Redefining REALISM: Painting what you DON'T see. 

Finally back 💪😁… and I’ve got some exciting things coming up! Support the channel over at Patreon.com/alpayefe (xoxo to all my supporters) Grab a Limited Edition print at AlpayEfe.com/store 🙌

i think this is one of my favorite things about paintings that aren't photorealistic but still look realistic. you can dig through it, you can find details you won't find in real life. nothing is predictable, the brushstrokes play tricks with your mind and that's fun and impressive to me.

Alpay Efe: advocating to abandon perfectionism Also Alpay Efe: making the video exactly 10 minutes long On a serious note, you make it look so easy. I've just started painting, so I'm very much focused on getting everything exactly like my reference. And I'm getting it pretty close but it feels very... idk... paint by numbers..? I'm gonna try a more loose approach next time. Great video!

_so beautiful it takes my breath away_

This looks a hell of a lot like Bernadette Banner. Beautiful as always x

I hadn’t really thought about how older paintings appear like realism but aren’t, that’s really interesting 🤔

Alpay, vielen Dank für solch ein schönes Video! Deine Kunst spricht für sich und ist einzigartig. Was mir jedoch seit Anbeginn auffiel ist, dass du solch eine hohe Qualität ablieferst! Deine Videos, die Belichtung, die Schnitte, der Dialog mit uns Zuschauern - Wahnsinn. Liebe Grüße aus Wiesbaden!

In my opinion, that composition called for an open back dress with possibly a very interesting tattoo.

I always saw realism as a recreational improvisation on life and nature. That’s the beauty of realism is that you don’t know where you’re going with the piece but you know it’s going somewhere. I think one of the reasons why realism has been such an intriguing part of art is because it opens up the mysteries of life. That’s the recreational aspect. Although realism isn’t always accurate down to the last detail, it still evokes a feeling or connection unlike any other method or style.

"Painting what you see will only get you what you see; and what you see when you look around yourself is usually bo-ring." Amen to that. :)))

Love this - I paint wildlife/animal art myself and I try and achieve the same as you, instead of trying to exactly replicate a photo (which already exists, so why bother) I like to play around with colours, textures and composition to create interest, whilst still within the boundaries of realism. Something that is clearly a painting, not a photo, I find much more pleasing to look at. Often people still comment like "it looks like a photo!" which I know it doesn't, but I'll still take it as a compliment. Love looking at old master's work for inspiration.

The curls remind me of Leyendecker, the way you really broke them up into chunks and digestible shapes but kept the realism.

@AlpayEfe I really enjoy your videos and even your advice. You're very talented sir, and I'll be praying for you everyday that God will pour out his blessings on you. So God bless you sir

Thank you for sharing. 👩🏼‍🎨

Vry nice n awesome painting, usually I m also draw n paint side profile face , I like the colour

Mir tut es gut, Videos - von tollen Künstlern wie du einer bist, zu sehen und zu hören, dass auch du manchmal Schwierigkeiten hast oder es noch nicht wirklich fühlst. Solche Prozesse, authentisch zu zeigen, geben vorallem Anfängerinnen wie mir unglaublich viel Mut und Verständnis. Danke!🌱🙌

Your work is ways really great and your art philosophy is inspiring

I love d hair too.

It's amazing. I loved it...

I love that someone thinks like me

Big man! Mad skills there cuz! I teach the youth creative classes as an outlet in the streets of London. Your work is pure fire! We watch your vids in our classes, mad inspiration all day! Much love from all the young creative minds of London. I want to shout out my home boi Young Razor a.k.a One Shot Jamal who showed me your videos. If your ever in London it would be wild to do a collab with the youth and some fresh charity start ups. All proceeds we hussle up go to helping the underprivileged kids on London. Big love Don Man King a.k.a Swish Joey

Absolutely astonishing painting. I've noticed the diable 4, so my guess is, we'll be getting a painting of that soon. But if I could wish upon a star, it'd be a Zelda Tears of the Kingdom painting :D

I'm hooked, please do more teachings, I like that you don't have music overpowering the video. I love this pose and the colours wow wow.. 😊

Great final result. Can you put the reference photo through an AI image generator to clean up the noise... ?

I like to tell myself I need to stylize more. It's all a stylization. Yeah that's it.

❤😮

It's Fucking Amazing!!!

Amazing work as always ❤ Do you paint with oils?

Kind of reminds me of bernadette banner

are these oils or acrylics? are there links to the paints? I want to try this.

Alpay, I believe there are AI softwares currently available that can "up-scale" low-resolution images. That could be a potential solution in the future. Great video as always!

Hllo sir am also painting but I don't understand where I can learn from. I wish I could come to you and take your training.

Bro which painting is used in this

Lol guaranteed it's going to turn out amazing despite the urgent music 😅

I feel like you are complaining about a lot of things but to be honest if you had a propper design process with a good amount of sketches it would go a long way with solving these problems.

For a portrait to have some kind of appeal to me I need to see the eyes. This doesn't work for me.

Have you thought about upscaling the image using some of the plugins within Figma? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-I6m3d7RWIus.html

If u think this is just good I wanna c wat u think trash is lol

Is it me or is this hipster always complaining about something....?

you are honestly one of the very few art channels i that i watch these days, its nice to see the art community on yt isnt completely dead, keep up brother

I really relate to what you said about realising painting exactly what you see realistically won’t get you as far as you probably want as an artist. On another note, The art on this video is exquisite ! I love the silk dress and it’s colour 🤌🏼

A lesson I learnt was that art is personal and no matter what I thought about what I produced it was never what the person viewing it felt, or saw. Funny how a mistake you try to hide becomes the "wow" thing for the viewer, while it drives you mad. :) Lovely work, as always, both on the canvas and in the edit.

I would love it if you could include a flying bird playing with the woman's hair in the painting, if you like the idea. 😊❤"

Come on. This painting turned out great. It's such an interesting composition with the subject turned away from the audience. The hair is beautifully painted, the blue dress is striking. All you need to do is fill in the background.

Aaron Blaise always says "don't be enslaved with your reference" it's better to try going further from what you originally see, with that been said, I struggle a lot with this as I always want to be precise with the reference proportions and tones, never pushing forward, something I'm tryin' to change

I learned to power through the "ugly" phase of paintings instead of abandoning them too early. It helped me to understand how to improve. But yeah, some paintings are just trash paintings and cannot be saved at all. 🤣 I really liked the sheen of the fabric. The vertical format and subject matter remind me of John Singer Sargent. 😊

I’ve missed you man🥹

Your brush handling is lyrical and fascinating to watch! Glad you stuck with this one and shared it ❤

I've been an artist all my life. This year I'm finally trying to be an Artist who sells her art. Wish me luck Alpay👍 Also you are definitely the artist who influences me a bunch so thanks for sharing and creating art

Hello. It's been awhile Alpay my friend. I must extend my own artistic impression of how this could have worked better. Paint her large. This would not only have honed the development you seek admittedly. It would have brought more depth to her and the painting in total. But who am I sazsßhhhh To say. Good luck.

You're overly critical. My wife is similar in this regard. She's a talented painter, but she often completes a painting, decides she doesn't like it, and proceeds to destroy it. She doesn't allow anyone to have it; she simply destroys her own work. Surprisingly, this means she has no physical artworks because she continually decides she doesn't like them. Her reason for doing this is that she doesn't believe she's as skilled as other artists, even though she most certainly is. After witnessing this habit for over 20 years, it truly saddens me. I am an art enthusiast who allocates approximately $10,000 annually to my art collection. In today's art world, a prevailing trend suggests that there is diminishing interest in paintings that exude flawless perfection. This shift in preference is primarily driven by the fact that paintings with an impeccable finish tend to resemble mere canvas prints. Instead, there is a growing penchant for artwork that exhibits an unconventional or even "imperfect" quality, often referred to as "trash paintings," which paradoxically, are what many people are now inclined to acquire. Personally, I adhere to a strict criterion when considering making offers for artwork. I am more inclined to engage in negotiations when I can instantly recognize the authenticity of an oil painting. Furthermore, with the advent of AI and automated painting technologies, there is a fascinating development on the horizon. Artworks that were once dismissed as "garbage" or unconventional may witness a surge in value because they possess a tangible authenticity that sets them apart. The discernible genuineness of these pieces becomes increasingly valuable in a world where technology can replicate perfection.

That little voice in the back of your head telling you that it’s not quite right, even though your eyes tell you otherwise, is one of the most frustrating things I have ever experienced

Is this a 10 minute humble brag? lol

Love your take on "reality". This is something I learned recently. The best seemingly realistic drawings don't get into detail that much, it's really mostly cheating. And it's so much easier to do it that way.

Realism is a captivating journey into life and nature. It's the beauty of not knowing the destination but having confidence in its direction. This art form unravels the mysteries of life, making it both engaging and recreational. While not always precise, realism creates a unique emotional connection that sets it apart from other styles.

i do not know how to put this,,,,but alpay paints like a dude. like one of those dudes dramatizing video gaming.,,..,.i love it.

Needless to say, I would LOVE to have seen the abysmal reference you kept trashing throughout. It would have been fun to see what specifically you disliked so much about the reference, and where the reference left off, and your license took over. Your painting turned out really well, including the face in the first stage.

I’m in love with you ❤😅

I love how artists destroy their work to ensure its authenticity.

Great video and great painting! Thanks Alpay!

😂😂😂😅 this guy, always worth watching for a good laugh.

I hope to see your work live someday

Beautiful. The hair is particularly gorgeous.

Breathtaking! Cheers from Brazil!

Were those white strips down her back intentional? And was it oils or acrylic you used? The painting to me is great . PS. I'm a amateur artist myself. New subscriber here from Perth Australia. 🖐🎨

Here randomly. It makes me happy that there are still people with skill, making REAL art with REAL materials, not this nonsense of "painting" on a screen!

Great job as always. We are our own worst critics!🤟

Hello, my dear friend, thank you for the useful training you have. I learned a lot from you and I will be with you. I hope you will be more successful day by day.❤

After watching several videos of your, I can say this is the subject I like most; no fashion-catalogue like female portraits but just a 19th century-like painting style. And I think what you tried to poit out is the difference between Realism and Verisimilitude. What we look in figurative painting its a verisimil shape.

Hi, I have only just discovered your brilliant RU-vid channel, so a bit late for this request for a scene from one of my favourite movies... "Last Year at Marienbad" - a scene from this black and white noir, very noir, film from the 1960s please. At 80 years old now I was there for all the controversy. What was it about? It was an early, very early, psychological drama which gained more notoriety and more viewings by not being understood. My interpretation is that it is about a stalker - the male narrator is stalking the beautiful woman, wearing an all Chanel wardrobe, with increasingly dark and dangerous fantasies...

Une chouette capsule,mais....qj'ewt ce que vous avez tous à mettre de la musique ! Ca devient pénible d'être obligé de couper le son et de mettre les sous- titres...

hello, did you paint here with Acrylic- or Oil colours? Thank you for answer. Best wishes from Germany. 🙂

The reference lady looks similar to your wife. Just take some pics of her profile in the lighting you want. Idk. That's why you're the professional and I'm the pleb.

Hi Alpay, very interesting but please advice if finished and are the specs of white on the dress for a purpose please? I look forward to your return reply, Thanks and Regards JB

I also love how her hair is falling down her back. It almost looks in motion, like she had just unclipped her hair and then quickly put her arms back down 😍 It would be sooooo cooooooool to see you do a Lilith painting!! Lilith in your style as an epic large painting...that would be mind-blowing! 🤩🥰

2012 forward----annoying tendecy from artists to stain their work. I hope this trending to end soon...

quick question? what do you use to prep your surfaces? it seems that the surface is incredibly smooth and i enjoy painting on smooth surfaces, but I can’t seem to make my canvases super smooth like glass!

i believe...all artists should be like scientists...very experimental to find what they are aligned to do! This in the beginning is exciting...in the middle frustra😢...at the end... definitely useful and beneficial..the other day i did a clay mural..then experimented different moulding materials...failed twice...had to curate clean my mural again..wanted to give up clay as medium...but then counselled myself and now researched more ...doing now the final attempt..which is going better. I m aware my psychological patterns nowadays..so less frustration i think

Curious decision to add the white splatter on the woman's back. In one of your videos where you review submissions you pointed out others who had done the same after they'd finished and you were critical of the decision. Your piece is beautiful regardless, but it is a curious decision, no?

I had noted as a beginner ( like me ..though 5 years yo yo with watercolour)...we like tight realistic art..then as you see and observe more we tend start to understand more impressionistic style. Why is it so?

Hi .its a beautiful piece , can i see the finish piece plz i agree with those comments from others. I want to see the background . Beautiful.

Why always soft silky hairs , every body dont have this, pls teach another one also

Wow ! You are right about perfectionism 👍

Very good painting😍😍😍😍🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨🎨

You mean its like looking a view you want to photograph but when you use a phone cam with ai effect/layers it looks actually better? I feel yah

when you zoomed out for a moment there, I got scared because a new person was standing very close to the camera. It was the painting.

I know you have answered this before and I can not find the video where you did but What mediums do you use that makes your paints so creamy and smooth?

Come on, it can be seen that you enjoyed the whole process, just like us...👌

So what the painting didn’t turn out the way you wanted, move on from that. Don’t dwell on it the entire video, damn

Please please please please reply which paint are you using 🙏🙏🙏

The main point you ended up making was really interesting

You seemed really pissed at the painting and it shows Dude.

Could someone tell me what the honeylike substance is he mixes with the paint?

I also have found I loved my art more when I stopped comparing details with the reference. You are great, keep it up! 😊❤

Modern day Rembrandt. I am awestruck.

trying to not paint exactly what you see and maintaining a likeness is a real struggle lol interesting thoughts as usual

Why did you splatter white on the back?

what microphone did you use to audio? sound really good

As I've always been more on the realism side of art, 6:44 will stick with me for the rest of my life. Also, as a D4 fan I can't describe how incredibly excited I am for your current 'irrational and over-the-top' project!! 🖤❤

Reminds me of Iris von Everec for some reason. Or if Dorian Gray was a woman