When you're learning something new, it is important that you focus on the literal craft - the skillset that you're building, the process you're learning, the muscle memory you're developing - and often, we undervalue the importance of keeping a positive mindset.

Or maybe we know how important the mental game is, but we shrug it off, thinking a positive attitude is elusive, that a growth mindset is either something we have or we don't have, and just power through.

But when we put structures in place to create a more encouraging atmosphere, we set ourselves up for long-term growth and a more enjoyable learning experience.   

4 Practices to Shift Your Mindset and Learn Faster

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As you learn to paint watercolor, I want to help you not only develop a skillset to create gorgeous watercolor scenes, but also a skillset that:

• lifts your morale,
• encourages you persevere when you're frustrated, and
• increases your enjoyment while making art. 

Here are 4 mindsets that have been helpful during my lowest times as a painter. Reminding myself of the truth in these statements has really helped me keep going, learning, and growing. I hope they can do the same for you!

1. Failure is a Part of the Process. 

In order to improve, we must fail. There's no way around this.

That is just one of the realities of learning something new and pushing yourself to be the best that you can be: we're going to fail.

We need to paint a lot of paintings before we really start to see big differences. Here's a look at a couple of the paintings that I've painted along the way, and you can clearly see that my early work is very different than more recent paintings.

But the only way to see this improvement was to paint a lot of paintings that I wasn't happy with.

The picture below, in fact, is my pile of paintings that did not work out and never saw the light of day. And this isn't just a pile from long ago. I throw paintings in there still. 

When you are learning something new, you need a lot of repetition, and watercolor is no exception. When watercolor painting, you're internalizing so many different concepts at the same time, You're learning to draw, to arrange a pleasing composition, to see values, to manage your time, to make great brush marks, and much much more. All of these important concepts take time to learn, and the only way to improve is to make a lot of mistakes along the way.

So if you feel stuck, if you feel like you're just not painting the way that you want to, know that you are in the middle of a learning process that takes time.

Every time you show up and put in the effort, that is success. And if you keep showing up, you will see improvement over time. We want to see results right away. We want to just understand something and learn something as quickly as possible. But that isn't really the reality of how it works.

The more comfortable that you can become in failing, the more likely you are to succeed.

2. Consistency is More Important Than Results.

The second mindset shift that will support your growth as an artist is to value consistency over results.

This means acknowledging and celebrating how consistent you are in showing up to honor your art. This means making consistency a goal in and of itself, apart from the progress you make painting watercolor. 

I have found it helpful to create a practice calendar to keep track of the times I show up. This can be simple. Get a dedicated calendar for this purpose, and every day that you make a decision to paint, draw, do a value study, or really anything that pushes you forward as a painter, mark it off on the calendar.

That way, in moments when you're feeling frustrated that you're not seeing progress, you can look back and celebrate your hard work. You can count the number of days you showed up and rest assured that this dedication will pay off. If you can learn to value consistency and give yourself the credit for your efforts, you will see a big improvement in your paintings over time. 

3. There is Not Only One Correct Way to Paint Watercolor.

The third mindset adjustment I recommend that comes up a lot when I'm teaching, is to recognize that there is no one right way to paint.

When I teach, for instance, my 3-step painting process, from light to dark, or when I advise you not to tape your watercolor paper, I am teaching processes that really work for me. And sometimes I get pushback from people who say things like, No, I've seen an artist do this a different way. 

This is great because these students are realizing that we don't all have the same philosophies and practices. There's not a one-size-fits-all approach to painting. There's not an exact right way to paint a watercolor scene.

What I strive to do in my teaching is show you the things that work for me. They're going to work for some people, and they're not going to work for other people. 

But it's important that you take the time and that space to absorb the teachings you find yourself gravitating toward (from me and from other teachers). We all have something unique to offer. Absorb the influences, try your hand at their lessons, and then determine what works best for you. 

You might latch on to one particular artist and you might think that they have the right way of doing things. But what you're going to find out, the longer that you paint, is that there are going to be multiple influences that work best for you.

You can always learn from multiple people, multiple painting philosophies, and I think that's a very healthy approach

4. Comparison is the Thief of Joy. 

It's great to follow other artists online, and we live in an unprecedented time that offers us more access to artistry and creativity than ever before. This can be inspiring - but it can also be discouraging. 

Being constantly surrounded with other people's artwork can lead to an unhealthy place of comparison. 

The reality is that everyone is on their own journey, and if we are constantly comparing ourselves to other people, we are never going to see ourselves as good enough. We're always going to see people that are ahead of us on that journey, and if our focus is on them, this can suck the joy out of painting.

You know, as you progress, you're might decide to put your artwork out there more. There's a lot of vulnerability that goes along with that. And if you see a lot of other artists that are making big exhibitions that you're not or they're accomplishing something that you wish you were accomplishing, that can really drag you down. Now, there's nothing wrong with being motivated and even some competition can be healthy.

I just really think that if we're stuck in this cycle of comparison, looking at other people's work constantly and pulling ourselves down, it's very destructive. Be mindful of this.

Ask yourself:

• Is comparison taking the joy out of painting for you?
• Are you constantly comparing yourself to other artists?
• Do you feel resentment or judgment toward other artists?

If the answer to one or more of these questions is yes, consider taking a break from social media or just become more conscious with how you take in other people's artwork. Maybe just go to museums. Maybe center yourself before you get on a social media site and scroll with the goal of finding inspiration. Compliment another artist you admire, encourage those you know who are also learning. These human connections can sometimes dull the sting of comparison and expand your perspective.

Other people's success means nothing about you. There is room for us all to grow and learn and be successful. And the sooner that you can realize that, the happier that you are going to be as a creator and a painter. I wish I had understood these things earlier in my painting journey.

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