Starting with watercolor painting can be really challenging and there are very important things that I realized over the years. And thinking back I know that knowing these tips would've saved me a lot of time and frustration. That's why you'll learn the 10 things that I wish I knew before starting with watercolor painting right now and right here!
(If you are starting with watercolors my previous video about how to pick up watercolor painting as a hobby and actually stick with it might be also helpful for you! You'll find a link at the end of this blogpost ;))
But now let's dive right into today's topic:
#1 Quality over quantity
I know it's tempting to get excited about all the different tools we can buy. BUT you don't need 50 million colors and 10.000 brushes. Invest in a few good quality primary colors and in good quality paper. And then learn how to use your supplies the right way, how to mix colors, what can you do with just one single color. (If you want me to teach you how to get the most out of your watercolors, you can sign up for my FREE mini-course, that'll start in a few days! You'll find the link at the end of this blog post as well!)
Note: Expensive supplies are no guarantee for high quality! I'll talk about this in the mini-course as well!
#2 You don't have to paint from your imagination
Coming up with ideas is THE struggles that keep us from painting! BUT it's totally fine to use a reference picture to inspire you! You can even use multiple different images and combine them in your artwork. That doesn't make you any less creative or a terrible artist.
#3 Use your reference picture(s) for inspiration, not for simply copying it
If you used a reference picture and your painting didn't end up exactly like it… That's perfect. You don't need to force your art to look a certain way. You can just pick a few elements from the reference picture or experiment with different styles and colors!
#4 The colors you see in your reference picture, don't have to be exactly the colors you use in your painting
There is no need to get caught up in mixing precisely the same color. Just use a similar one or test our different versions of that color.
#5 Give yourself time to develop your style, you don't have to find it
Sometimes we stress so much about finding our own unique style that we just feel stuck. You end up comparing yourself to others and creating art becomes more of something you do for other people's approval.
The truth is no one ever sat down and brainstormed about how their style will look like. Style develops over time and practice. So don't beat yourself up, learn, and have fun painting!
You'll find 5 more incredible things I wish I knew before starting with watercolor painting in my video below, plus a little but extremely valuable bonus tip!
As promised above here are some links for you:
Last week's video on how to pick watercolor painting as a hobby and stick with it.
Join my brandnew and free mini-course that will start in a few days!
Subscribe to my YouTube channel (Sorry for sneaking this in here, I know I didn't mention this above but if you thought my video is helpful I'd love you to get a notification whenever I upload a new video filled with knowledge, inspiration, tips, and tricks!)
You already have helped me make me big steps with a few video’s. Thank you. 🎨