Light is everything. In this episode, we dive deep into how artists see, capture, and harness light in painting.

We talk about:

• The struggles of turning solid paint into a visual map of light beams

• Using colored light to create harmony and mood

• How the shadow is essential to see light

• Morandi, art historical glow-ups, and why cats with no hair deserve a place in art history

• Plus, a little beat poetry and philosophical rambling (as usual)

Whether you're a painter seeking to elevate your understanding of light, or an art collector curious about what makes a painting glow, this one’s for you.

Subscribe for more deep-dives into painting, colour theory, and the messy beauty of contemporary representational art.

Hosted by working artists who actually paint (and talk a lot). Drop a comment about your favourite use of light in art—or your favourite hairless cat.

#paintingchallenge #artchallenge #improveyourpaintingskills #artistvlog #paintingstudies #contemporaryart #learnhowtopaint #paintingtechniques #artforcollectors #smerdontoast

Smerdon Toast, Australian artists Seabastion Toast and Anne Smerdon go head-to-head in a Alla Prima painting challenge.

We dive into the benefits of painting wet on wet, alla prima style, why it’s an essential exercise for both beginners and experienced artists, and how it can improve your painting techniques fast.

👉 Follow along as we share our results, what we struggled with, what we learned, and how painting wet on wet transformed our approach to making art.

Spoiler alert: The results were life changing.

———-

🖌️ About Smerdon Toast: Smerdon Toast is a YouTube and podcast series created by Australian painters Anne Smerdon and Seabastion Toast.

Each episode, we challenge each other with a different art challenge designed to push our painting skills and stretch our creative muscles.

🎨 Want to join the challenge? Share your work using #smerdontoast on Instagram, Tiktok or YouTube — we’d love to see it!

🖼️ Shop the artworks from each episode: 👉 www.annesmerdon.com 👉 www.seabastiontoast.com

Don’t forget to like, subscribe so you never miss an episode!

#paintingchallenge #artchallenge #improveyourpaintingskills #artistvlog #paintingstudies #contemporaryart #learnhowtopaint #paintingtechniques #artforcollectors #smerdontoast

In this episode of Smerdon Toast, Australian artists Anne Smerdon and Seabastion Toast go head-to-head in a 20-minute painting challenge. When there’s no time to get caught up in details, you’re forced to focus on honest, intuitive painting and the results might just surprise you.

We discuss:

🎨 why painting small studies with a time limit is an essential exercise for both beginners and experienced artists,

🎨 how painting timed studies can improve your painting techniques fast

🎨 how to push through when you think your painting is failing

🎨 chroma and the difficulty making high chroma colours lighter

🎨 why you should be careful posting everything you make on social media

🎨 why flipping your painting upside down is helpful Follow along as we share our results, what we struggled with, what we learned, and how these quick painting studies transformed our approach to making art.

Spoiler alert: The results were life changing.

---------

🖌️ About Smerdon Toast: Smerdon Toast is a YouTube and podcast series created by Australian painters Anne Smerdon and Seabastion Toast. Each episode, we challenge each other with a different art topic designed to push our painting skills and stretch our creative muscles. Artists, budding artists, and art collectors, we invite you to join us for a deep dive into the world of contemporary art-making. Learn new painting tips, discover behind-the-scenes art studio practices, and gain insight into how art gets made.

🎨 Want to join the challenge? Share your work using #smerdontoast on Instagram, Tiktok or YouTube — we’d love to see it!

🖼️ Shop the artworks from each episode:

👉 www.annesmerdon.com

👉 www.seabastiontoast.com

Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the bell so you never miss an episode of painting YouTubers in action!

#paintingchallenge #artchallenge #improveyourpaintingskills #artistvlog #paintingstudies #contemporaryart #learnhowtopaint #paintingtechniques #artforcollectors #smerdontoast