Coming up with a contemporary art term might be difficult for many individuals. While the title is simple and unambiguous, the current interpretation is not so. Fortunately, if one traces the concept's history and analyzes its underlying concepts, it is very feasible to comprehend what it means to be "contemporary."
What is the definition of contemporary art?
Contemporary art, in its most basic meaning, refers to art created now, such as painting, sculpture, photography, installation, performance, and video art. Despite its apparent simplicity, the nuances around this word are sometimes hazy since various people's conceptions of "today" may vary considerably and radically. As a result, the precise beginning of the genre is still discussed; nevertheless, many art historians believe that the late 1960s or early 1970s (the end of contemporary art, or modernism) is a good approximation.
Five best YouTube channels for modern art
Now you have a basic idea on what contemporary art is all about. While keeping that in mind, let’s take a look at 5 YouTube channels that you should follow as a contemporary art lover.
Animal Art by LAW
Animal Art by LAW is the brainchild of Lisa Ann Watkins. She's a wildlife and pet portrait artist who works with colored pencils. Lisa's style is realism, which is a popular YouTube style. Her series of "Behind the Studio Doors" films distinguishes her. She meets artists in their studios in these films, asks them to describe the tale of their creative journey, and then reveals the artist's workspace.
She not only shows us how other artists arrange their tools and supplies, the equipment they use, and the environment in which they make art, but she also shows us how they organize their tools and supplies, the equipment they use, and the setting in which they produce art. She makes care to include the four-legged "studio helpers" of the artists she meets, since she is a dog lover herself.
Bonny Snowdon
Colored pencil is Bonny Snowdon's medium, and she specializes in animal portraiture, which she generally paints on Clairefontaine Pastelmat or drafting film. Her work is precise and detailed, yet it still has a unique sense of creativity that even the greatest photography struggles to match.
Many of her instructional films focus on extremely particular themes, such as sketching the nose of a dog or the eye of a horse. She's also spoken about how to choose reference pictures and how to stay motivated as an artist.
While the majority of her videos are in some way linked to colored pencils and/or portraiture, she covers a broad variety of subjects within that framework. The majority of her newest films are shorter versions of her Patreon-exclusive full-length teaching videos. However, her channel has enough earlier films to warrant return visits, as well as enough artist's life movies (typically narrated over time-lapse sketching videos) to provide enough of inspiration.
Stuart Davies
Stuart Davies is a British artist who now resides in France. He's an oil painter who excels in giving the appearance of detail without really painting it. His breakthrough film, The Illusion of Detail, was my first exposure to the artist and his work. But he also demonstrates that you don't need the greatest instruments to make amazing art. Plywood is his preferred painting surface, and he uses house-painting brushes! What's more approachable than that?
The majority of his videos are live-action with narration. ShaperoModern says he paints dramatic clouds and moody landscapes, Davies speaks about what he's doing and why. Because his movies are sometimes 30 minutes or more, there are often moments of stream-of-consciousness monologue covering topics like his college studies, locations he's traveled, and the inspiration for his themes (dramatic sky), as well as his painting processes (which include scraping and wiping, besides using a brush).
He doesn't write very frequently since he also teaches private lessons in his studio in France and is preparing a workshop in France. If you've never visited his channel before, there's a lot of interesting and worthwhile video there.
Draw Paint Repeat
The artist behind the Draw Paint Repeat channel is Steve Atkinson. Steve is a western artist who mostly works with oil and watercolor, with some sketching thrown in for good measure. He's also a little bit of a showman. As a result, his instructional films are both entertaining and educational to watch. One of the reasons I appreciate his videos is his down-to-earth, frequently witty demeanor.
But he's also a fantastic artist with a wealth of knowledge to impart to budding artists of all levels. Painting night settings, adding drama to already dramatic landscapes, painting portraits, and composition, as well as the artist's life in general, are among the subjects he explores. Reviewing digital drawing devices, preparing a painting for a live painting event, putting up a field pack for drawing on site, and sketching complicated architecture are just a few of the other subjects covered.
Lachri Fine Art
Lisa Clough of Lachri Fine Art, a Texas-based artist, has long been one of my favorite YouTube art channels, and her monthly live broadcasts are what keep me coming back. She works and interacts with viewers every Wednesday evening. There's usually more conversation than art creating, but there's always encouragement and guidance. Her efforts are seasonal (she just painted an acrylic jack-o-lantern) and may be as simple as addressing the post cards she delivers to Patreon supporters.
She's also lately resumed vlogging, covering themes including scheduling, copyright concerns, art pricing, and coping with continuing health issues. One of the things that draws me to Lisa is her candor about the difficulties of being an artist with health issues. I'm often left thinking that if someone going through a difficult time can flourish as an artist, there's no reason why other artists couldn't!
Final words
If you can follow these modern art YouTube channels, you can learn more about it. The decision you take to follow these channels is not something that you will regret
