So, your watercolor journey has set sail, you’ve learned all about the basics. What’s next you say? Practice! But does it seem like you’re not going anywhere? Fret no more, in today’s blog we’ll share 6 watercolor painting tips on how to your improve your skills.
If you’ve been on this creative journey for a while, you must have gone through a handful of materials on watercolor painting for beginners.
And now, perhaps you feel ready to take it up a notch and learn how to improve your watercolor painting skills.
In my previous blogs, I gave you tools to help you decide if watercolors are for you, gain basic knowledge and resources to start watercolor painting, learn how to mix watercolors, and identify quality supplies.
But in this blog, you’ll learn how to paint better with watercolors through the six (6) fool-proof watercolor painting tips to improve your watercolor painting.
how to know if you're ready to level up
Before you start moving forward, make sure that you’ve learned and practiced the basics first. These watercolor painting tips I’m about to impart is useless if you do not start paying attention to fundamentals.
Along with some of my blogs, I’ve written free PDF guides to help you inch toward being a great watercolor painter in a less overwhelming way.
My Self-Assessment Checklist on How to Know If Watercolors Are for You will help you ensure your compatibility with watercolor painting.
The Watercolor Painting Roadmap will walk you through tried and tested methods of practicing watercolor painting with less stress and more fun!
All of these resources, including my guide on watercolor mixing and picking out quality watercolor supplies, ensure that you are prepared to level up! So, once you’ve ticked the last steps in the roadmap, you are ready to take this next one.
6 fool-proof watercolor painting tips to improve your skills
watercolor painting tips 1
letting mistakes and accidents happen will help you enhance your watercolor painting
Don’t stress yourself out trying to perfect everything the first time. Instead, focus on doing your best in every stroke.
It’s only through practicing [with patience] that you learn this craft. After all, art itself, not its products, is what gives artists deep joy.
Besides, if you embed love into your work, the result is almost always a masterpiece to you and to whom you dedicate it.
watercolor painting tips 2
create something that inspires you
When you tell a personal story through your painting, you’d be inspired to give it justice by learning to paint it better.
Painting something meaningful to you will help you stick to your why and incorporate authenticity in your work.
It’s alright to watch tutorials but don’t beat yourself up replicating a piece you don’t even resonate with.
Not finding genuine pleasure in painting will make practicing feel like a chore instead of an enjoyable skill that’s worthy of your time and effort to perfect.
Among the plenty of watercolor painting tips, inspirations and tutorials available, choose the subjects that appeal to you most. Master your style of speaking up through your art, and you’ll be a lot more satisfied with the results.
watercolor painting tips 3
Mind the water: watch the ratio between pigment and water and keep the water clean
Understanding the ratio between pigment and water is crucial because it determines the darkness and lightness of a painting.
Higher water to pigment ratio results in a lighter value; a higher pigment to water ratio, results in a darker value. This helps explain how much water or how much paint is needed to be used in the process.
In my book, The Beginners Guide to Watercolor, I answered the question I wish I knew when I was a beginner: How much water and paint should I use?
Pro tip: To soak up excess water from your brush, use paper towels. To lift excess water off your paper, you also use paper towels or a dry brush.
watercolor painting tips 4
Participate in a class
To better yourself, participate in watercolor painting classes.
YouTube tutorials do help a lot, but having a mentor can take your skills to a whole new level.
Some of the benefits of attending watercolor painting classes are getting feedback on your work and having classmates who are on the same creative journey as you.
Getting direct feedback is like walking in a path built especially for you because it’s based on your progress and is, therefore, unique to you.
having people around walking along their own path will make you feel less alone when you face challenges and celebrate victories!
These benefits can be greatly felt in in-person classes/workshops where a mentor can see your work firsthand and give feedback not only on your output but also on your process and techniques.
However, this setting is limited due to the pandemic, so you can take online classes instead which still proves beneficial despite limited virtual contact.
Even though the mentor is not able to directly observe you execute your technique, they can still give helpful insights based on your output.
Also, for some courses, you’ll have the option of learning at your own pace because some lessons may be pre-recorded. Therefore, you’ll have more flexibility in scheduling your learning sessions.
You can check out some of my free courses to get a feel of what it’s like to have a mentor who understands where you are in your journey. I was once a beginner, too.
Aside from taking classes, you can also reach out to watercolor painting communities. The amount of learning you can get from these communities is unbelievable, especially if it has engaging members.
watercolor painting tips 5
recreating an old artwork will help you improve your watercolor painting
Perhaps one of the many watercolor painting tips often overlooked is recreating your old artwork.
Go through your old works and see something you like to repaint. Give it a good look and assess which parts you could have done better, then paint it once more.
Because your subject is the same, you will have the opportunity to test out how much you’ve improved on the techniques you used a while back.
The difference you’ll see in your outputs will help you appreciate how much you’ve grown as an artist. It will help you to choose an old painting that will allow you to use specific techniques or sub-skills you’ve been focusing on.
watercolor painting tips 6
Trust the process. Stick to a healthy painting schedule.
Nothing matters more than focus and consistency in trying to succeed at anything!
Remember the oldie-but-goodie story about the turtle and the hare. It’s much less about your talent than your values and dedication to your goals.
Never underestimate the power of consistency, focus, and the benefit of trusting and patiently following through the process.
Both the technical and personal aspects of learning watercolor painting are essential.
Addressing them will help you finesse your techniques and nurture the drive that keeps you moving forward.
Watercolor painting for beginners is no easy feat, but with the right tools and guidance, you can confidently level up your skills.
May you use the tips I’ve provided on how to improve your watercolor painting for a more fulfilling creative journey!
For more detailed tutorials to help you enhance your watercolor painting skills, beginner or not, check out my book The Beginners Guide to Watercolor that you can pre-order on Amazon.
Good luck on your creative journey!
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