of last year, I was about 2 years beyond being burnt out. I greatly reduced my work hours and have been catching up with my first love which is drawing and painting. It's been almost 15 years.
Thanks so much for this video. Sadly, too often art instruction on the Internet is geared toward younger people who have had no real life responsibilities beyond finishing high school or going to college. (There’s also marriage and young children, but unfortunately that can also be skewed by gender, (I mean ask yourself when is the last time you ever saw a male artist say “I had a great art career but I had to give it up because I became a dad.”) so it’s nice to see an acknowledgement that Life Gets in the Way and that doesn’t mean you aren’t dedicated enough. Too often the perspective on this is very “young and male” so I appreciate a male artist doing a video like this that speaks to everyone!
Thank you for listing those other yt artists with teaching videos. You have no idea how many times I've tried search terms like "realism oil tutorial" although usually with the words landscape or impressionism added and the result is generally dominated by silly beginner formula schlock that isn't even oils! -or the first couple suggestions are and then it goes right to "acrylic pours" from teenagers and I want to pull my hair out. Anyway, very glad I found a link to this channel as your instruction videos are excellent.
Its awesome you went for philosophy mainly because you didn't need art school. I've found art cant be taught because everyone can already do it. I'm not saying art school is bad because you do learn techniques and do's and don'ts with mediums but everyone already can make beautiful things. Desire and the willingness to learn from mistakes and practice can take that desire and refine whatever skill we already have
have a tone of inspiration and new ideas that I gathered doing the weeks I couldn't make art. Don't give up. Your art journey it's not a straight line. We all struggle. Just hang in there. If you can't draw, or paint just yet, observe, gather ideas, inspiration from the world around you. You will come back strong and fresh, you will see.
I lost my grandfather almost a year ago now. Before then, I was an art scholar. I lived art, spent every day obsessing and observing art, entering workshops and live model sessions and entering contests and applying myself academically to it. I had dedicated myself entirely to the journey. After I lost him, things started to change. It's been nine months since he passed away and I've yet to draw anything of sustenance, of meaning. It just doesn't come to me the way it did when he was alive. Right now I'm seeking a way out of the blockade and back to the pencil and easel, but it's been difficult to even try. I wish I could wake up tomorrow and be ready and willing to draw as I ever was, I miss it so much...
Wow ! Vraiment intéressant ! Vos études en philosophie ressortent dans votre capacité à émettre des idées. Je veux passer au travers de toutes vos video sur TH-cam. Je ne veux pas en manquer une seule. Merci, vous êtes un grand artiste et un excellent professeur 😘
I used to draw constantly when I was a kid, there is something very satisfying about creating characters and the environments they exist in. I've given up so many times over the last 20 years that I've lost count. I've went through periods of guilt for not falling into place behind people working regular jobs, Self anger for not pursuing something that I'm naturally skilled at, and fear of the change brought on by possibilities of success. I'm also regularly concerned about competition and steady wages to pay for the normal expenses of life, as well as feeling like it's too late for me. Unfortunately life is short, and it will disappear before your very eyes. I also spent 10 years in prison with very limited connection with society outside of my cage. I also have a very deep passion for music, and have been playing guitar {another on and off struggle of mine} unsteadily since I was 13 years old. I'm 47 now and continue to struggle, so it's good to know that I'm not alone. Thank you for this inspiring video.
I used to study art back in highschool, it was essentially a technical school where we had aditional classes for drawing, painting, colour theory, graphic design and so on. I lost my passion for it during the quarantine because my drawing classes were online for the last two years of high school, and because of other situations in my life at the time, I couldn't draw. Currently I'm studying fashion, which is still pretty artistic but I find that my art supplies are just stationary, on my desk at all times. Though I guess my hiatus isn't that long, and I've found other passions, I just want to get into it for myself so I can have another outlet for my emotions, and maybe a personal hobby, because I don't want to go into art professionally
I used to paint in my early 20’s and was accepted at an art school but because I was afraid of the income and didn’t really believe in myself I choose another path and got wife and kids and a all occupying job I had a break for about 30 years. Now I’m disabled of psychical reasons and now I have painted for a year. A great year that really helped my illness. What I find strange is that even with the long break I have grown a lot in terms of skills and especially observation . I guess I have never stopped observing and paint without paint . My regret is that I didn’t go to the art school 30 years ago.
J'ai 27 ans. Je dessinais toute ma vie. A partir de mes 15 ans je peins à l'huile. Mes parents ont choisi la formationpour moi . J'ai fait une grande ecole de commerce en France( je viens de l'europe de l'est). J'ai un bac +5 et pendant toute la durée de mes études j'ai arrêté l'art. Un an après un travail dans mon domaine, je pose une demission à cause du stress. Je reprends la peinture. Je fais sérieusement de la peinture à l'huile depuis l'été dernier. Et je suis contente. Je ne regrette rien. Je veux devenir artiste peintre professionnel.
Thank you, Florent. I studied with Dan Dickerson at the Art Students League. Life intervened. Now I am studying with Zwick. I feel liberated knowing that The Lord Is Great and I am thankful holding a pencil, charcoal and 🖌 once again in my time-weathered hands. The best is yet to be.
Exactement la vidéo qui correspond à mes questionnements en ce moment, envie de reprendre la peinture après un break, avec une nouvelle vision plus personnelle, en remettant mes connaissances à plat. Travailler sur mes points faibles, et ne plus les éviter. Dépoussiérer tout ça!! Merci Florent
I needed to hear this! I've been writing since I was in high school and I could draw a little but a few years I decided to learn how to draw for my stories but I was busy with college at the time. I've studied both computers and creative writing and now that I would like to study art I didn't want to go back to college for it (Plus i'm about a couple of years away from 30 so I'm ready to be out of college). It just didn't feel right. I've been studying off an on but this year I made out my on curriculumn on what i'm studying every month and so far it's working great! Doing figures and working on a 600 figures/gesture challenge. I know it will take some time but I hope by the end of this year I'll have enough skills to draw something for my stories and I can continue to improve after that. Self teaching as a real journey for sure! Thanks for this video! Again, I needed this one!
Wow! Have we met? I, too, took probably close to a 10 year (maybe 15 year) break. I always knew I'd come back but I guess the timing wasn't right or something. Yes, life! Also, I happen to be a nurse! I think the burnout is very real. Became almost unbearable these past 2 years. That was always the joke though. If I could find something else I'm good at I'd leave nursing. But what could I do? Aha!! So, thank you!! I'm back and although definitely very rusty, I'm older and hopefully wiser. Much more patient with myself. Just glancing at other comments....I think we all must be kindred spirits. Blessings to all!
Thanks for this. While I was never a drawer as a teen I did pick it up 2 years ago in my 30's and I keep taking 4-6 month long breaks cause I don't always know how to nor where to improve.
I was never trained in art short of high school, & for about 30 years I just stopped until one day I did a little drawing of a goblin & my wife said I should start again & for the past 8 or 9 years I've been painting along with some sketching, but still I struggle with it & having depression doesn't help. Many times I've stopped for months because I just can't get the right frame of mind!
I used to paint a whole lot in my teens and even got my first job painting commission artworks. Proper art education is almost non existent in Germany and as at 18 it felt scary moving to Florence and paying so much for private education, especially because back then I only did digital art and felt like I would be rubbish at traditional art. I was also pretty good at normal academic stuff and everyone in my family went to university so I felt like that was the right move for me, especially because fine art can be a difficult field to also make decent money. So I studied Game Design, which led me to study Computer science, so I ended up doing an almost 5 years painting break. On a whim I decided to buy some oil paint because I wanted to get my hands dirty rather than look at code and it felt amazing. Although it was more difficult than digital, I was basically just as good in oils so my worries back then were totally unfounded. Also, the constraints of the medium and the physical nature of it really reinvigorated my love for art. In retrospect it always feels like a big regret to stop doing art because you think of how good you could be if you had kept up with it. But at the same time, I'm actually pretty happy with the other skills I learned like 3D modelling and coding, meeting my boyfriend etc. So it's never wasted time to do something else. However it does feel like it is way easier for people who only ever had art in mind and strictly followed that path without ever having to question their life choices.
I don't think it's easier for people who went for the straight path. It feels like it but it's not. Think about the many former students who went there and ended up giving up after art school. I think you shouldn't have regrets, your life story made you a complete, well rounded person, not just a former art school student !
I got rejected at a Art-Uni when I was 20 and didn’t touched a brush for 16 Years. Before I was in love with drawing and painting. Being ‚not good enough’ let me feel ashamed and so I turned to a complete different direction in my life. But this feeling still remained because it felt like a rejection of me as a person. Other people said ‚Oh you are good!‘ ‚Oh you habe talent!‘ but I never felt that way. I still felt shame. Now, after 17 Years of hard work, study’s and sacrifice’s I reached a stabile point in my life. And now I realise how deep this rejection and judgement hurt me back then. It is a emotional journey to these wounds. While the first painting after such a long period I had to go through all of these feelings again. Face the feeling of ‚being not good enough‘. It allowed me a discussion with myself. What I am, who I am, what holds me back and who I always wanted to be - an artist. And therefore it is a return to painting. With support I found a way back to what I love. The paints and brushes, the joy of creating, of expressing and the discovery that there is so much to learn and so less to be ashamed of. I‘m grateful to see all of there opportunities now and for the future. And indeed, it is never to late to start again. Also, thank you Florent for your Videos. They are a big help!
. I actually went trhough the exact same process, went in to art school for a year, could not find myself in the contemporary conceptual art they try to force you in, then went to study Philosophy. ..Have not painted for over 20 years . And then you know how it goes: studies, career , friends consume too much time...Or so you think. The sudden time I had during the pandemic made me paint again. Now I do it nearly every day after work. All this is so true, being older you have more patience, you pay more attention to technique ....
In my experience I have always done art since I was a little kid. I was inspired by the movies and tv shows and anime that I watched and I wanted to be just like them. As time went on I got more serious about art and studied hard, I started to fall out of it around high school. I’ve always loved art but I had a lot of art blocks and anxiety about my art at times. I started to get discouraging thoughts, and as time went on I was getting ready to be an adult, I have so many things I want to do and accomplish I feel like I don’t have the energy to study art to improve or to even move a pencil. I get so bored of drawing the same things but so frustrated when I cannot get something right. As the artist himself said I never truly fell out of it, I am a creative soul by heart and I know art in any form will stay in my soul heart and body always. It’s just hard as a young adult learning to manage my passion, I struggle with mental health and it’s difficult to want and crave to do so many things but only have so much will and energy to do these things. I feared that I fell out of love with art which I know isn’t true. Anxiety and depression likes to take over the mind and give thoughts and negativity’s about all parts of peoples life, it’s easy to give in but I refuse to give up on art. It’s been with me always, but I should also know, and everyone should know that, you need to listen to your emotions and thoughts and grow from them. What I’ve learned from all this is that I am burnt out, once I start drawing I get into the zone and my soul sings, I just need to find my groove again. The point is to not give up on yourself, follow your heart and follow your truth. Learn and grow. Pick up that pencil and create 💖💖
Art was required for my High School diploma. My art "teacher" couldn't teach art to save his life. It was more like a crafts class where we were supposed to make stuff. And on occasion he would tell us to draw something but without telling us how to draw. He taught nothing of the fundamentals of art, the elements and principles, and composition. It wasn't until my photography classes in college, because I don't think the HS photo instructor taught it, that my instructors taught me about the rules of composition, etc. From 1979 until 1994 I hated "art" because of my experience in HS, and it was only in college while taking a drawing class as an elective that I started getting interested in learning to draw. It was only in 2016, when I started watching YT videos, and collecting them, that I seriously started trying to learn to draw. Thanks for your videos.
I know so many people are in this situation : if you went through a long hiatus without making art because of life circumstances, please share your story in the comment section. Keep the Inspiration going !
U r an angel for me, I just got out of 2yr of depression being an Artstudent who was best in the college. It sucks I was not able to draw, a single thing I used to cry out when I hold my pencil , I lost my whole identity.l Now I am just starting my way like a kid again..... Still I have so low esteem that i can't even talk out this to my proffesors.
My rank dropped from 1 to failed.
But now I am grateful that i am healthy and feeling a bit like me again .it's so heartwarming you discussing such an underrated topic ✨✨✨✨✨✨❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
No matter what don't take emotional mental or physical health for granted 🌸
I had a huge art break when I was dating my ex. I was really depressed and had almost no desire to paint or even draw. I broke up with my ex and Its been a few years and I have come back to art again, painting, drawing and even making polymer figurines. Its sad how a person can suck the life out of you so much that your desire to learn and make art is completely gone. Making art nowadays is so refreshing, amazing and I feel like a kid again. I love learning about painting and art in general. It makes me feel alive and gives me purpose.
Iam 33 now , almost all my life suffering anxiety and having some sort of depression ..the only time that I remember felt pure happiness and peace was when practicing pencil drawing back in my sixteenth..I started oil painting just 8 months ago and by all means it's as I have a new wonderful life again ...also it turned out that my back ground of studying accounting , mathematics and reading about light physics was very helpful in practicing art ...thank you for your inspiration 🙏🙏
Thanks for sharing your story 😊 very inspiring 🙏
Hi Florent, thank you so much for this video! I have a similar story..: I went to artschool in Rotterdam when I was 18 years old, and didn’t understand a thing about myself and the world at that time, being too young! I quit school when I was 21 years old and began to make a career and a living as a singer. Never touched a brush for two decades. After 20 years I became a music teacher in primary schools, for 3 days a week, and still kept on singing. After another 10 years I had a burnout and had a vocal-surgery which forced me to be in silence for weeks… in the middle of the pandemic. Time was actually on my side and I started to PAINT again for the first time in more than 30 years. I completely re-invented myself as an artist, and finally awoke as a painter. I’m painting like never before and eventhough I’m 55 years young today, I have a lot of great plans and made another career-switch in 2 years time. The internet and TH-cam helped me so much by providing me knowledge and inspiration. It’s never too late to look within and create the life that belongs to you. Much love, Monique
@@moniquevanderster1867 thanks for saying that - I'm 55 young as well! All power to you for the reinvention. 💥💪🏾
35 years of being "a responsible adult" and doing all of the things the people I trust most in my life expected me to do. I have done small bits and pieces of art along the way, but now I'm throwing myself into it 100%. I have not lost a step, it all came back instantly, in fact, I think I'm better at drawing and painting than I ever was. More relaxed, more free. It is as though everything I've always tried to learn has finally clicked. I think the difference is the self acceptance I have now and the lack of self-judgement that comes with the years. It is a beautiful homecoming!
Thanks for sharing your story, Mindy. So inspiring ✨ 🙌
I used to do a lot of drawing up to my early 20s, an England international footballer asked me to do a caricature of him for his home after I asked him to sign one that I had done. Anyhow, I let that drop in my 20s and picked up oil painting at about 30 for a year until my 2nd son was born and I stored everything away. Now, 30 years later, Ive got the oils out again. Have tried some alla prima (following Bob Ross and Bill Alexander) and realised I needed to go back to square 1 and start afresh.
That's cool.
Thank you for mentioning Bill Alexander! Most people don’t know that the painting show was his before he retired and passed it and his technique on to Bob Ross. He even originated the “happy little tree” mantra. I had trouble watching Ross because he was imitating Bill Alexander.
@@judilynn9569 Yeah, but did Alexander "beat the devil" out of that brush though.....?
@@RonSwansonIsMyGod He would take the paint and "Fire it in there !!! With his almighty brush!!!"
About 10 years ago, I was an art student diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Needless to say, my focuses in life completely changed and making art became less and less of a priority... But the other day I picked up a pencil and found that I can still draw. Not as well as before, but it's still there. It hasn't been that long for me but I really appreciate what you had to say in this video. Thank you, it's very encouraging, and I can't wait to make more art.
Thank you for this video. 40 years... Life just got in the way. I had a couple of careers... 23 yrs in the military, a couple of wars. Then I went back to college and became a chaplain at hospitals. During my college time, I took some art classes gen/ed classes. I figure art would give me an easy A. I got a lot of encouragement as an older student. So I went into my chaplain work. COVID burned me out, and I retired altogether. In the late 70's I told myself that I would return to my art after I retired. I retired at 63, and I kept that promise. I came back last year.
I made a few oil paintings, and my friends saw them on Facebook. They wanted me to do some commissions. After I sold some, and I was shocked, I've made 5 or 6 portraits Each one, I worked on technic on things I thought I could do better. I a few landscapes, and they sold. I did an action figures painting and used my practice landscape technics. I just keep building on learned technics. I watch TH-cam videos on art if I get stuck on something. Now I am making my own art studio in my basement. My friends and family were stunned. They all said, "I didn't know you were into art? We have known you for years, and you never spoke about being an artist." I have at least 8 or nine ideas for more paintings. I spend 8 to 12 hours a day playing my music while doing 3 or 4 paints simultaneously; I'm so happy that I'm back. You hit on so many of my critical thoughts on how to get around.
So encouraging as usual, Florent. I lived and breathed art through high school until I allowed a negative comment to kill the dream. Fortunately, that gift never truly dies. After 40 years of rearing children and a satisfying nursing career, I wondered if I could still draw. To test it I sketched a figure that will always be an inspiration and reminder for me to keep going. That was seven years ago and even though I have lapses from time to time (life still gets in the way), I continue to sell, donate, and gift my art, including portraits. I’m so grateful for the availability of education today that was never there when I was young. What a wonderful time we live in for anyone passionate for art. Thanks once again for your contribution.
After 35 years as a graphic designer, I returned to fine art and was inspired by your intro video Oil Painting for Beginners. Now the time between sessions becomes less and less, and I love it so much. I still watch that video when I want to feel that excitement of renewal. Many thanks for sharing your story.
Your story hit home with me. I've always been very creative an drew and painted until my sophomore year of college. I didn't major in an art-related subject due to objections and pressure from my parents. I majored in psychology, which in hindsight wasn't much better, in my opinion. I eventually loss inspiration to draw or paint. About 8 or 9 years later, I'm drawing and painting again, and I feel my style has really matured. In high school and college, my drawing style was heavily inspired by anime. Now, that style doesn't interest me anymore, and I've found I do much better doing more realistic subjects.
I can relate to everything you had said through your pathway. I was an art major all my life and was one in my freshman and sophomore year of college. I did photography, graphic design, drawing, painting, sculptures , etc. In high school. I went to psychology and then switched to sociology. But it didn't go so well for me, I didn't feel like it was in my element. And so I felt inspired during covid to go into painting like I used to when I was a kid. So when I was painting, I kept stopping because of past trauma of getting bullied by teachers and students from painting and being a perfectionist because of it. But I am trying to get out of that mindset. Because I know I am meant to be a Painter. My art style has gotten better as well.
After many many years thinking of myself as talentless in drawing, I realized that it was an etiquette I put on myself when I was 13. When I realized this I was 38. As soon as I realized it I began to draw, then went to an academy in Florence. It was the best realization I had. I recommend everyone the TH-cam channels you recommended. Thanks for this beautiful touching video. ❤️
Well, when I started 4 months ago, I hadn't drawn anything for the 40 years in between being 12 and 52 years old. I am learning something from EVERY move of the pencil, charcoal, and every brushstroke. And I am seeing things in a totally new way, it is incredible. Thank you to everyone who shares what they learn, their knowledge, and their skills. It is a generous gift and I am an appreciative recipient!
Me 2 its been 44 years and unthinking I was amazed at brushstrokes I learned in jr. High just naturally came out and then I remebered" wow I remember learnin this and now it just naturally came out
I always loved to draw, but never thought I was good enough to pursue it as a career. After marriage, raising a family etc, I was in my 40s and I borrowed my daughter’s pastels and drew one of our horses, the fire was relit, that was 20 years ago and I haven’t stopped painting since, other than a couple of times when I have had to care for loved ones. Getting back into it is always exciting. I can’t live without painting now.
What a beautiful, wise and encouraging video. I used to draw and paint all the time as a child and wanted so much to go to art school. It was my best subject at school, I thought. Unfortunately I failed my art O' level when I was 16. Which meant I was unable to do A level art and had to give up on my dream. I felt so embittered by what had happened I didn't draw or paint for 40 years.However during the pandemic there were a lot of fantastic art shows on TV, and I felt a strong yearning to paint again. I decided to find a real life art class,which I did. My goal was to be kind to myself, not to judge myself and just to learn.
So I was thrown into the world of oil painting, which I had always assumed would be really difficult, but found that I loved it! I feel like it's brought me back to life and given me a new purpose. Watching your incredible videos and videos of other artists has taught me so much. This term we are going to do portrait painting which I am very excited about! Thank you for sharing your skills so generously, I love your exquisite works. Merci beaucoup!
You know i am a 3x stroke survivor and it has messed me up a bit, i am doing my level best to retain and remember the basics and practice often. I use to paint and draw full time , now i feel i am always practicing.
The Andrew Loomis book is a treasure...my artist parents used this book in the 1940's and I often took it off the shelf when I was a child ...studied and made drawings...still have that same book and has served and continues to serve me well 60 yrs later
I took maybe a ~10 year hiatus partly because of my living situation and I went back to school for a career change. I would doodle or sketch occasionally but not very often or seriously, but I was concentrating on school and later growing my career. I started painting a little over a year ago because I had ideas for paintings that I wanted to make and ultimately I think it was time for me to return to art. I've applied myself more than I did before and I have seen a lot of improvement.
Thank you for your videos, they are poetry to me. 💜
You, Alpay Efe, and Andrew Tischler were my biggest inspiration to get back painting. I binged watched all your videos. They were the fuel I needed to get back drawing and painting.
I stopped doing art for more than 15 years, do to life circumstances.
I wanted to make art again, but I thought I didn't even knew how to pick up a pincel or a brush anymore, and didn't knew where or how to start.
But I knew I really wanted to make art again.
So in the beginning of 2020 I started just doing studies on cheap paper, old sckecthbooks, no pressure, just learning and practicing.
And I came back stronger than ever. I got requests for commissions right from the first works I posted.
I am working a full-time job and 2 part-time jobs, and have stopped for a while, a few months, but always thinking of making art, always wishing to find time to do it.
In the meantime I was able to fit time for art in my schedule. So if I can, so can you!
The last painting I made was in 2017, I was so happy with it, it was technically the best I had managed to achieve in oil paint, and I couldn't wait to push myself further.
Then, life happened - personal and professional upheaval, trauma from losing loved ones to tragedy, a job change, etc. I stopped painting, and barely so much as picked up a pencil. My inner creative world became a dark prison.
I am a graphic designer, and work each day on digital projects both static and motion-based. I have found that even though I make use of my creativity professionally and have gained alot of experience and skill in commercial design, the work I do for my job does not fulfill me in the way that painting used to, even though I am still 'a creative' each day.
I have come to realise that part of what I need to continue to grow in myself as a healthy human being is to re-engage with that child inside of me that wants to play and imagine and create, that child that wants to express himself just simply for being alive with a unique set of eyes, heart and mind to experience this crazy existence. It is this impulse, this need to EXPRESS mySELF, that I have neglected, and after 5 years I am tired of not giving this part of me the respect it deserves.
I encourage everyone who has neglected their inner artists to begin to express again, to take what is inside you and bring it out into the world - not for the sake of the world necessarily, although this is equally important, but for your own sake, for your own joy and fulfillment and sanity. We must express because it is our way of making sense of ourselves and our lives. We are stuck in a consumer culture - all the time we consume consume consume. It's too much. We need to stop consuming and start expressing more again. Only when we express are we truly 100% present in our own minds and bodies, unplugged from all the noise.
Thank you Florent for all the work you do, you can't imagine how much you are inspiring people like me, it means a lot! Greetings from South Africa.
I had been married 19 years to a woman who was an abstract expressionist teacher. I love the renaissance art. My drawing skills were more advanced than hers. She had a great jealousy so, to keep the peace, I kept with music. The marriage ended in divorce. I gave my guitars away. I now live in Italy, paint like my heroes and continue to refine my techniques and further my education. It's a blessed journey. It takes dedication and commitment on a daily basis. I even learned how to make my own sketch books. Thanks to "Crafty Loops" videos.
This really spoke to me. I was a classical ballet dancer, and retired from the stage years ago, but the urge of creating art never went away. Two years ago I started picking up paint brushes, and painting is now filling my life with the artistic joy I have been missing for almost a decade. Thanks for this and all your other videos 🙏
Omg I alway thought I was the only one in this world who came back to art after 25 or so years, though I alway kept a sketch pad close, drawing now & then. But coming back to oil painting has been like coming home, and I find painting so therapeutic, feeling the texture of the canvas, the flow of colors, the strokes of the brush, the smell of the paint, & of course, the end result: your thoughts on the canvas!
I can't thank you enough for this. I cried a little!
I wanted to be an artist by the time I was 12 and so I studied art all the way through to degree level. I graduated and painted for about 3 years. Through a series of challenges (to get onto an MA course) and general confusion and lack of knowledge in how to be a working artist, coupled with some personal struggles, I just quit. That was in 2005. I focussed on other creative avenues (thankfully!) and continued with things like jewellery design, pattern design, and then graphic design, which is now how I make my living.
I have lived my life since 2005 with a heavy heart whenever I thought about art. I had 100% written off any concept of returning to painting. Then one evening in November last year I decided I just wanted to try again. I bought all the tools and paints again (not cheap as you know!). I purchased books. I cleared a space for a studio after working out of my bedroom for a couple of months and now I am restarting this whole process of getting creative again with graphite and paper. It's challenging, it's deeply rewarding. It's still confusing, but I am mature enough to work with the confusion instead of letting it stop me.
All your advice is spot on! I did a number of "where's my ability at?" tests and found that my biggest weakness was not technical ability (although it is quite rusty!) but patience. Unfortunately the last decade of working with digital tools has left me very impatient with traditional tools and methods. I know I won't get far without working on this so I need to practice that as much as the practical skills.
My future feels so much more exciting now. :) Thank you for reading.
i stoped making art 10 years ago ,im 30 now, the reasons are very deep, i fell into a profound depression after i felt i never got the validation form my family or my friends then on that time i was also very attached to my older sister who was an artist i was being smothered by the society i lived in because my drive for art was falling off because of my depression i also was not able to get a boyfriend or any type of meaningfull relationship that didnt made me feel like i was some sort of psycopath, after abandoning art i tried defernt things in the art industry but nothing felt right, my older sister passed away and i felt like my whole life went in to the gutter, last year i met the love of my life he is a very dream like human and he likes to inspire me to look for creativity and know im looking for new ways to recover my love for art and i feel like im getting back slowly but i think im finly able to be happy
I used to draw since I was able to hold a pen, but my mother always told me, I should not waste my time and do something productive, I‘m not good enough, to make money or effort with my drawings and will never be an artist. When I was a teenager, drawing felt like a deep secret and I often felt ashamed of spending my time with art instead of working for school, a big career, etc. I never stopped drawing, it‘s a part of me, but it took me about 15 years to except, that I‘m an artist and that’s fine. There were times, I „lost“ my sketchbook, I couldn‘t remember, where it was, sometimes for month, even years. A few years ago, I started a new one and it felt, I improved so much… I never lost my sketchbook since this moment, carrying it everywhere (it‘s the third one now)and making art, whenever I feel for it. I understood, that I‘m drawing for me, it‘s something I need like water, air or sleep. There is nothing to be ashamed of doodling, sketching, drawing. I‘m improving every single day and even it is hard work to come back to art, getting un-rusty, it was worth it and I never regret going throw.
as a person with a BA in fine arts, and having made a living doing art for over 10 years, you have no idea how spot on you are with this video. After you hang up your brushed for a while, it is very scary to dive in again. Thank you...
As always just the type of stuff any one who is doing Art now needs to know I am also one of them that took to Art after years of work and not really enjoying the life I lived last year I decided to take up Art as my only and lasting career till to the end of my life. By end of the year I learnt a valuable lesson I’d been chasing success all my life like we all do and are expected to do so by society and families. But now I know better,and hence I’m happy as an artist I “Chase Excellence not Success.“ wish you a wonderful year ahead. Thanks again.
Thank you SO much for this! I started doing artwork again after several DECADES of absence. I went to art school in my pre-teen years and left it to do other things. (Got a degree in Philosophy too!) It was only during the pandemic that I had time and space to get reinfected with the love of drawing and painting. You are so correct. I had natural talent as a child but not the discipline and patience I developed as an adult. A year after I started making art again, I exhibited and sold my first pieces. There are so many resources and such wonderful teachers like yourself online. You would have had to go to art school for years to get what you can start learning and studying now in a few weeks. I am so grateful! I cannot thank you enough for what you are doing.
Your words are so smart and inspiring. And most importantly, you're positive and kind. I can get so down on myself about how I procrastinate with my painting, putting everything else first, and I love the way you point out that maybe there was a good reason why we took a break, or resisted it for so long. I also like the way you focus on fun. For me, drawing was something I did for pure fun since I was a child. The fun continued through art school. But as soon as it became a business, the fun slowly disappeared. Life took over and I put the pencils and brushes aside. Now, 30 years later, I've started painting again. And all that I've experienced - good and bad - is coming through onto the canvas. I still have to remind myself to have fun, but I have hope!
Weird, that happened to me after a (very long) hiatus. I was in art classes, mostly drew, back in Jr. High/high school (about 13 to 15 years old); started back recently at 53. And my eye for proportions is VASTLY improved since then. (Like especially when doing a lay-in, proportions, "structural visualization", whatever) I mean like, back then that was my number one weakness, and now I'm very good at it, it's even really easy and fast. I don't know what the hell happened in the interim! Weird, huh? Faces are still hard though.... (I just haven't undertaken a concentrated study of drawing them yet. I'll get to it...)
Thank you for this. I have been on a long hiatus after my husband was in a very bad accident and I fell in a very bad depression. Watching this gives me real hope to return to where I was artistically. It's been hard getting back to art out of doubt and lack of hope to return to the skill level I had before.
I've had a five year break because my studio became a storeroom before we moved from UK to Australia then I had to wait for renovations to be done before I could start again. My first painting is an old gum tree in a dry creek bed. All the background branches and mid ground scrub are doing my head in. I'm almost too anxious to go into the studio now. I'll get there. Midground first and work forward. Then maybe something more familiar. Thanks for the great advice. I love your channel. 🙏👍
As a kid I always wanted to become an artist, go to art school and do fine art. I was even forced to draw a still-life subject every day by my mother to keep the skills up. In 2017 a sudden burst of deep depression hit me like a rock, I was about to end my entire career as anything. Although the one thing that kept me sane was still drawing, lots of it until it too, slowly disappeared like anything else that made me happy.
I finished high school at the age of 21 and now I'm studying archaeology and antiquity, but not art.
Everyone thought I'll be studying art but like Florent here, I just can't find the school that I want and neither do I fully understand what I want to do with it. Currently I'm still trying to pull through, surprisingly drawing something small everyday now-which took me months to warm up to. Who knows, where it'll go? I love art purely as it is and will try those tips handed to me in this video.
This video and these comments are exactly what I’ve needed to help soothe my heart and my mind. I’ve maybe drawn two or three things in the last ten years, and I’ve been grieving the atrophy in my art skills lately as I try to start again. That ten year period was so full of trauma, near-death experiences, and mental illness that I couldn’t give any time or focus to my art. I had to focus on surviving and healing. Now that I’m through the worst of it all, I have the time, space, and desire to make art again but I feel so lost, and anxious. I tried finding videos and experiences that reflect my own, but wasn’t coming up with anything until now. Thank you so much. This is going to be a massive help, and I appreciate everyone else sharing, too.
I loved art at high school and won the art prize. But being a musician was also my passion, so I became a professional orchestral percussionist for 12 years - total obsession. Then I needed to financially establish myself, so went back and studied an MBA and Communication Design and started a web design studio - not as a visual artist but as a UX designer and programmer. Now 20 years later I am 2 years into rediscovering the passion that has been burning away for years. I am loving the journey and discovery of being creative again - even as a weekend warrior. I have space and time to enjoy painting. Love your channel!
For me, the challenge wasn't so much having a gap in art making, but like you mention in this video, it was that I didn't have a formal art education. I think that stopped me from making art for years because I felt that I didn't have the credentials to do so. But, exactly like you say here, art (in my case drawing) found me, and made me start up a regular practice.... and for that I'm forever grateful! :) Also so grateful for this channel for the constant inspiration! Thank you Folrent
Thx Florent, coming back after some 30 years away. Never was really good but drew for myself as a pastime. Now kids are grown, I’m well ensconced in the career, social work, needed something more than just scrolling. Learn a little every time out. As long as I see progress I’m happy with that. After my first graphite and charcoal,portrait when people said they were really good I considered it validation of my choice. Now moving into painting, very humbling, but it’s coming along. Thx for everything, I suspect I will becoming a patreon subscriber soon.
This video is serendipity for me. I have always thought that it was rare to have dropped art for decades only to be interested again later in life. Now I discovered, thanks to this video of yours, that there are many people in my situation. I am almost 60. You described it perfectly, it's as if art has been calling me back all my life; I only stopped because I got so busy with life doing other stuff.
ThaNks for posting this. Your timing is perfect.
How
Amen to that!!
Bought your 10 hour course and I have watched 3 videos so far. Great material!👍😃🎨 Your course really "demystifies" oil painting.
As a small child I drew on the walls 😁😱 (mom wasnt very happy) and as a teenager I was told that I was good at art (of course I wasnt painting onbthe walls anymore😄) . Then adulthood made me focus on other things and when the pandemic started I finally got back to painting. It's hard, much harder then I remember, but so much fun! 🖌️🎨
Thank you again for the massive information in the course, loving it and will rewatch and learn alot from it!👍🎨😃
Your art is amazing! 🎨👍
I love Andrew Loomis! I learned so much from his Figure Drawing for all it's Worth - drawing the figure in action, especially. This is a very good video, Florent, thank you!
I drew a lot to get through my tough teenage years, and I used it to make money to survive the college days. Making it into a grind to survive and having to compete really ground the enjoyment out. Now ten years later I'm going back now that I have my own stable job and am out of those tough situations. It feels much better
Thanks for this video Florent! It was so encouraging to see so many peoples stories in the comments. I had been drawing ever since I was 11 on and off for years , and later on I started painting and surprisingly started doing art shows, and commissions. Unfortunately I started battling depression for a couple of years and completely stopped. I have been desiring to paint again, but struggling to start again due to fear. This made me realize that I will be okay and the second coming will be better ❤️!
Before the first lockdown I thought that I couldn't draw a straight line, I still can't but I try my best 🤣 I sketch all day in the taxi and at home and I love it 🤣
As always, thanks again for your inspirational talk Florent! Well, my art journey kind of a unusual one I believe… unlike most of the visual artists I heard, I never learn drawing/painting or even doing any form of draw/paint in my entirely life until about 18 months ago/when the Covid 19 Pandemic start… & due to the lockdown everything stop and luckily my local senior club for people over 50s held a free online art zoom class (40mins weekly) to helping the local elderly have something to occupy instead of gone crazy/mental from the lockdown. After 2x seasons the art class got cancelled (as no longer have funding unfortunately), after that, I continue self-learn from you tube/online (& your channel is one of my learning source! Ocean of thanks to you…) and I paint every time when I have free time.
Perhaps, it was because of the encouragement by my art teacher, who had given me many good comments of my art and he once said ~ I’m a nature born artist & very creative and I should never give up on art…
Since then, I have been making painting to family, friends, and co-workers & too having many good feedbacks from them. And, now, I’m planning make art as my future career.
I used to draw and paint all my life from really young age, go to an art school. I even did an exam for bachelor of architecture, but I wasn't good enough to study there for free(51st out of 50 places in the rating). After that I realized that I was extremally bad at art and refused to do anything related to that. That was 9 years ago.
9 month ago I experienced war. I moved out the country and recently I felt like I want to paint with oil. You are inspiring me and I see that realistic art isn't dead in any way. Thank you a lot
i drew tons as teen, then realized it wasnt gonna be a career, 25 yr hiatus, started doing caricatures with pen, about 200, got bored, took up piano, now at age 50 started painting, Florent you are terrific inspiration.
Thanks for this video. Very inspiring. So This is very much my experience as I've read many other comments here. As a kid as far back as i can remember I drew a lot, I got a scholarship in the fine arts when i was 16, and I drew as a graphic artist for about 2 or 3 years then got into drugs hardcore and lots of other bad things happened to me when i gave up and threw it all away never making much money either. Almost 20 years passed with me almost never touching a pencil. I'm married and almost 40 now and don't touch any drug whatsoever and just got back in to drawing about 2 months ago. I feel better than ever. My art has matured, My subject matter has matured and I'm disciplined and obsessed more than I've ever been. I'm loving it and resinspired in my art. My new routine is to get up around 3am and just draw everything until I've got to go to work. This new habit has filled about 2 new sketch pads. I Take this more serious than I ever have and can see a big difference. I've definitely come a long ways as a teenager and 20 year old punk-as$-kid.
I was offered a scholarship for art and turned it down because I didn't want to be a "starving artist" or teacher. I too studied other subjects but art came back to me 2 decades later and now I love and appreciate it that much more. Very inspiring video, you've gained a new follower.
I felt deeply identified with your story. I used to draw and paint, and I was good at it, but at some point when choosing my career I was very disappointed by what was thought to be "art" in the art schools at the time... so I chose to become a graphic designer. Then throughout my career I used Illustration as a tool. I used it for infographics and I even took a few illustration commissions, but very sparingly and so my skills became progressively rusty over time. Now almost 30 years after that crossroad I want to recover my "artistic self" and and re-learn drawing and painting to reconnect with that feeling of just doing art for the art itself. Your video was very inspiring, thank you.
I really enjoy your comments cuz I'm back to painting after a 7 years break (my second one). Mainly stop because of some frustration in not achieving my goal as a painter. And also from transitioning from a employee in the health care system to a self-employed professional. What makes me come back to paint as to do with all at's been going on in 2022 up to now: Covid, with omicron, been more resilient again vaccines, pandemic fatigue after 2 years, trucker convoy (I'm close to Ottawa), the war in Ukraine. So to get away of all that I start looking for art, mainly videos about famous painting and the interest to get back for it. I finish some project started years ago....
Florent, Thank you so much for your very inspiring words! I am a returning artist, a little over ten years, I have finally picked up the brush again, (And pastel ) and I have been experiencing the rust and impatience, But this video has gave me the tools to work through this, I will be watching all your videos and I look forward to watching you paint, you make it look so easy! Thank you again, Aaron
Love your teaching! Thank You
I used to put re starting off because ….a lot of reasons! I have shared so I won’t go in to it. Now I’m an old person. I remember saying to people who were interested in my little starts and stops that I guess I’ll be a Grandma Moses. Not even really knowing much about her mind you. It took over 6 months of persistent psyche myself up to draw a first effort! I immediately learned ….all I need to do is start! Ha ha. Oops. But it wasn’t a waste of time because I did commit. Florent forgot my favorite idea when it comes to work and discipline. It’s obsession. We are raised to think obsession is some kind of mental illness. I wonder why? I mean I really do wonder why? Nurture, I say, nurture any obsessive feeling towards doing any art. Let it out of the box that it’s been stuffed in to for whatever reason. I finally took a break because of a heat wave and it’s ok. I was afraid I had “ fallen out” returning to apathy and escapism doing nothing but it was easier to restart this time. I just started pastels! I’m old. I would avoid starting a painting project because I like wet on wet and this means spending many hours with little breaks in a day and to return to same schedule next day. Once it gets tacky you know it’s kind of over. I have times I’m not as healthy as I want to be. Or as young as I want to be! I would sketch or flat out render a drawing in pencil or charcoal but really loving color. I love the color part a lot. Yeah so. I’ll still do oil. It’s the best medium in my opinion. Pastel is oh so new and I like it! I got Henri Roche ( broke agsin) and pastel board. Richie has a pumice in it so special
Pastel paper isn’t as important. It’s a nice change and I can still mix colors. My new direction is low chroma portraits fir now. I know! The pastels are so bright and rich. I’ll do other stuff with their brightness. I’ve learned to do other stuff besides portraits sometimes because it’s good for you to do that. Yes I took Florent’s oil painting course and color theory. Helped to really get going and overcome the mountain of frustration going DIY regarding a lot of adjectives. Like over the hump situations. True patience. Explore OBSESSION. It’s safe after all if you have an outlet. Enjoy the process. It releases dopamine!!
Hello Florent - You are definitely not alone when you say "Art always forces it's way back...It's like an existential need..." I became distracted, in my early 20's when I realized that I "...had certain materialistic needs..." So I dropped out of Art school to attend a Technical College, where I studied Mechanical Drafting and Computer Aided Design (CAD). I was fortunate to be hired by a great aerospace company. And this "job" provided me and my wife a very pleasant and comfortable existence. BUT --- Every so often, I really "needed" to take an Art Course at the local Art Center...just to feel free and fulfilled!!! And now that I'll be turning 60 this summer, I want to be free to reignite my artistic passion via an early retirement. So I wanted to let you to know this video landed on me at just the right time! Thank you Florent and thank you to all the people who already commented on this video, Very inspirational! Lelan
35 ans avant d y croire et de retrouver le plaisir de observer, imaginer, dessiner, peindre. Depuis tous les jours je vis avec l art, dans la tete, dans le coeur. Une renaissance...
I'm back! About thirty years ago, I begun to have some success with my writing, with two SF novels published in the early noughties and, as I concentrated on this sphere of my creativity, my painting fell be the wayside. However, whilst in the first English Lockdown, I watched a programme by Grayson Perry and this encouraged me to break out a canvas. Folks, I assure you I can tell you great story, and that I love writing, but painting, for me, as I have rediscovered, unreleases a passion I had forgotten. And Florent is correct: you come back stronger. I'm now 63 and I whilst I sometimes wonder what I might have painted had I not diverted into writing, and wonder how many pictures I have time to do, I feel energised. That passion is still there, but matured. If you've painted before, I guarantee it's still there.
39 soon but like you I was not pursuing art as a training path by lack of finding a school or course that touched me in France.
I drew on the side but stopped drawing after not finding any idea of what to draw next. I came back to it but nothing came. I took up photography when I lived in Japan as a means to rekindle with art (and to create my reference library for the time I'd take again my pen).
One year ago I decided to take things more seriously and to start, inspired by your videos and other content creators like Brunet. I still don't know what to draw but I don't want to stop my pen this time :)
This is a great video dear friend. Keep it up. 👍👍Stay connected always.
I can relate so very much with what you are telling here. Your story explains why it makes me feel like at home when watching your video's. Thank you for this!!
Hello my name is ian huff, great video and so true! about a year ago I packed up all of my canvas, paint, brushes, threw it all in a box and gave it away! told myself I'm never gonna paint again! Well lately it's been really pulling at my heart! Can't wait to start again! Love your video God bless!
ICU nurse 25 years. Actually started painting in 2017 after not touching a brush since high school. Have been selling, and doing commissions and now fast track trying to get a website, do some art fairs and hopefully get out of nursing by next summer. I have to. It's necessary for my survival now.🤪 But also, I feel this is almost forcing me to just paint. Paint ALOT. When I do a little series I call it rage painting. Although the "rage" is just a burst of ideas. Not literal dark looking stuff.....but that term kinda goes with today's climate of my day job. Found this channel a couple years ago and find it very helpful and inspiring. I am really trying to transition from full time nurse to full time artist. A reinvention of myself I hope.
I went to a life drawing class last week, first time I put a mark on paper in 15 years. The timing of this video for me is perfect.
I quit a graphic design job (burned out and creatively bankrupt) in 2000, went into the military soon after. Between two hurricanes, an auto theft, a storage unit flood, two deployments, a hard drive crash and over a dozen moves, I've lost everything I'd done multiple times and eventually just gave up altogether. Because what's the point, it''ll be stolen, lost or destroyed in a few years anyway, right?
Now I finally have the right combination of time, space, stability and money I bought some charcoal, newsprint and linked up with a local group; now that I'm settled and (hopefully) all the catastrophes and obstacles are behind me, I start again from square one and re-learn.
You come across as so genuine and inspiring and really resonated with me. Thank you so much for your integrity and your talent. I have just purchased the first book your recommend and have taken on board that I should just enjoy without pressure. Thank you.
I got away from art for a while after I had converted a bedroom into a studio. Work was harder at the time and I was dog tired in the evenings. So I’d come home dog tired and then feel guilty. I made a deal with myself and decided if I was going to do any painting I needed to be in that studio and set aside just two hours a week. One hour on Sun afternoon and one hour on Thur. night. I even put it in my calendar on my phone. I didn’t have to paint just be in the studio for an hour at a time. I got bored just sitting there that I found things to do, straightening up, rearranging stuff. Going through old notes getting inspired by old ideas. Within a couple of months the calendar reminders weren’t necessary anymore. I did a showing of my art about a year later. Paintings were selling before I could get them off the easel.
This is a great video and the fact that you mention other artist speaks a lot about you. Also, your philosophy background transpires in all your videos. Thank you for your great insights 🙏🌟
Thank you so much! Yeah there are some amazing artists out there, I don't get to quote them as much as they deserve.
I needed to hear this. Thank you for sharing your story 😀
I was on an art trajectory at 18-20 but my parents discouraged it. They encouraged me to get a "real" career. I settled on architecture but along the way I became very interested in pure math. I switched to pure math and ended up teaching math at various community colleges in my area for the last 10 years. By the end of last year, I was about 2 years beyond being burnt out. I greatly reduced my work hours and have been catching up with my first love which is drawing and painting. It's been almost 15 years.
Thanks so much for this video. Sadly, too often art instruction on the Internet is geared toward younger people who have had no real life responsibilities beyond finishing high school or going to college. (There’s also marriage and young children, but unfortunately that can also be skewed by gender, (I mean ask yourself when is the last time you ever saw a male artist say “I had a great art career but I had to give it up because I became a dad.”) so it’s nice to see an acknowledgement that Life Gets in the Way and that doesn’t mean you aren’t dedicated enough. Too often the perspective on this is very “young and male” so I appreciate a male artist doing a video like this that speaks to everyone!
Thank you for listing those other yt artists with teaching videos. You have no idea how many times I've tried search terms like "realism oil tutorial" although usually with the words landscape or impressionism added and the result is generally dominated by silly beginner formula schlock that isn't even oils! -or the first couple suggestions are and then it goes right to "acrylic pours" from teenagers and I want to pull my hair out. Anyway, very glad I found a link to this channel as your instruction videos are excellent.
Its awesome you went for philosophy mainly because you didn't need art school. I've found art cant be taught because everyone can already do it. I'm not saying art school is bad because you do learn techniques and do's and don'ts with mediums but everyone already can make beautiful things. Desire and the willingness to learn from mistakes and practice can take that desire and refine whatever skill we already have
have a tone of inspiration and new ideas that I gathered doing the weeks I couldn't make art.
Don't give up. Your art journey it's not a straight line. We all struggle. Just hang in there.
If you can't draw, or paint just yet, observe, gather ideas, inspiration from the world around you. You will come back strong and fresh, you will see.
Stopped painting after my father got sick and then passed. Just recently started painting occasionally again
Its been 3 yrs for me since i did my last art, im gonna be getting back to it, thanks for the tips!!
I lost my grandfather almost a year ago now. Before then, I was an art scholar. I lived art, spent every day obsessing and observing art, entering workshops and live model sessions and entering contests and applying myself academically to it. I had dedicated myself entirely to the journey.
After I lost him, things started to change. It's been nine months since he passed away and I've yet to draw anything of sustenance, of meaning. It just doesn't come to me the way it did when he was alive. Right now I'm seeking a way out of the blockade and back to the pencil and easel, but it's been difficult to even try. I wish I could wake up tomorrow and be ready and willing to draw as I ever was, I miss it so much...
This is my exact situation, starting to create again and it's feels like I'm living again.
Wow ! Vraiment intéressant ! Vos études en philosophie ressortent dans votre capacité à émettre des idées. Je veux passer au travers de toutes vos video sur TH-cam. Je ne veux pas en manquer une seule. Merci, vous êtes un grand artiste et un excellent professeur 😘
Estou tão feliz, tão feliz de ter encontrado seu canal,as coisas fazem mais sentido agora
I used to draw constantly when I was a kid, there is something very satisfying about creating characters and the environments they exist in. I've given up so many times over the last 20 years that I've lost count. I've went through periods of guilt for not falling into place behind people working regular jobs, Self anger for not pursuing something that I'm naturally skilled at, and fear of the change brought on by possibilities of success. I'm also regularly concerned about competition and steady wages to pay for the normal expenses of life, as well as feeling like it's too late for me. Unfortunately life is short, and it will disappear before your very eyes. I also spent 10 years in prison with very limited connection with society outside of my cage. I also have a very deep passion for music, and have been playing guitar {another on and off struggle of mine} unsteadily since I was 13 years old. I'm 47 now and continue to struggle, so it's good to know that I'm not alone. Thank you for this inspiring video.
I used to study art back in highschool, it was essentially a technical school where we had aditional classes for drawing, painting, colour theory, graphic design and so on. I lost my passion for it during the quarantine because my drawing classes were online for the last two years of high school, and because of other situations in my life at the time, I couldn't draw. Currently I'm studying fashion, which is still pretty artistic but I find that my art supplies are just stationary, on my desk at all times. Though I guess my hiatus isn't that long, and I've found other passions, I just want to get into it for myself so I can have another outlet for my emotions, and maybe a personal hobby, because I don't want to go into art professionally
I used to paint in my early 20’s and was accepted at an art school but because I was afraid of the income and didn’t really believe in myself I choose another path and got wife and kids and a all occupying job I had a break for about 30 years. Now I’m disabled of psychical reasons and now I have painted for a year. A great year that really helped my illness. What I find strange is that even with the long break I have grown a lot in terms of skills and especially observation . I guess I have never stopped observing and paint without paint . My regret is that I didn’t go to the art school 30 years ago.
J'ai 27 ans. Je dessinais toute ma vie. A partir de mes 15 ans je peins à l'huile.
Mes parents ont choisi la formationpour moi . J'ai fait une grande ecole de commerce en France( je viens de l'europe de l'est). J'ai un bac +5 et pendant toute la durée de mes études j'ai arrêté l'art.
Un an après un travail dans mon domaine, je pose une demission à cause du stress. Je reprends la peinture. Je fais sérieusement de la peinture à l'huile depuis l'été dernier.
Et je suis contente. Je ne regrette rien. Je veux devenir artiste peintre professionnel.
Thank you, Florent.
I studied with Dan Dickerson at the Art Students League. Life intervened. Now I am studying with Zwick. I feel liberated knowing that The Lord Is Great and I am thankful holding a pencil, charcoal and 🖌 once again in my time-weathered hands.
The best is yet to be.
Thanks for sharing your story 😊 🙏 very inspiring.
Exactement la vidéo qui correspond à mes questionnements en ce moment, envie de reprendre la peinture après un break, avec une nouvelle vision plus personnelle, en remettant mes connaissances à plat.
Travailler sur mes points faibles, et ne plus les éviter.
Dépoussiérer tout ça!!
Merci Florent
I needed to hear this! I've been writing since I was in high school and I could draw a little but a few years I decided to learn how to draw for my stories but I was busy with college at the time. I've studied both computers and creative writing and now that I would like to study art I didn't want to go back to college for it (Plus i'm about a couple of years away from 30 so I'm ready to be out of college). It just didn't feel right. I've been studying off an on but this year I made out my on curriculumn on what i'm studying every month and so far it's working great! Doing figures and working on a 600 figures/gesture challenge. I know it will take some time but I hope by the end of this year I'll have enough skills to draw something for my stories and I can continue to improve after that. Self teaching as a real journey for sure! Thanks for this video! Again, I needed this one!
You are a genius mind , hats off!
again a lot of information and advice,i appreciate it
Wow! Have we met? I, too, took probably close to a 10 year (maybe 15 year) break. I always knew I'd come back but I guess the timing wasn't right or something. Yes, life! Also, I happen to be a nurse! I think the burnout is very real. Became almost unbearable these past 2 years. That was always the joke though. If I could find something else I'm good at I'd leave nursing. But what could I do? Aha!! So, thank you!! I'm back and although definitely very rusty, I'm older and hopefully wiser. Much more patient with myself.
Just glancing at other comments....I think we all must be kindred spirits. Blessings to all!
😢 So sorry I missed the live feed! I find your video's so encouraging!! Thank you Florent ❣
You are so welcome 😊
Very true , i also restarted art after a hiatus of around 30 years,
Thanks for this. While I was never a drawer as a teen I did pick it up 2 years ago in my 30's and I keep taking 4-6 month long breaks cause I don't always know how to nor where to improve.
I was never trained in art short of high school, & for about 30 years I just stopped until one day I did a little drawing of a goblin & my wife said I should start again & for the past 8 or 9 years I've been painting along with some sketching, but still I struggle with it & having depression doesn't help. Many times I've stopped for months because I just can't get the right frame of mind!
I still watch this fella even if I got no oil paints and probably never will... aquarelle is the only colors that get me,,,,but I still watch
I used to paint a whole lot in my teens and even got my first job painting commission artworks. Proper art education is almost non existent in Germany and as at 18 it felt scary moving to Florence and paying so much for private education, especially because back then I only did digital art and felt like I would be rubbish at traditional art.
I was also pretty good at normal academic stuff and everyone in my family went to university so I felt like that was the right move for me, especially because fine art can be a difficult field to also make decent money.
So I studied Game Design, which led me to study Computer science, so I ended up doing an almost 5 years painting break. On a whim I decided to buy some oil paint because I wanted to get my hands dirty rather than look at code and it felt amazing. Although it was more difficult than digital, I was basically just as good in oils so my worries back then were totally unfounded. Also, the constraints of the medium and the physical nature of it really reinvigorated my love for art.
In retrospect it always feels like a big regret to stop doing art because you think of how good you could be if you had kept up with it. But at the same time, I'm actually pretty happy with the other skills I learned like 3D modelling and coding, meeting my boyfriend etc. So it's never wasted time to do something else.
However it does feel like it is way easier for people who only ever had art in mind and strictly followed that path without ever having to question their life choices.
I don't think it's easier for people who went for the straight path. It feels like it but it's not. Think about the many former students who went there and ended up giving up after art school. I think you shouldn't have regrets, your life story made you a complete, well rounded person, not just a former art school student !
I got rejected at a Art-Uni when I was 20 and didn’t touched a brush for 16 Years. Before I was in love with drawing and painting. Being ‚not good enough’ let me feel ashamed and so I turned to a complete different direction in my life. But this feeling still remained because it felt like a rejection of me as a person. Other people said ‚Oh you are good!‘ ‚Oh you habe talent!‘ but I never felt that way. I still felt shame.
Now, after 17 Years of hard work, study’s and sacrifice’s I reached a stabile point in my life. And now I realise how deep this rejection and judgement hurt me back then. It is a emotional journey to these wounds. While the first painting after such a long period I had to go through all of these feelings again. Face the feeling of ‚being not good enough‘. It allowed me a discussion with myself. What I am, who I am, what holds me back and who I always wanted to be - an artist.
And therefore it is a return to painting. With support I found a way back to what I love. The paints and brushes, the joy of creating, of expressing and the discovery that there is so much to learn and so less to be ashamed of. I‘m grateful to see all of there opportunities now and for the future.
And indeed, it is never to late to start again. Also, thank you Florent for your Videos. They are a big help!
. I actually went trhough the exact same process, went in to art school for a year, could not find myself in the contemporary conceptual art they try to force you in, then went to study Philosophy. ..Have not painted for over 20 years . And then you know how it goes: studies, career , friends consume too much time...Or so you think. The sudden time I had during the pandemic made me paint again. Now I do it nearly every day after work. All this is so true, being older you have more patience, you pay more attention to technique ....
In my experience I have always done art since I was a little kid. I was inspired by the movies and tv shows and anime that I watched and I wanted to be just like them. As time went on I got more serious about art and studied hard, I started to fall out of it around high school. I’ve always loved art but I had a lot of art blocks and anxiety about my art at times. I started to get discouraging thoughts, and as time went on I was getting ready to be an adult, I have so many things I want to do and accomplish I feel like I don’t have the energy to study art to improve or to even move a pencil. I get so bored of drawing the same things but so frustrated when I cannot get something right. As the artist himself said I never truly fell out of it, I am a creative soul by heart and I know art in any form will stay in my soul heart and body always. It’s just hard as a young adult learning to manage my passion, I struggle with mental health and it’s difficult to want and crave to do so many things but only have so much will and energy to do these things. I feared that I fell out of love with art which I know isn’t true. Anxiety and depression likes to take over the mind and give thoughts and negativity’s about all parts of peoples life, it’s easy to give in but I refuse to give up on art. It’s been with me always, but I should also know, and everyone should know that, you need to listen to your emotions and thoughts and grow from them. What I’ve learned from all this is that I am burnt out, once I start drawing I get into the zone and my soul sings, I just need to find my groove again. The point is to not give up on yourself, follow your heart and follow your truth. Learn and grow. Pick up that pencil and create 💖💖
Thank you for this ✌️💪
Thank you so much❤
Art was required for my High School diploma.
My art "teacher" couldn't teach art to save his life. It was more like a crafts class where we were supposed to make stuff.
And on occasion he would tell us to draw something but without telling us how to draw.
He taught nothing of the fundamentals of art, the elements and principles, and composition.
It wasn't until my photography classes in college, because I don't think the HS photo instructor taught it, that my instructors taught me about the rules of composition, etc.
From 1979 until 1994 I hated "art" because of my experience in HS, and it was only in college while taking a drawing class as an elective that I started getting interested in learning to draw.
It was only in 2016, when I started watching YT videos, and collecting them, that I seriously started trying to learn to draw.
Thanks for your videos.