Pitfalls and stumbling blocks in portrait painting. 10 mistakes to avoid. By Ben Lustenhouwer 

Hello Ben, I am 86 years old and have been an artist all my life...landscape, abstract, jewellery etc. I'm in excellent health and have decided to challenge my self to paint portraits; a skill that has always escaped me! But I feel privileged to have found your videos, so generously made available to strangers like me. With your help I think I'm making progress. So thank you for sharing your knowledge, talent and gentle teaching skill. There should be more people in this world like you. I tried to attach a photo of one of my efforts but it didn't work.John McConnell Vancouver Island BC Canada.

I love this man, not only is his painting captivating, but he has an awesome sense of humor 😄🥰

Ben I am your fan. I paint and learn from you a lot. But sometimes I simply watch your videos as they make such a nice and relaxing mood - your voice is so calm and your personality is so full of positive energy. I dont know If You know that. So many thanks for your work. You.are a great person.

One word to sum up your work Ben , "Brilliant".

Yep I was guilty of breaking quite a lot of these rules. Thanks for sharing.

You explain everything so well, in such a concise and clear way!! Thank you so much.

I never get tired of watching your video

I just love to watch your videos. Even if there are some basics for beginners I'm watching it anyway. Thank you Ben!

Thank you so much! I love your videos! May you and yours stay healthy and happy!

Dear Ben thank you, I watched all of your videos and really saw the difference in my work. take care.

Greatly appreciate these simple oft overlooked details. My favorite was the first one. Yes, we often are in too big of a hurry for final results. Take care.

What really impresses me with your paintings is that it appears to me as a cross between impressionist & realism combined. You capture the likeness w/o doing a photo copy likeness. Great style sir. 😊👍👍

You are my favorite art teacher!! Thank you for this!

Ben... thank you so much for the way that you teach. Keep safe!

I don’t even paint in oils but find your videos both helpful and entertaining! Your work is lovely, and you’re an inspiring teacher.

You are just amazing sir ! I can’t thank you enough!! ❤️ god bless you

Dear Ben!! I just became recently aware of your great work and tuition! It helps me really a lot - thank you so much. I really had to smile you watching painting this "poor" portrait, with all the errors in it. This can be so well also transferred to all other kinds of disciplines in art or even in life. "Take your time". - "don't work with poor materials". "take distance and a break from time to time" Thank you very much!

Best RU-vidr I've ever seen, very wise and easy to understand, thanks for the tricks

Thank you so much for your videos! I love your style of presentation, and of course, your painting and teaching skills. I use acrylics but I still find the videos very helpful indeed.

You are a wonderful teacher, and I loved your Paul Simon quote. Ditto to all the comments on your mood- you feel so peaceful, even when attempting to be frantic.

Thank you so much for making these videos. This are so much help! I'm 18 year old, learning animation and concept art. I dont work with paint and I've never done it, however the way that I am learning digital painting, is treating it as it was real paint. I'm taking out so much from your videos. Thank you!

Hello Ben, thanks for your excellent tutorials. Really appreciate your effort and time to produce and post for all of us folk who want to learn. Many thanks Mr B Cape Town, SA

Love the clumpsiness you illustrated in the fase 1! Wonderful!!!

Oh i just cannot thank you enough for your videos!

When I first started watching your tutorials I was waiting for more videos ...... Now you are sharing more important things with us ....thank you

Looking forward for the next vídeo - about transitions / soft edges! Thank you Ben!

This video is beautiful, helpful and to the point. Besides, I like your wit Ben! Thanks!

Oh, this was delightful & just what I needed.

Thank you, Ben. These are very valuable tips for me.

Professor Ben, hat's off to you. All tips you gave in this video are good enough for become an artist. Though I am not a painter, but my first love was painting. Again I must say excellent. Thanks

Fantastic help this is. I am in the middle of a commission and was feeling like I just can't do it, but with many of your points I am confident I can get a far closer resemblance. Thank you from Bristol, UK!

Gracias ben por todos estos videos ,llenos de detalles y trucos para hacernos mas fácil entender este gran oficio, que tan generosamente nos muestras. Que enorme sabiduría nos estas legando,un honor y un placer vivirlo,aun con la situación en la que estamos inmersos en España,un saludo y mucha salud para ud y sus allegados!

I love all your videos. You are so much fun to learn from! Thank you!

Thank you once again for sharing your knowledge again, I look forward to your videos and your mentoring. Cheers from Tasmania!

Being humble enough to share with your you tube followers the mistakes you have experienced during your journey as an artist is your gift to the world and those who want to learn ...there is a proverb in the UK ...a wise man learns from his mistakes , I believe a wiser man learns from the mistake of others that have proceeded him . Thank you again for sharing so we can avoid pitfalls .

Thanks for your kind expression and helpful advices.😊

Excellent breakdown, thank you so much!

i have been an artist all my life, mainly painting with gouache, but just recently got into oil painting. i painted my first piece while watching some of your tips, and with your help i have created my first oil self-portrait. i am so blown away by how incredible oils are as a medium and your tips have guided me to utilize the knowledge i had with gouache and learn more about color mixing/oils as a medium. other channels just aren’t the same! thank you so much

Thank you so much !!! These tips are exactly what I need now.

I really love your video, and it is very friendly with fresh people.

Dear Ben, so grateful for your videos 💯🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻❤️ so helpful 💓👍🏻 love your work and Wonderful art 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻💯

Great teaching...so skilled...thanks for sharing. So generous., much appreciated. Thanks

You have the best channel ever👍🏼❤️❤️❤️❤️

Those are very useful tips Ben. Thanks a lot.

Me encanta verlo una y otra vez , su gran enseñanza, tengo mucho que aprender, mil grcias

GRAZIE MAESTRO SEMPRE!!! COMPLIMENTI PER I SUOI DIPINTI MERAVIGLIOSI 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

I'm a mainly digital artist but your advice is really good and applicable to the digital media too. I learned a lot from you, thank you for sharing your knowledge good sir 🥰

Thanks a lot for the precious knowledge that you passe to your students !

Ben, you are a wonderful and very talented man. You are simple to understand and you have a very warm way of communicating. Keep it up! love from Argentina.

I am an art student and your videos have helped me a lot.. you are amazing sir, thank you very much!

Revisiting your videos is alway a learning experience thank you Sir .

Always enjoy watching your videos! Thank you so much for your useful and valuable tips! Also your little drama as a clumsy hand in tip 1 is excellent! Can tell you have great sense of humor! XD

I'm starting to learn the oil painting. And your channel is being very useful. Thank you Sr.

Thank you for sharing useful things before starting a new painting. I checked that I too used to do same mistakes while I paint. Secondly what appeals me most is your statement that good output is a result of Logical approach . This way I may improve my work . Again thanks a lot for rendering your precious time .🙏👍🌹❤️

Very fun! thanks a lot Mr Lustenhouwer!

"An over-blended image with crisp details looks silly". Brilliant! And the way the demo looks at that point proves the point!

Enriched!Invaluable advice..thank you,sir!

Excellent information. I will take it into consideration.

I just discovered your channel. Very helpful and very well explained. Thank you!

Thank you for the tips. Looking forward to your next video 😊

🥰... qué gran aporte!!! Mil gracias Ben! Desde Argentina! Y gracias por permitir la traducción al español!!!! 💞💞💞❗❗❗

Thank you Ben.

Always helps! Thank you.

You're such a good teacher, Ben! Quiet, but not boring. Dankjewel voor je goede uitleg steeds. Ook zo heerlijk rustig allemaal, maar toch niet te traag. Een Lust(enhouwer) voor het oog! :D

Dear Ben, your are absolutely right, and thank YOU for the new video, these are indeed very sound and wise advises for one to keep who is to start or is already painting! Wish I had known this at the start. Anyway, in my short experience with oil and canvas, I would say there is good (premium) quality cotton too, expensive, not as linen though, or archival as linen, but the one I speak of is triple primed and the oil does not seep through to the fabric, and has good "tooth" as well to it. You see not all student paints are of that bad quality, in my experience (of course I would use only professional, if I could). I found that Talen's student grade has although a small percentage of pigment, that's true, yet also extenders that reinforce the paint film, and the extender is nonetheless a pigment too (PW18). Lately I am not too worried of to much vividness in hues, but of course I use them in combination with professional paint manufactured is my country that is less expensive than the known brands imported. Anyway, artist or professional paint indeed has another sort of appeal to the burgeoning artist, yet what is common in all paints is that one must tone them down, at least it is true for me, and if lightfastness holds in the student paint too, and do not cause with time delamination as Zinc Oxide does, I think they might become archival as well, and one should give them a chance. Not all student grade are good, Talens and Winton, in my experience are good and workable.

So helpful! I have a commision and I was so sad that it was going wrong that I almost gave up entirely. You have given me hope to try again using your advice :)

Great video Ben, thanks as always

Wonderful!

So happy to find you Ban!

Ben - you are phenomenal

Great and informative video. Thank you again Ben

Loved the reference to Paul Simon's lyrics. Just discovered your channel. Lots of great information here. Thank you. From Scotland

Very important advices. Thanks Master !

Thank you that was great information especially about storing your plain in the freezer! Wow

Ben.love your work and your teaching skills.... and cousin Will plays like a dream! I might try to get his CD or download.

Thank you so much for your meaningful sharing. I love it

Absolutely love the Paul Simon analogy - 50 ways to leave your painting - ❤️😊

Thanks Ben, great video that reminded me of some bad habits to get after!

THANKS BEN!

Hell yea! Im already doing all of this! nice to be validated by a pro. also love your little bit at the end about Paul Simon great tune

Thank you so much! Such an awesome explanation!

thank you to share your experience and I really need your precious talking to get started

Thanks for all the good advice!

Great video Ben ...........full of useful information

I am self taught and trying to do portraits. Your videos have really helped, I just want to say a big thank you. PS I love your kitchen garden

Oh I'm so happy I found you. Such a pleasure learning from you. So funny and talented! :)

Thank you for sharing!

Ben you are great!

Love your teaching style

Beautiful. Thank you!

Sr. soy un seguidor de sus lecciones y de su obra y le doy las gracias por transmitirnos su experiencia de forma tan didáctica y además darnos la posibilidad de seguirlo en los subtítulos en español a los que no dominamos el inglés

Excelentes consejos, comentarios, recomendaciones. Gracias por su entrega y dedicación

Cuánta razón tiene!! Y además, un gran sentido del humor. Sabios tips que reflejan, al menos en mi caso, escenas cotidianas frente a mis retratos. Gracias

Great! Lovely! Thank you!

I felt nailed right from the beginning - I am always in a hurry and want to start the real work. I can't always afford top quality paint but I agree with you. Yes I am often stingy with paint was great to hear about putting it in the freezer.

Thank you Ben! I aspire to paint portraits this well and to master figures also! These tips make a lot of sense and I will try to apply them. My biggest fault as a painter is my limited time combined with poor time management/planning. I often skip right past drawing and into the underpainting. The quality of my work, particularly my perspective, suffers as a result. I tell myself that an underpainting is just a drawing with paint, but it's important to practice with pencil or charcoals as well I think. That way you can execute your underpainting with confidence.

Brilliant information , thanks

Thank you so much for your content!

You're paintings are amazing 😊😊😊

thank you for your videos. im starting with oleo. you are really learning me a lot of good tips.