Artist Vlog- 7 tips to improve your art w/ Lachri

Today I'm sharing 7 tips I learned on how to improve my artwork over the past 20 years.

New painting videos Wednesdays at 3pm CST

Time lapse and speed painting tutorials and demonstrations by award winning artist Lachri. Learn how to paint portraits, surreal landscapes, pets, lions, tigers, and birds...pretty sure a Wizard of OZ reference should be made right about now. Get tips and watch techniques for working in acrylic and oil paint, carbon pencil, graphite and colored pencil.



This video was shot using a Samsung HMX-Q10BN Q10 Switch Grip Full HD Camcorder.

[rgrdesigns]

What an encouraging & helpful video. People who don't make art have no idea of what a mental process it is. One thing I learned from Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is the tug of war that happens between the hemispheres of the brain when we begin an art session.  Just keep working and you will get past that initial struggle. Time drops away and you have gone into the artists' zone.  It's a great place to be and I think great satisfaction and healing come from spending time there.

[ayeshamartin_]

20 years?!?! You look like you haven't even hit 30 yet! Wow!
... Impressive, inspiring work! and love that you keep it real about your process, evolution and development.
Keep them coming!

[karibufineart]

“Grateful” is the word which describes my feelings for you !!! You are simply awesome at inspiring people to get up and paint and improve and continue. I am just so “grateful” for whatever you are doing for the art community across the world.

[bettychilldres]

THANK YOU Lisa for that last step #7... to not give up in frustration.
I am presently struggling to finish a large double portrait of an older couple.
I had set this aside, covered up for a whole year now... but after her husband had passed away last June, I "really" need to try to finish it.
Talk about FRUSTRATION!!
I haven't really done very much painting in a number of years now... so I'm quite rusty at it now. 🤔🙄

[The_Blackshield]

Regarding tips, I have a few that I've reached through experience and observation for people starting out:

1. If you're starting out, don't get expensive materials. Why? They won't make you draw/paint any better than decent quality inexpensive materials. Example being that I've seen people spend a lot of money on a sketchbook, and then be frightened of using it because they "don't want to mess it up". Instead, a decent inexpensive sketchbook A4/A3 size costing around £5 will do the job brilliantly and free up your creativity, because it's almost so cheap you don't worry about it. Fill it up with nonsense, it's the only way to get an understanding of what your capabilities are and where your strengths lie, and also what the materials are like. When you have an understanding of what you like and how to use it, then invest in better quality materials.

2. Don't be afraid to learn from others, but don't get stressed out if your work doesn't look like someone else's. If I wanted a painting that looks like Lisa's, I'd buy one. How you do something will be unique to you, so get accustomed to what that is, but be open to taking advice from whatever sources you like and make it your own.

3. Do it. Doesn't matter what it is, be it painting, drawing, cut-outs, hand prints, etc, if you want to have a go at learning something, do it. So what if it doesn't come out how you planned? Just have fun and enjoy yourself.

4. Don't be afraid of the materials. Paint is no good still in the tube, pencils are no good unsharpened. So get them out, throw caution to the wind and get scribbling or painting.

5. Don't give up. Sure, there will be bad days, but so what? It's only terrible if you didn't learn something from it, and if you have to step away from it for a while then do so. Come back to it with fresh eyes and see what needs changing. The more you do, the better you'll get at avoiding those pitfalls, and if you can't avoid them then you'll know how to deal with them and work with it.

6. It really doesn't matter. Yes, you may well have put hours of work into something that didn't turn out right and that is extremely annoying. Learn from it and don't let it weigh you down. It's only paint and canvas ultimately, there's always plenty more to experiment with.

That's off the top of my head, and no doubt everyone won't agree with it. But like any tips for anything: take what you like from where you want, but only treat such things as a guideline, not a hard-and-fast rule.

[WendyMoule]

When I get to a point that I have to stop to go do something else, like eat. I turn the work upside down and prop it up in my living room. Then when I walk back in from making food, I can see straight away which area is lacking or just plain wrong.

[robamick]

something I find really helpful is to take a photo of your picture & upload it to your laptop or whatever, see how it looks at different sizes right down to thumbnail size, I find this gives me a great idea on how the composition can be improved & also its amazing how many errors you'll notice! I generally miss quite obvious things sometimes when I'm staring at them whilst working.

[MicahBuzanANIMATION]

Great tips. Your videos are like a free college education :)

[giuliafrontoni]

Wonderful tips! I love your channel.
I think it's great that you're encouraging people to practice in a smart way, and break down other artists' work. So many people quit before taking the time to actually go through a learning curve and assume they "have no talent", unlike REAL ARTISTS. You know, those lucky individuals who actually kept questioning and practicing and working their butts off :)

[ashleyyates]

Well said!!! This is exactly what I have learned. No matter how good you are, there is always room to learn more. Open your mind and stop bring stubborn. When I look at another artist's work, I never feel jealousy or see him or her as competition. Rather, I see that person as someone I can learn from. What happened to you in your last tip happened to me as well. Instead of falling into a rut, I tried to figure out how I could be that good. Hence why I subscribed to your channel as well as many others'! I am 28 and have been painting and drawing since I was very little. But I have compared my work today to the work I did even as early as last year, and it is a huge difference because I did what you did and learned techniques from other artists. I am good but I am still always learning and can still improve on some things.

[wonderingpilgrim]

One of the reasons I was drawn to your tutorials was because your style really resonated with the look that's in my head for my own work. I love combining imagination, design, and realism together, and so I was able to push my concerns aside about your style rubbing off on me too much. I almost gave up watching your videos because I deal with the Fibro fog and have a difficult time listening to others who talk too fast, but your personality and work is so infectious that I have to keep watching! I just might need to take notes! Yes. I think you are most definitely part hummingbird, and that's a good thing:)

[AndrevwZA]

Very good points, thanks for reminding me. One thing that made get over the hump of "I'm not as good as those guys so I'm giving up" was when I realised how much longer the other people have been painting compared to my couple of years. So I made peace with it and now I'm improving daily.

[dawnolmsted]

Lisa I often find myself in the "just not good enough " you are so right about looking at other artists ....I find my self looking at your Lachri, Kerry Newell, Jason Morgan etc. and even though I am not working in the same medium I can find things that I can apply to my art [right now colored pencil] and don't be afraid to explore other mediums !!! So glad I found your page !!!
Thank You !

[michaelparry]

Lisa, This is a great and very useful vlog. I found your "Lachri Fine Art" channel almost a year ago when I was snowed in and needed to do something other than work. I was there when you posted your first 'Critique' and also your first 'Vlog'. In a relatively short period of time, your postings have moved from great to 'super fantastic'. All your Vlogs have been great, but this one is very useful and helpful to all. The comments support this.

One of the may reasons that your channel is so successful and you are now at over 20K, is because you take the time to read all comments and reply to them. I find reading all of the comments and the replies adds to the value of the complete video. You are a great instructor and share much with all of us. Thanks again for all you do. :)

[tammyeaton]

CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is really FREEING when one is WILLING to LEARN!-it’s also very helpful to watch a VARIETY of artists and ask them questions in live chat or comment sections and REALLY ENGAGE.

[firewolfart]

Great tips. Hearing you talk about how long it takes you to do your art makes me realize that I should definitely slow down, thank you.

[hoper.briseno]

I always welcome improvements. I love looking at other peoples art work and ask questions. The tip that helped me was to not rush on my projects. I always challenged myself to improve.

[jjtsmom]

Once again, relevant, inspiring, encouraging and applicable to any medium. Do you get tired of my Thank You's? Because here comes another one... THANK YOU, Lisa.

[LizzPugh]

You are one of my favorite artists and continue to inspire and teach me. Thank you! I would love to see a note on some of your paintings about how long it took you to complete it. The "slow down" and "don't rush" thing is something I'm struggling with.

[TheVeyron]

I usually have a break from working on a piece and go back after a few hours. You come back with a fresh head and are able improve / tweak your work much better.