Here's Why Sketches Are More Important Than You Think
Jun 30, 2025What's one secret to creative growth?
Shift your mindset from the goal of finishing complete watercolor paintings to cranking out small sketches.
Of course you want to do both, but the most learning happens when you let go of the outcome and experiment. This is more likely to happen with quick and frequent practice sessions.
Elevate Your Paintings with Quick, Frequent Sketches
There's satisfaction in rendering a whole scene and being able to step back to admire your work, but there is much to be learned outside of this process.
Sometimes we hinder ourselves when we only think in these terms.
A fully-fledged painting takes a while to complete, so there might be times that you forego painting because you don't have a block of time long enough.
But there's a lot you can do with just 10 minutes:
- You can do a sky study
- You can practice drawing
- You can work on mixing colors
- You can do a value study
- You can do a quick sketch
Sketches help you to loosen up a bit, allow you to experiment with a new technique, and encourage play. They're quick, so you stop thinking so much and just react. Without a huge investment in the outcome, you are more able to take risks and soak in the learning along the way.
Let Me Walk You Through A Sketch
A student of mine at my most recent retreat snapped this photo while we were in Sicily, and it caught my attention. This farmer is in an interesting position, the light is hitting him and the bucket in a pleasing way. So I wanted to see what I could learn from sketching him.
My process is different for a sketch. I don't wet down the front and back of my paper, and I am not concerned about covering the whole page. I still work in layers, but I work through them quickly, just trying to get an impression of the scene and focus in on what has intrigued me about the scene.
Watch the Video for the Whole Process
There are things that are better shown than explained in words, so check out the video at the top of the page to see the whole process.
Feel free to paint along with me or try a sketch of your own!
Either way, I think you'll learn a thing or to and get your creative juices flowing!
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