There are a few traps a beginning watercolor painter can fall into, causing them to feel overwhelmed.
And no matter how excited they may be about learning how to paint, these traps end up making them feel stuck. Then instead of creating art, they try dabbling here and there without making any real progress. Eventually, the frustration sets in, and sometimes they even give up.
This is what I call the ‘Well-Watched But Hardly-Practiced ‘ watercolor painter.
Because they have a desire to get started, but they're not taking steps forward. I used to be one myself, so I know the signs.
Not sure if this is you?
Here are five signs that you might be a ‘Well-Watched But Hardly-Practiced Watercolor Beginner’ and what you can do once you recognize that's where you are:
Sign One: You're Hoarding Paint Supplies But Not Using Them
You see other artists showing off their brushes and paints, and you think to yourself that you need those particular tools to get started.
Maybe you saw a recommendation for a certain item on one of the Facebook art groups you haunt, or maybe you clicked through a video where a specific brand of the brush was used. In any case, you decided you needed it to get started.
Now you've got all the supplies you could ever want, or do you? You saw something new not too long ago. Do you need that one too?
There's nothing wrong with getting great supplies of course, but your supplies are not being used. You have an art closet, but no works of art to show for it.
Sign Two: You're Watching YouTube Tutorials Like They're Movies
Your choice brand of entertainment is the YouTube art tutorial. You've been binge-watching them for days, maybe even months.
You've got a list of artists that you follow, and you devour their content for hours at a time.
The problem with this is that it can easily lead to information overload. If you have a hundred different possible starting positions, you could be overwhelmed by indecision.
Sign Three: You Always Tell Yourself, ‘One Day’
You have the supplies. You might even have a course or a YouTube tutorial you'd like to try. But you haven't tried it yet because you just keep telling yourself ‘maybe later,’ ‘not right now,’ or ‘one day.’
There are probably a million other things on your plate for you to juggle, and you just don't know how to make time for a new hobby right now. So you tell yourself that you will get to it, in the future, ‘one day.’ Then ‘one day’ stretches further into the weeks and months of your life until you turn around and realize years have passed.
The problem with ‘one day’ is that if you're not paying attention, it can turn into ‘never.’
Sign Four: You Are Bogged Down By Information
Since you want to create art, you've been hard at work studying the craft. The problem is, there's so much information out there.
You have found yourself scrolling lengthy YouTube art tutorial playlists, and now you're a member of a dozen different Facebook art groups.
The tips, techniques, and recommendations have been rolling in. With so much information, it's hard to know exactly where to start. So you end up starting nowhere at all.
Sign Five: You're Questioning Your Ability
If you actually do manage to put paint to paper and something doesn't work right, you question yourself and your ability.
You ask yourself if you really have the right supplies or the right technique.
Should you conclude there's nothing wrong with your supplies, you might be questioning yourself. You might ask yourself, “Do I have any talent to create?”
Are you spotting one of these signs or more? What is the remedy to this?
If you see yourself in these signs, then you may feel like you're stuck in a cycle. Part of you may not trust yourself to take that next step and that's why you've been wandering aimlessly in a creative slump.
The good news is, you already have what you need to put paint to paper and start tuning in to your inner artist.
The first step to escaping the slump is taking a deep breath and telling yourself that you are ready.
Get the Paint to Paper Mini-Course for just $27
One small, but concrete step you can take towards breaking the cycle is jumping into a course I've created designed for the artist who hasn't, well, put their paint to paper and needs the gentle push to actually get started!
The Paper to Paper Mini-Course walks you through a five-step process for getting started with watercolor painting, even if you haven't touched your paint supplies in quite some time.
Grab your paintbrushes and get painting in as little as 30 minutes!