🤯 Vladislav Yashin taught me oil painting in just 3 weeks
#55 or unveiling the secrets of a master of hyperrealism
Dear little demon,
Welcome to edition #55 of The Art Missive. I've just cleared out all inactive subscribers to keep this community healthy and engaged. We're now 11,222 precious 😈 in this newsletter! Whether you've been here from the start or just joined us, thank you so much for reading.
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In this Missive:
1/ Intro.
2/ The essentials.
3/ Do it yourself.
3/ Work fast.
4/ Work hard.
5/ Everything is possible.
1/ Intro.
"Would you like to see the secret project I'm currently working on?"
The tall and majestic Vladislav looks at me with his blue eyes and a smirk on his face before striding towards a massive canvas, heavily leaning against the wall of his studio. He flips it around. Before me now stands the immense portrait of a young woman that looks so real and beautiful, it gives me chills.
Do I really need to introduce Vladislav Yashin? He's a painting magician who touches hearts with hyper-realistic portraits. At only 24 years old, collectors are already clamoring for his works, and over 600,000 fans follow him on his social media.
Of course, he didn't start yesterday. It's been over 10 years since he began his first portraits, first with pencil and then with oil paint. Now it's Monday, March 18th, 2024, and I find myself in the lair of Vladimir Yashin because he's accepted the crazy challenge of teaching me oil painting from scratch in just 3 weeks.
When he sees my amazed expression in front of his incredible artwork, almost as if challenging me, he says:
"Soon, you'll be able to do this too."
Welcome to edition #55 of The Art Missive, where I take you inside Vladislav Yashin's studio.
2/ The essentials.
The thing is, I never tried oil painting before. So, Vladislav warned me, "we're gonna work hard and fast.", which meant meeting him every day (even weekends) in his studio. And the first time I stepped in, I was really surprised.
What you'd typically expect to see in an artist's studio is a space filled with supplies and paints, but Vladislav's studio is different. Just an easel in the middle of the room holding the current project. How could he create such incredible works with so little equipment? In the following days, I realized that Vladislav had reached a level of optimization where he got rid of all unnecessary things to focus on the essentials: the impact of his work.
"Léa, you see here, there's only the essential stuff. It took years of research, trial and error to remove all distractions and find the real material I need to create. The right colors, the right brands, the right habits... It took me a long time, and that's what I'm going to teach you this week."
So, the first week was dedicated to theory: everything I needed to know about paint composition, color theory, and essential materials to acquire.
"You don't need a ton of materials and fancy techniques. Let's make it simple and straightforward for you. What I'm teaching you here is to focus on the essential things. How to mix any color using just a few pigments. Which brands and ingredients to use so your work doesn't degrade even in a hundred years. How to layer properly for a strong and long-lasting outcome. Many artists get sidetracked by distractions. But you? You're going to take my shortcut and get straight to the point."
What ultimately impressed me was Vladislav's devastatingly effective simplicity:
Only five pigments to mix all the colors: a brown, a yellow, a red, a blue, and magenta. Plus, a black and a white.
Only two pieces of equipment: a sturdy easel that can also lay flat and a cart to hold the essential tools.
A well-stretched canvas.
High-quality and non-toxic solvent, medium, and varnish.
Some synthetic brushes.
Very good lighting, which allows for reproducing natural light at any time of the day or night.
That's all he needs to create mesmerizing portraits.
3/ Do it yourself.
After learning the fundamental theory and essentials of oil painting, it was time to think about the final project I would paint under Vladislav's guidance, starting with the reference we would use.
Once again, Vladislav surprised me with his rather extreme approach to references.
As artists, we know that painting from imagination is a myth, and all professional artists use references to create their works. But while some artists may rely on images found on Google, Pinterest, or image libraries, Vladislav does it all himself.
"As an artist, our art must be unique. It's okay to use good references you find on the internet and make them your own, but they will never truly be your own image. It's better to take your own picture and create your own references. Your piece of art doesn't start with the first brushstroke you put on the canvas. It starts with finding a unique concept and creating a unique reference."
You can watch one of his Reels, where he compares his final work with the references he took himself.
For my project, I had to let go of the pretty Pinterest models I had found and resign myself to taking photos of the only model we had available: myself 💀💀💀. But it was worth it.
I not only realized that the reference stage is actually the most fun because that's where we can unleash our creativity, but I also found it fascinating to understand Vladislav's process. Gathering the materials, doing the photoshoot, selecting and editing the perfect reference... All these steps helped mature the initial concept of “Rebirth” I had and take it to an unexpected and exciting point!
"If you're passionate about what you do and you’re truly having fun, it will show in your reference and make it better."
4/ Work fast.
Over the next 2 weeks, I painted, painted, and painted some more. Mix, paint, mix, paint, clean the equipment, and repeat. And Vladislav patiently stood behind me, guiding me through each step of the process. This was our routine.
Of course, I learned a lot about color mixing, layering, blending techniques, and how to fix mistakes... But what impressed me the most (and what I found the most challenging) was the pace of work.
Every five minutes, Vladislav would repeat, "work faster." Whenever I slowed down, he would patiently remind me, "Léa, faster." Seeing that speed was my biggest weakness, we had many conversations about it.
"You don't realize it, but you're slowing down because you're procrastinating. You're afraid of the next brushstroke, you're afraid of making mistakes, you're overthinking too much. All of this creates unnecessary movements that tire you out. Sometimes, you're even completely paralyzed. Stop overthinking and just do it. Boom, boom, boom. Everything is fixable, so don't be scared. It should be fast and fun."
He was right. The perfectionist in me was paralyzed. But he showed me that working fast is necessary for several reasons:
When you prepare your materials, working quickly allows you to start sooner and maintain a high level of motivation.
Some layers, like the underpainting, dry fast and need to be painted in a single day. Getting lost in details too early and overthinking the process could degrade the quality of your work.
A slow brushstroke leads to stiff and rigid painting, while injecting movement into the execution results in a more lively and dynamic outcome.
Working slowly takes you out of your workflow and leaves room for distracting thoughts that prevent you from focusing on your work.
"By working faster, you can accomplish much more in the same amount of time. An artist who can paint faster will paint a lot more and accumulate much more experience than others. That's how you become a good artist."
5/ Work hard.
"Léa, I'm in such a good mood. Yesterday was 'Me Day,' and I finally got to take a break."
"Nice, what did you do?"
"I went to a light show at the Cathedral, it was so inspiring. And then I finally finished one of my drawings. I also started a new painting. I'm glad I could enjoy personal projects; it's so exciting! I love my life!”
My days off, on the other hand, usually involve staying in bed with the blinds closed, some chocolate, and binge-watching anime. But for Vladislav, he doesn't envision a day without art.
Just spending a few hours with this tall blond straight out of a gothic novel makes you understand what it means to genuinely love art. For Vladislav, anything can be a potential inspiration. The color combination of two dishes together, the outfit of a stranger on the street, the patterns on a flower, the make up he's wearing today...
I initially thought that it just came naturally to Vladislav. That it was just part of his personality. Then I realized that making your goal your lifestyle was actually a necessity to become exceptionally good at anything.
"If we want to become great artists, we must work hard. Every day and everywhere. Harder than anyone."
Behind Vladislav's success, there are actually two components:
Firstly, an unconditional love for art. Vladislav actively cultivates his passion for visual art daily. When he's not creating art himself, he attends exhibitions, reads art books, learns art history, seeks inspiration around him, or teaches painting classes.
Secondly, discipline and hard work. Vladislav is the perfect example of "no pain, no gain." It's been 10 years now that he draws and paints every day. From morning till night, he organizes his days around art: "what makes you stand out from the crowd is your style of course, but it is also how much you can work."
It reminded me of a well-known quote by Michelangelo:
"If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all."
6/ Everything is possible.
These last 3 weeks have been quite challenging. I've gained a lot from this incredibly kind, passionate, and dedicated human being. Both Vladislav, as the teacher, and I, as the student, really had to push ourselves to achieve this result:
I'm heading back to the french countryside with this crazy painting and the precious knowledge that my mentor has imparted to me. You know, these past few months have been tough on my creativity; I was feeling stuck and frustrated. I needed a change in my art, and reaching out to Vladislav was the best decision I could make.
The most valuable thing I've learned from my new mentor is simple:
Everything is possible.
Vladislav has shown me that the only limits I have are the ones I impose on myself. So now, I'm ready to work hard to master oil painting and create art that is truly MINE. To do so, I am going to spend the next month working on new portraits and trying to achieve a similar result on my own. I hope to make all of you proud, and I can't wait to share this adventure with you.
That's all from me, see you next week! 😈
Léa
If you dream of learning from Vladislav, you have two options:
You can meet him in Paris 👉 simply DM him.
You can learn online 👉 join his new course with mentorship options.
I believe my very first painting speaks for itself and shows how exceptional of a teacher he is, so don't waste another minute!
This is awesome — the notion of working fast is something I want to implement into my own creative process.
So many times the pursuit of perfection means we hesitate or stall completely. Working to finish something fast, knowing you could fix it later down the line allows you to follow your instincts whilst keeping the stakes low.
I’m not a painter, but i think this methodology can apply to most creative pursuits. Loved readings this, thanks Léa!
3 weeks. Impressive!