3 Easy Watercolor Painting Tips for Busy Summers
Summer has begun in the northern hemisphere, and it’s time for some fun! I mean who doesn’t love summer right? Swimming, camping, seaside trips, seeing family, friends, even if it’s only for a week here and there. But that means summer can be extra busy with kids, or grandkids, home from school, guests visiting, hosting dinners, traveling…
Summer is a wonderful time of year, but our painting practice can often take a backseat.
I’m a huge advocate for time off, but something happens when we don't paint for a while, then try to come back to it. It's much harder, and we can even feel somewhat disconnected to our process after a long break. I even shared about this in a blog post recently which you can read here.
I used to separate my summer activities from my studio time, and I’ll bet you do this too. It seems like the natural way of things, right? Put something aside to engage in another. The thing is, that over the years, I've learned it doesn't have to be that way. I've learned how to continue painting during the busy seasons by working in the margins when needed (I'll be sharing more about that later), and it's not as hard as it seems. But how do you do this without totally stressing out? By being equipped and prepared, and I’m going to show you how! Just keep reading. ;-)
I absolutely love to save memories with photos and videos, but when I capture my special moments with watercolors, it goes to another level.
I know this all sounds very complicated, but it’s really quite simple. I'm going show you how I'm able to quickly and easily create paintings of places I've been, people I've met, and fun things I did. If you're not that experienced or feel like you're not that good at watercolors, don’t worry I’ve got you covered! Over the summer, I'm going share what I've learned over the years, that really helped me bridge the gap between struggling to do this, and doing it almost effortlessly. Here are a few introductory tips to get you started:
Tip #1 - Create your own DIY travel painting set. Next time, I'm going share with you how I DIY, my very own painting set, and exactly what I include in it and why. I take this little set with me everywhere I travel, but it's also great around town, when I go to the park, and I can even take it out with me in my yard. Yes, I see my yard every day, and that might seem boring, but when something ordinary is painted, something magical happens. It's no longer ordinary. It takes on a whole new life, and you notice this subject matter in a whole new way. It's now a thing of beauty, and something you might even want to frame or turn into an art print or greeting card.
That's exactly what happens when you paint your adventures and special memories. There is a bit of a learning curve in the beginning, but I’ll walk you through it all. For now I’d like to introduce you to . . .
Tip #2 - Using a loose painting style.
If you don't know what that is, it's a way of quickly laying down your paints, blurring your objects a bit, and generally capturing a subject matter in a non-perfect way. It could sound messy, but bear with me for a moment because some of my most beautiful paintings have been captured with a loose style. We'll be going over this at a later time, but in the meanwhile, I want to share another tip that has revolutionized my artwork.
Tip #3 - Mentally turn off your perfection switch.
Okay this sounds kind of woo-woo, but imagine that the part of you that overthinks everything, and wants your art to be perfect can be shut off with a switch. I know it sounds easier said than done, but bear with me a moment and just close your eyes. See that perfection button or lever, and visually turn it to the off position. Now, imagine you're free to paint anything in any way you want without any judgment. Paint for the joy of painting. Paint because you like to paint and for no other reason. This is actually how I teach in my membership and my classes and my courses, and my students improve faster than you could imagine because the pressure is off. It’s a marvel!
But this summer I’m introducing an all-new program called Your Watercolor Summer. It's a slow and gentle weekly challenge so it's very doable, plus there is no pressure to post every week. I do want you to take that much needed time off and enjoy your loved ones!
Honestly, this should be a course, because you'll get my best summer painting tips, secret tricks, and useful techniques you can use over and over.
Keep in mind, the artwork you create during this challenge can be repurposed and used as postcards, greeting cards. t-shirts, notebooks, etc. You can use this art to open up POD shops, and even use your skills to teach your own classes.
But if you don't want to do any of that, you'll still be able to keep growing your skills and capturing your memories with your kids or grandkids, your family, your friends, your pets, using easy tips and techniques I'll be sharing with you all summer.
I'm here to share all my best tips, secrets, techniques, and more with you this summer via my newly renovated YouTube channel, my Facebook group, and weekly updates. Ready for a new summer adventure???
Click the below to watch the first video in the Your Watercolor Summer challenge!
Click the image to watch the first video lesson for Your Watercolor Summer challenge hub!
Then click below to get all the details in the challenge hub. See you there. :-)
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