Speed painting videos are taking over the internet art world, and we think these short tours of technique might just be what you need to elevate your game
File pic
Witness the magic of art unfold in seconds as artists fly through their creative process in the emerging speed-paint trend. What otherwise takes hours, even weeks, of meticulous effort can now be viewed in its entirety—these time-lapsed sequences compress hours of work into fleeting glimpses, offer a condensed journey from blank canvas to stunning composition and reveal the techniques that breathe life into it. Just this year, these videos have garnered over 150 million views on YouTube.
ADVERTISEMENT
Under the see, under the see
In six-minute video titled I Painted Myself Underwater (it took 4 months), American artist Lena Danya perfectly captures the appeal of this trend. Having amassed 2.1 million views since it was posted last year, the video serves as an educational and inspirational resource for aspiring artists. As her oils translate video-still to canvas, Lena provides insights into her artistic process–from conceptualisation to execution, offering valuable tips on handling underwater painting challenges such as lighting, perspective, and movement.
Observe and absorb, easel-ly
Painting time-lapses regularly feature on Portuguese oil painter Daria Callie’s YouTube channel. Her most popular piece yet, Blossom, has gained 6.8 million views. With the camera focussed on her canvas, the viewer is allowed special insight into Daria’s process of painting human anatomy and hyperrealistic portraits, being able to see how she mixes skin tones, blends values and plays with light to bring the faces she paints to life.
Meta-metamorphosis
PS Rathour’s video Birth to Death–Time Lapse is an innovative take on speeding up the process, literally. In this video–which has amassed more than 1,00,000 views in a month–the artist brings out the different stages in a person’s life through an ever-shifting face that morphs from newborn to adolescent to adult to elderly.
Face to face
Indian artist Srinivas Dulam (Dulam Srinivas Art on YouTube) is also gaining traction with his speed-paint videos that feature portraits done in oil paint. With brief explanations of how he uses colour and layers hues—from dark to light—his time lapse series is an informative resource for learning.
![](https://www.mid-day.com/assets/images/flight.png)