No more videos on Instagram?

Recently Instagram CEO Mosseri said that Instagram “overfocused” on video last year and that now the platform will go back to balancing the amount of photos and videos. According to him, “photos will always be a part of Instagram.”(Good old times!).

I am super-glad about that, I love creating beautiful feeds and staging flatlays.

I think we all got used to see a painting (or another creative process) been done in 15 sec. And this perception of super-quick flow somehow destroyed the idea about the true amount of effort that artist put into their art. That also makes our artworks less valuable (“Look, she paints soooo quickly, why it costs so much?”)

When I was painting traditional botanical illustration (Another good old times!), one picture could take a several days (weeks) to complete.

Now with loose painting it’s noticeably quicker, let’s roughly say, an hour, which is still FAR away from 15 sec, isn’t it?

The speed up painting could also be discouraging especially in the beginning, as you might feel frustrated when are not able to follow the teacher, or follow but with mistakes and stress because of the rush….

Watercolor painting could so relaxing instead when we follow our usual speed, and take breaks.

For my YouTube tutorials I intentionally choose shorter projects, which one could accomplish in half an hour (And they all recorded in real time without any speed ups moments. I find it important when students can follow the real process even if it is a repetition of the same steps.

I am also going to open my on-line studio with more complex lessons so we could dive in into the watercolor world.

TUESDAY TIPS "Maximizing Your Artwork: Tips for Using One Piece Multiple Times on Social Media"

1. Photograph all stages of the artwork, including sketches, step-by-step progress shots, the final piece, and the finished product framed or printed. 2.take pictures of the artwork from various angles and try out different cropping techniques to capture the best possible shots

3. Show your artwork on mock-ups

4. Crop and show a close-up of your artwork (that could easily add 3-5 more images)

5. Make a self-portrait with your artwork

6. If you create patterns or greeting cards - show your artwork through your designs