HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 1 Jan 2020 4:03 AM (5 years ago)

Welcome 2020!!

Here's a new post for the new year. I hope you've all had a great 2019!!

Artistically, and personally, I feel like I've grown a lot. I look forward to doing more in 2020.

Here are some of my favourite pieces from 2019

Had lots of fun with this one of Willem Dafoe:

This one of Eddie Murphy was a do-over from a sketch/painting I started a couple of years ago. I was glad I went back and finished it.

And finally this one of Bill Murray, also available as a gumroad video

https://gumroad.com/pbmoyse

Also, I am excited to announce a new digital pet caricature service, click here for more info. Here's a sample piece I had lots of fun doing:

Happy New Year All, see you in my second post of 2020!!

CARICATURE COURSE 13 Aug 2016 1:29 PM (8 years ago)

Learning about values.

This is a sample of a critique from my course on advanced caricature at www.paulmoyse.com, where you can learn sketching, structure, exaggeration, likeness, colour theory, value studies, digital painting and much much more.

HOW TO BECOME A BETTER ARTIST IN 5 EASY STEPS 9 Aug 2016 3:25 PM (8 years ago)

If you're starting out as an artist, no matter which path you intend to follow, you've probably asked this question: "How do I become a better artist?". There are lots of great answers, but at the end of the day, generic answers such as 'draw every day' or 'practice practice practice' simply aren't enough. Bigger changes have to be made. The following list is based on things I've learned through my own experience and artistic journey (ongoing!). I hope the advice contained within is useful for those starting out or struggling with their technique or process.

1. Stop doing things to impress your mum and dad.

Deep down in all of us, there's a child that wants to be praised by our parents. When I was three years old I drew a picture of my foot and when my dad saw it he went crazy over it. For years I wanted to recreate that moment, but at some point, I had to grow up. My point is that even though this was a big turning point in my life, I've moved on from that little boy who was looking for approval from his parents. If you like, you could say I've progressed onto seeking a wider approval.

2. Grow up

How often have you looked at that brand new sketchbook you bought and thought, 'hmm, I might just do a drawing in that at some point', only to pick up the controller to your Xbox One to complete that game you bought, or turn on Netflix and binge-watch every episode of every box set. And don't get me started on Pokemon Go!

Good art needs focus and attention. A LOT of focus and attention. I'm not saying don't watch anything or play anything: I watch a lot of things, and I've been known to play the odd game, but generally, I get bored with games very quickly, and the times when I watch movies or TV shows are either when I'm painting (it has to be something I've seen before so I can listen more than I watch) or when spending time with my family. But when I was learning my craft, the times when I saw the greatest improvements, were when I wasn't playing any games or watching any shows and I took a sketchbook everywhere I went. Now I take my phone and sketch on that instead.

3. Break up with your artwork.

The moment you finish a work of art, put it behind you. Even if it's the best thing you've ever done, you need to let it go and let others be the judge. You won't be able to start your next piece until you've let the old one go. Your heart will still be attached to it. It's kind of like a relationship (and probably the reason many artists suffer depression after they finish a painting). You have to end your relationship with that artwork and move on to the next. The new piece will sense that you're not really into it and will quickly tell you about it. Even if you didn't like the previous artwork, you'll still be thinking about how you could go back and fix it. Let it go.

And also like a relationship, it can be ruined by possessiveness. You have to learn to walk a razor's edge between possessiveness and tolerance, knowing when to hold on and when to let go. Even though you will always maintain copyright of anything you create, you can't afford to think like that when it comes to your own emotional attachment to it. The artwork belongs to you, but it also belongs to a) the person who's going to buy it b) the person who commissioned it, or c) your fans who are going to see it for free online.

If what you create matters to someone else, that's great. But the moment you hold an emotional attachment to anything from your portfolio, the thought will arise that you can't do any better. You will lose the need to create, to struggle, to aim for greater excellence.

4. Be ready to lose your art.

This is a biggie. How, I hear you saying, can I lose something I've put so much care and attention into? What good would this do me? This harks back to my previous point, that we need to learn to let go of our art. What if it gets destroyed? How will I cope? It was irreplaceable, unrepeatable. The truth is, good art should be repeatable. Not with a scanner or photoshop, but by the brush of the artist. That should be the mindset of a good artist. A good artist will only draw or paint with the knowledge that if it is destroyed, it can be recreated in the same, if not a better, way. Losing work can be painful, heartbreaking, traumatic. I have been through it many times, but ninety-nine point nine percent of the time, I have come out the other side with something better. Stephen King declares that we must 'kill our darlings', and the same is true for art. The moment we become precious about our work, is the moment we lose our focus. This isn't to say we shouldn't care about what we're doing. Quite the opposite. Going through the experience of losing artwork makes us care more about the next one. But there's a difference between caring and being precious. I'm not suggesting you go off and burn your entire portfolio, but we need to constantly experience that feeling of loss to move forward and understand our own art.

5. Grow some balls!

There are lots of things that scare me, some more than others: heights (or rather falling to my death from them); tight spaces; other humans. But one thing I simply can't afford to be afraid of is making mistakes. The fear of this can be debilitating. I've seen it too many times! We are so desperate to impress that it rules our judgement and our choices, stunting creativity and productivity. There is also the other end of the scale, where someone is totally unafraid of making mistakes and plows through anyway, making as many mistakes as possible and happy to keep making them.

The first stage to learning from your mistakes is to admit that you're making them in the first place. This means swallowing some humble pie and realizing that you weren't as great as you thought you were. The second stage is looking for a better way. Sometimes that presents itself without you having to do a thing. Those times are great, but if it doesn't come you have to seek out the answer. This can come from someone who's already been there, and through study. Study anatomy, study light, study form and values. Combining observation and practice will help lessen those mistakes.

But to get there you have to swallow your pride, and that takes balls!

For further learning, go to https://www.paulmoyse.com/caricature-course

My TEDX Talk! 9 Jun 2016 9:41 AM (8 years ago)

New Promo! 2 Mar 2016 9:49 AM (9 years ago)

Hi guys! Here is a new promo for my course. I have added a new feature: you can now choose how you want to receive your critique! You can have it live with me (and recorded) or pre-recorded if you're a bit shy.

‪#‎OnlineArtClasses‬

Book Pages 13 Feb 2016 4:36 AM (9 years ago)

Here are the first two pages of the oil painting tutorial I made for my book 'Heads & Shoulders: Anatomy of Caricature'. The special offer to get my first book 'The Art of Caricature' half price when you buy the hard back is still on. Here's the link: http://www.paulmoyse.com/…

My thanks to Neil Davies for the designing the layout!

Sketching Stephen King 9 Feb 2016 3:10 PM (9 years ago)

I recently read 11.22.63, knowing a TV adaptation was in the works, but when I finished the book I almost didn't want to see an adaptation. The movies are never usually as good as the book, the imagery we create in our heads is far more powerful and resonating.

Having said that, here is some imagery, sketched by me, of Mr King.

11.22.63 has it's premiere on the 15th Feb 2016.

Bernie Sanders, Course and Krita 27 Jan 2016 6:04 AM (9 years ago)

Latest digital painting.

This was made using a split-complimentary palette. I go into more detail about using limited palettes, as well as pretty much everything I've learned so far (technique, sketching, structure, narrative, expression, digital and oil painting) in my classes at paulmoyse.com which are now OPEN! There are no term dates for my classes, all you have to do is register for a course or individual classes, and we can then discuss the date of your first lesson. Feel free to email me at pmoyse@hotmail.com, or leave a comment on this blog, to enquire further.

The Bernie painting above happens to be my first digital painting using the Open Source painting software Krita! And I have to say it was a pleasurable experience. Overall, it handles most jobs very well. The brush and zoom controls are very intuitive, and there are tons of customization options for the brushes. The only down side, if I were to compare side by side with Photoshop, as a painting tool, would be that Krita is a little glitchy. But these are very small glitches that can easily be lived with until there's an update, which they do regularly. For a free, open source painting software, I highly recommend it!

Kevin James Study Sketch- Critique Details 25 Jan 2016 5:37 AM (9 years ago)

Masterclasses 21 Jan 2016 5:20 AM (9 years ago)

Hi guys,

The masterclasses on my website are OPEN!

For more information feel free to leave a comment or email me. Thanks!

Painting on the Galaxy Note 3 5 May 2015 1:03 PM (9 years ago)

You can see more paintings I've done recently on the awesome Samsung Galaxy Note 3 on the new website at www.paulmoyse.com

Here's one I recorded the process of:

Google Hangouts!! 18 Feb 2015 3:20 AM (10 years ago)

Hi All,

Over the last two weeks I've been broadcasting a live event on Google+ that involves me sketching or painting for half-an-hour and then critiquing someone's work for the other half-hour. These are great fun, and a way of sharing a little bit of my process with anyone interested. Here's the link to next week's show:

https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/cfgjgjjllbvt2omapo24h1hirko

To request a critique of your work (I choose one piece at random each week), leave a comment on the event page, preferably more than a day before the broadcast is going to start, giving a link to both the work and the reference used to create it.

I look forward to sharing my screen again with you next Tuesday at 9pm!

Lucy In The Garden 11 Nov 2014 8:17 AM (10 years ago)

Another piece I've finally got around to scanning. I've been in two minds as to whether this is finished or not, deliberating whether to render in some of the foliage, finish off the hands and dress a little, but in the end I came to the conclusion that I will never get around to doing those, therefore...it's done :)

Oil on Canvas 600 x 800mm

Hi-Res Scan and Christmas Book Sale! 10 Nov 2014 11:30 PM (10 years ago)

Hi All!

Got lots of things in various stages of completion that I want to share, but for now here's a hi-res scan of a commission from a few months ago.

Also, there's a sale on all books at my store, ends 1st December! All are individually signed by the artist and delivered in time for Christmas!

Robin Williams Caricature 14 Aug 2014 5:31 AM (10 years ago)

Robin Williams Caricature by Paul Moyse - Watercolour

Blog is back! 20 Jul 2014 10:27 AM (10 years ago)

Hi all,

I'm returning to posting here because when I moved blogs, I realised I wasn't posting as much, so I guess I'm going to keep posting here in future!

Been working on some new paintings and various other projects in the works, but for now here's a recent one of Adam Sandler I shared a week or two ago on facebook.

Andy Barrett 11 Jan 2014 12:13 AM (11 years ago)

Happy New Year everyone! I will aim to do more blogging here in 2014, and I start with a commission. I started this during my exhibition last week, it's of a local celebrity Andy Barrett. Andy is the owner of the Belgian Bar in Ramsgate and La Trapiste in Canterbury and he's quite a character. I'm excited to finish this!

I will do a post about the book very soon, which you can buy here http://paulmoyse.com/store/books/heads-and-shoulders-anatomy-of-caricature/

KICKSTARTER RELAUNCHED!! 3 Oct 2013 8:55 AM (11 years ago)

Samsung Galaxy Note Sketching 16 Sep 2013 5:47 AM (11 years ago)

Yesterday whilst shopping with the family I took a few minutes out to try sketching on their Galaxy Note 8.0 (they had the larger 10.1 on display but it didn't have Sketchbook Pro). Straight away I was impressed by the feeling of control I had, it was closer to drawing with pencil and paper than I've found so far. It was just a shame I couldn't try it on the 10.1 because I felt a little limited by the dimensions of the narrower 8.0. When sketching digitally, pressure sensitivity is crucial for getting the feeling of sketching with a pencil. I'm not sure if this was being done by the pen itself or the tablet screen, I'm no expert on how they work, but it certainly did the job. Anyway, I did a quick sketch of Chris Pine aka Captain Kirk but then it was time to finish the shopping and the kids were screaming for food so I had to cut it short. :)

Will definitely be wanting another play with this!

Danny Boyle!! 2 Sep 2013 5:30 AM (11 years ago)

Recently I did a caricature oil painting of Danny Boyle. Here is a recording of the process.

Danny Boyle Oil Painting from Paul Moyse on Vimeo.

I recently watched Danny's latest movie 'Trance' and was blown away. Danny is one of the UK's finest filmmakers, I highly recommend Trance to anyone who hasn't seen it yet.

My interview on Artpromotivate.com 17 Aug 2013 6:44 AM (11 years ago)

My interview on Artpromotivate.com.

http://www.artpromotivate.com/2013/08/caricature-artist-paul-moyse.html?m=1

Benedict Cumberbatch/Kickstarter is live RIGHT NOW!! 10 Aug 2013 1:14 AM (11 years ago)

Above is a recent acrylic on paper of Benedict Cumberbatch (18 x 25cm). Benedict has seen the painting and his quote will be in my new book, providing enough funds are raised to support its creation.

Please check out my kickstarter campaign and pledge for some great rewards! I have added a special page to my website to help with any questions you may have. You can also visit the kickstarter website's FAQ section if you need any more information.

"Heads & Shoulders" Rebirth! Coming soon! 29 Jun 2013 12:13 AM (11 years ago)

Hi All,

"Heads and Shoulders" the book will be kicking off again VERY SOON with a new approach and new rewards. The physical copy will be £25.00 (was £35.00) and there will be lots of other great rewards to be had for your pledges. I will have an initial funding goal of £10,000 to make an 80 page hardback, with stretch goals to increase the page size and offer other goodies to backers once the goal is reached.

I will update here when it's launched, in the meantime I'm working on lots of new pieces that I'm really excited about; I've even made a page on my website that will be updated every time I finish new artwork. I would love to share them on here, but have to keep them exclusive to backers of the project. You can also subscribe to my newsletter to hear when I launch.

Cheers,

Paul

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