Paint Less to See More Results

Jan 06, 2025

Paint Less to Learn More

You've heard it said that it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill. And I'm not challenging that - not exactly. 

Reaching the painting goals you have and seeing the kind of progress you want doesn't come easy or quickly, but the pathway there is not only about the time you put in.

Time alone will only get you so far. 

So, let's talk about how to use your time and how to set things up in your favor to access the skills you want to develop.

See Progress in Less Time

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Cultivate an Inspiring Environment

Creative people are often incredibly sensitive. Not only to their own emotions and the feelings of others, but also to their environment.  

There are environments that are conducive to creativity - that spur you on and keep you focused - and there are environments that detract from the creative process. Sometimes there are aspects of your environment that you don't even notice are overwhelming or distracting, but when they change, you feel the positive effects.  

For me, I know that I work best in a decluttered space with great lighting and some ambient music. 

Cultivating this environment impacts the quality of my painting time. It supports my efforts and makes the time I have to give to my craft more focused and productive.

So think about it:

  • What fosters your creativity?
  • What gets you excited to paint?
  • What changes to your environment would improve your painting sessions?

With the understanding that there are elements of your environment that cannot change, identify a few tweaks you cold make to your space that would spur you toward focus and creativity.

Prioritize Preparation

Here's the essence of my lesson today - progress has more to do with intentionality and the quality of your painting sessions than with the amount of time that you devote to painting complete watercolors.

Here's my weekly schedule

 

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are my painting days, dedicated to painting complete watercolor scenes. Now, I could use my time to paint a scene every day, but I know that if I don't set aside time for preparation, study, and practice that isolates skills, I will not see the progress I want.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I study artwork that I love and admire. I do value studies. I home in on specific skills that I want to improve on - painting figures, painting skies, drawing, light, and proportion. It's this isolation of skills that really allows me to make swift improvements and implement them in my paintings. 

So, think about the time you have for your watercolor practice. Instead of setting a goal of a full painting for each session, allow for intentional study and practice focused on the skills you want to develop. These are things that take a lot less time but can really move the needle most.

Quick aside - if you're hoping to improve on painting trees, this will be my topic for next week. So stop by to hear more about that subject!

Tend to Your Mental State

Certainly, there is a certain satisfaction when you complete a full painting. But if you're the kind of artist (like me) who likes to share your accomplishment on social media, be careful that you don't avoid the work that will really refine your skills for the opportunity to receive likes, comments, and shares. 

It can feel good to get those dopamine hits, and there's nothing wrong with it, of course, but make sure that this feedback isn't what's guiding your practice. Make sure that your reason for showing up to the easel is focused on intentional progress instead of external feedback.   

Paint Less to Learn Faster 

My message to you is this: Paint less finished paintings. Instead, do more prep work. Do more intentional, isolated practice and study.

Settle for less output for the promise of huge strides forward. 

 Imagine the improvements you can make over this next year with this holistic, intentional approach that values quality of time over the quantity of time.

Related Blogs

Positive Mindset Shifts that Accelerate Your Learning

How Smart Artists Study the Work of Masters

Resilience and Vulnerability in Watercolor Art

Stop Overworking Your Paintings!

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