Blue Sky & Clouds Watercolor Landscape
In this post, I’m sharing a bit of personal proof that it takes practice to make progress.
It comes from the week I spent practicing, painting and then re-painting sky after sky...after sky. All in preparation for the lessons I created to guide members through Blue Skies & Clouds inside the Paint With Me Community.
Of course, I’ve painted my fair share of skies but I’m still working on getting better - honing my own process and learning how to paint all types of skies. This fact, coupled with using watercolors means that things don’t always turn out.
I made SO many painting attempts while planning and filming this month’s lessons. If anything it just goes to show that painting skies can go in all different directions except for what was planned. But that applies to any watercolor painting, doesn’t it?
But you know what? By the time I painted my ‘final’ pieces, I felt like my process and approach improved. All those attempts were practice and they made a difference.
Usually when I encounter having to paint something over and over again, I would increasingly get frustrated and more determined than ever to ‘get it right’. I can feel everything tense up, putting an immense amount of pressure on the next painting to finally ‘be the one’.
This time, something had shifted. It was the first time I didn’t get more and more frustrated. Instead, I looked at each attempt through the lens of a ‘scientist’...like each painting was an experiment of sorts. I would collect ‘data’ and test theories through each piece. Some pieces were pure practice, others were intended to be final pieces that just went wrong. Either way, I stayed curious and the whole process felt so much lighter.
For a visual of how many attempts I made, you can click here to see a clip I shared on Instagram.
And after all the attempts, here’s where I ended up:
I guess I just wanted to share with you today a reminder that, no matter how many attempts you have to make...it’s all right. Release those high expectations before you start painting, breathe, and tell yourself that everything you make is part of the practice that will take you towards progress.
And most importantly. Once you are done, try as best you can to shush that ridiculous inner critic that will tell you that you could have done better. Because the act of creating anything at all is a beautiful and wonderful thing.
If you’d like to watch the process and hear a few thoughts on how I approached the final painting, I shared a timelapse version on YouTube.
As always, thank you so much for being here.
Wishing you well,
Susan
P.S. If you’re interested in practicing watercolors with me and want to see what we’re painting this month, click here for a video preview of June’s Blue Skies & Clouds.
P.P.S. If want to practice blue skies as a challenge this month, here’s our (free) #paintwithmejune challenge prompt - you’ll be painting from the same photo that I shared in the above timelapse video!
