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Ten Things I Learned from Vincent Van Gogh

By Dena Peterson

Painter/Animator for the Academy Award-nominated movie, “Loving Vincent”

              In 2016, I had the distinct honor of working as a painter and animator for the hand-painted animated feature film, “Loving Vincent”, a truly original work of art that explored the life and death of Vincent Van Gogh.  We created an amazing tribute to this unique artist, using a unique approach, never done on this scale before.  Over 65,000 oil paintings were painstakingly created by actual working fine artists to make this film. The paintings were animated by hand as well, each brushstroke lovingly scraped and replaced as the scene progressed…12 paintings per one second of footage. When placed together and shown rapidly, the paintings appeared to come to life…much as did the photographs of Eadwarde Muybridge as he studied the motion of animals, often considered the Father of Animation.

              This was my task nearly 8-10 hours every day for 6 months in a studio warehouse in Gdansk, Poland.  The entire film would take 7 years and over 125 artists from around the world to complete.  Ironically, Vincent taught himself to paint in about the same amount of time it took to create the film that pays tribute to him and his work.

              As I studied the brushstrokes of Van Gogh, via high-resolution photos of his work, I became intimately involved with trying to recreate them.  What color were they?  How was the paint applied?  What size and shape was his brush? What direction were his brushstrokes?  I felt I needed to truly get inside his head as an artist in order to pay tribute to the work.  I listened to the audio version of Irving Stone’s book “Letters to Theo” while walking to and from the studio.  I wanted to really know him and understand his life and his struggles. 

              Here are ten things I learned about painting and about being an artist from my relatively short time channeling Van Gogh:

1.       Study and learn, then go beyond.  Many people say that Vincent taught himself to paint.  He actually took many classes and was extremely well-read.  He studied extensively about drawing and painting.  I don’t believe that any of us are “self-taught”; we have all learned from those who came before us.  Vincent had the motivation to study and learn all he could from the masters and his contemporaries on his journey as a painter. However, he then took his art in his own direction, never forgetting what he learned.  He began with darker colors in a more realistic fashion. Then, inspired by Japanese prints and Impressionism, pushed beyond even this, creating his unique style.  He became posthumously known as the Father of Expressionism.

2.       Stay true to your own vision.  Van Gogh only sold one painting during his lifetime; and that was to another artist.  Yet, he stayed true to his art, to his style.  He did not change who he was in order to be more appealing to the public.  He did not copy others who may have been more “trendy” at the time.  He may have been inspired by new art movements, but he took them to a new and completely different direction.

3.       Take risks.  Van Gogh risked everything to pursue his dream of becoming a painter.  His father had hopes for him to follow in his footsteps in the church.  Vincent tried and failed, all the while knowing that his heart lay in being an artist. “Loving Vincent” was a huge risk for directors and creators Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman.  Yet, they stayed true to their vision of a hand-painted work of art, despite the difficulties involved.  They created a true original in the world of animation, a tribute to a true original.

4.       Create emotion, not a copy.  Painters learn by copying, as did Van Gogh in the beginning.  We study plaster casts, paint from models, and paint and sketch in nature.  This is important work in becoming a painter.  However, Van Gogh moved beyond his ability to paint what he saw; to copy.  He needed more.  He began to see his scenes through a lens of his emotions.  He pushed his color, his brushwork, even added lines and patterns to express something more.  Van Gogh said that we are not human cameras; our job is not to create a copy of a scene.  As painters, we must do something more.  His gift to the world of art was his ability to see with new and exciting eyes and to convey this new vision to the viewers.  We must not be content to simply copy. 

5.       Break the rules.  I recently heard an artist say that one should never use a color straight out of the tube; that it should always be modified.  No one told Van Gogh this.  Or, if they did, he ignored them and did it anyway. I don’t know about you, but I really like the results!  As long as we understand our use of color, it’s inherent value, and use it purposefully and with clear intention, then, yes! Straight out of the tube?  Why not!

6.       We do not have to suffer for our art.  Yes, Van Gogh suffered greatly, but he would have suffered whether he was an artist, a minister, or a plumber.  He suffered from a mental illness.  He got help, but, unfortunately, the help available to him at the time was not adequate.  He was shunned and taunted for this, yet he persisted in creating amazing works of art.  I believe that if he hadn’t been able to paint, he would have suffered even more and, perhaps, ended his life sooner.  Today, help is available.  The stigma of mental illness is not as great.  Artists and creative people often do suffer disproportionately from bouts of depression, for example.  We tend to be sensitive to the world around us.  We see it in a unique and more artistically sensitive way.  It does not mean that we are doomed to suffer.  If depression or other issues keep you from painting or doing whatever creative activity you need to do, get help.  There are resources for those without a lot of money, too.  But artists do not have to suffer to create great art.  Imagine the great art that Van Gogh would have continued to create had he been able to get the help he needed and deserved.

7.       Be committed to your art, even and especially when self-doubt seems to overtake you.  Be committed to persevere in your art even when others doubt you and tell you to stop.  Van Gogh was discouraged by many in his life to give it up.  He was plagued with doubt, especially when he had no money.  But, he found a way.  And he still found joy in his work.  Every time I find myself complaining that I have a too-small studio in my basement or that I can’t afford to travel to exotic spots to paint, I think of Van Gogh, painting on old dish towels. That’s commitment.

8.       Accept help from family or friends.  Yes, Van Gogh had Theo, you say.  Theo did support his brother financially as much as he could.  But, in the end, the guilt Vincent suffered because he needed this support, especially when Theo’s baby was ill, may have contributed to Vincent’s demise.  I may not have a Theo.  I may not have a bottomless financial “well” from which to draw. But I do have an Olon, a supportive and amazing husband with a regular paycheck. We often live from that paycheck to the next, and, like most people, have too much debt.  But, his emotional support and his encouragement during my times of self-doubt and when my income is a trickle, is a never-ending well that I draw from often. Perhaps you do have financial support to pursue your art.  If so, cherish it and be grateful, guilt-free!  You have probably earned that support by managing a home, raising children, or working another job. Surround yourself with supportive people and be glad of it. Thank goodness for Theo and for his wife, JoAnna, who believed in Vincent, saved his paintings, and carefully and lovingly preserved his letters for posterity.

9.       Don’t expect to be rich. You may not break even most of the time.  But remind yourself that, however cliché this may sound, it is not about the money.  Vincent didn’t make money, but he painted regardless.  He wasn’t famous during his lifetime; in fact, he was more famous for being “fou-roux”, the “crazy red-head”.  If your goal is to be rich and famous, don’t be an artist. If it happens, great!  But it won’t for most; we must do it anyway. Focus on becoming the best painter you can be, first and foremost.

10.   True genius cannot be copied. Vincent’s brilliance was his uniqueness.  When I studied his brushwork up close, I saw the beauty in his spontaneous mixing of color on the canvas and within each stroke.  I saw a passionate explosion of paint, born of knowledge, uniquely and sometimes imperfectly his own.  As artists, we can and should be inspired by others.  But our work must be our own.  “Loving Vincent” was hand-painted by artists striving to paint like Van Gogh as a tribute to him and to his work.  And yet, the beauty of the film lies in that we all expressed our own vision of his brushwork, try as we did to copy his.  That makes the film more beautiful, to me. Computer-generated paintings would have been too “perfect” for this film.  Van Gogh’s paintings are beautiful because of the imperfections…the “human hand” that can’t quite be replicated.  The genius that is uniquely Van Gogh.  We all have our own hand in our work, too, that cannot be copied.  Celebrate that in your work!  Don’t try to be like someone else.  Channeling Vincent helped me to understand and learn many things from him.  But, ultimately, I can only paint like Dena Peterson.  And you can only paint like you.  What a gift!