IN THE STUDIO
pre-empting the incoming layers.
The process is, he says, a matter of
creation, destruction and re-working.
“These layers create a very distinct
interplay between each other, but that
takes a lot of planning. I have to know
how long the next layer will take to
dry before I can get back to it, but
also how much paint I need to mix so
I have enough a few layers from now
to get back to it.”
While Alpay has podcasts and
audiobooks for company, doesn’t he
ever want to share his studio with
sitters for his portraiture and
figurative paintings?
“I only paint from photos these
days,” he reveals. “I actually wouldn’t
recommend anyone do it from life.
As much fun as it is, it’s not really up
to date. Most artists have to paint
from photo references, so I think it’s
much more important to learn how to
‘properly’ use photographic sources.
At least if you want to be productive
and efficient.”
It might be a controversial opinion,
but it’s definitely forward-thinking,
and befitting of an artist with such
a progressive mindset. His YouTube
channel has racked up 350,000
subscribers in less than two years,
yet Alpay only took to the video-
ABOVE Fine Art
Connoisseur
( Tapestr y) , oil on
panel, 60x60cmLEFT Fine Art
Connoisseur
(Cesari), oil on
panel, 40x40cmsharing platform after seeing plenty
of footage showing what he thought
was a skewed representation of what
it is to be an artist today. “Social
media and YouTube have changed
everything,” he says. “Channels
usually focus on things like technique
and how to become a better painter,
but I’ve always been of the opinion that
this is one tiny part of the equation.
Being an artist is much, much more
than the craft – it’s a way of seeing
the world, it’s a way of engaging with
people, it’s a way of thinking.”
The result is a channel –
http://www.youtube.com/AlpayEfe – that
blends practical tips on oil painting
with almost meditative commentary
that delves deeper into the mind of a
professional artist. For example, as a
time-lapse video shows Alpay at work,
transforming a blank canvas into one
of his signature portraits, he shares
the things he wished he had known
before becoming an artist –
inspiration is overrated, ego ruins
everything and being an artist is hard.