Thomson in the process of painting model Regan during one of the Broadcasting Brushers livestreams. 

But working from life isn’t typically an easy opportunity to come by. For some, in-person workshops are downright impossible. It was this sentiment, among others, that ignited something in figurative artist Stephanie Paige Thomson. The award-winning artist (some of her most recent accolades include the Certificate of Excellence in the International Portrait Competition awarded by Portrait Society of America, and the Award for Figure Painting at the Hoosier Salon 100th Annual Exhibition), saw a need to provide artists with more chances to have that indelible life painting experience but in a way that was truly accessible to everyone. 

Regan, oil on linen, 16 x 12”

“[I want to] create these pockets of time that are sustainable, affordable, predictable, and enter into that creative space where all they’re thinking about is their painting,” says Thomson. “To go to a workshop takes a lot of planning and coordinating, and that can only happen every so often.” After years of planning and dreaming alongside her husband Adam, Thomson finally launched the virtual life painting/drawing program Broadcasting Brushers this spring.

Artist Stephanie Paige Thomson

Sessions are held live on YouTube twice a month, with artists receiving a link to join the stream through a membership on Thomson’s Patreon. The experience looks like this: in one livestream video is a 4K high-definition view of a model, and in another HD video is a view of Thomson painting that same model in real time. Artists can paint alongside Thomson, communicate with Thomson and other artists in the live chat, and post their own in-progress paintings through Discord. It gives a whole new meaning to the term “livestream.”

Thomson pauses from painting to talk with viewers.

Thomson guides viewers throughout the entire three-hour broadcast, breaking down her color palette, explaining her thought processes and allowing artists to observe her technical strategies. All along the way, Thomson answers technical questions from participants through YouTube chat with the help of Adam, who reads questions to her as she paints. While working on their own paintings, viewers have the opportunity to ask Thomson in real time why she’s made certain decisions. 

Elaine, oil on linen, 16 x 12”

Thomson started oil painting at 17 years old and was able to study in her college years, frequently working from life and growing at a rapid pace because she had so much time to devote to it. “But even in those years, I struggled to find opportunities to work from life because I couldn’t hire a model on my own or the circumstances just weren’t ideal,” she reflects. 

A process shot of Elaine. 

But with that fullness of heart comes the inevitable lack of flexibility. That’s when the idea came to Thomson: “How can artists grow at the fastest rate possible? As a visual and kinesthetic learner, I learn by doing. Broadcasting Brushers lets artists actively participate,” she says. “What if we were able to offer life drawing online that would be a live event where I’d be painting, and other artists can join and also be painting and we can all work together? People from wherever, in whatever stage of life.”

Sanjay, oil on linen, 16 x 12”

The technical elements of Broadcasting Brushers also distinguish the program, and Thomson gives her husband a lot of the credit here. “The difference between 4K and 1080p resolution is substantial. That’s what sets Broadcasting Brushers apart…With 4K, you can see pores, you can see eyelashes. I’m not a hyperrealist, but with life drawing, you need to see all of the details and decide what’s important and decide what to distill in your own painting…The very next best thing to having [the model] sitting right there,” she says. “The response from people has been so gratifying. Artists are shocked by how much better it is than working from a photo.” 

In the middle of painting Sanjay. The video still in the bottom right shows Thomson’s palette.

In the end, Thomson hopes to nurture a community in which artists from across the world can come together in real time to paint alongside a professional in a deeply supportive environment. “I have so many hopes,” she says. “When I look to living artists I’ve learned from, they all know each other…Michelle Dunaway, Sue Lyon, Scott Burdick, Rose Frantzen…they were all in one place working from life with a master painter who was aiding them, and they all grew at this incredible rate. They have a shared theme, which is that they worked really hard and painted frequently…I think a lot of people think, ‘I’m 30 years late to becoming a great artist because I missed out on [these things].’”

Rob, oil on linen, 20 x 16” 

Thomson continues, “So that’s what I hope for overall. That the Broadcasting Brushers is a community of painters that rise together. You’re connected to all of these artists who have the same desire: to create beauty, and to all grow together.”