Meet the Orlando Paint and Sip Artists: Max Laurent

Our Wine and Canvas Orlando artists are MASTERS in the field of creativity! The good news is YOU don’t have to be a master to unleash your creativity and craft a masterpiece. Our Indy paint and sip artists will show you some amazing (and even unexpected) ways to tap in to your creative side.

Max Laurent found painting while in college and has practiced it ever since. He loves teaching Wine and Canvas painters about color theory and how to discover a new perspective on their creative work. Also, see why he recommends listening to a movie score during your next art session!

Keep reading for a quick introduction to Max!

Describe your first memory of painting. What was the experience like?

As a child, I was actually not into painting. I was always drawing, but usually just in black and white pencil, sometimes even just in pen. I never used colors. I did some very rare colored pencil drawings and a few school paintings, which I made more reluctantly. My first proper painting class, and when I first started to get into color drawings and painting, was in college. That’s when I truly discovered painting and colors.

How did you learn painting over the years? Who (or what) inspired you?

I was a late bloomer and discovered painting in college. Luckily, I took a color theory class to learn about colors. I had an amazing painting teacher that was my inspiration to get into painting. After I finished all my college classes, I continued to teach myself painting. I watched Youtube videos to continue to learn more aspects of painting. But I still learn new things as I teach, sometimes even from my students.

What aspect of painting do you love to teach the most?

Ironically, despite my childhood aversion to colors, my favorite part to teach is colors, mixing colors, and color theory. There’s a lot of key elements to creating a painting, but I think colors is a crucial one, and the one that is very vast, intricate, and my favorite one to teach.

What songs are on your go-to playlist when painting?

It’s important for me to have music when I paint. The music I chose can range from popular songs at the time, to old classics. I have a very vast playlist of over 6,000 songs, so it can really vary. But one thing I started to listen to in more recent years are podcasts and soundtracks, while I paint. The nice thing about listening to soundtracks and movie scores is that they plunge you back into a storyline of a movie you saw, and at the same time, they are long enough that you have over an hour of non-stop music and don’t have to switch to a new song every 4 minutes. The painting process can be long, and it’s nice to be uninterrupted.

Which drink is your favorite painting companion?

I’m a little more on the sober side when I paint, despite what it shows on my Instagram. I stick to water and sparkling water. But if I need to go for a long session, I’ll get myself some Schweppes or Canada Dry Bitter Lemon.

What subject could you paint over and over and still be excited about it?

My three favorite subjects are horses, skeletons, and the human figure. But if I had to choose only one, it’s the human figure. You can tell so many stories about the human condition with just figures and poses.

Want to make art with Max in real life? Check out his calendar for a list of classes coming up near you!