A Top Watercolor Trick You're Going to Want to Hear

Oct 23, 2023

It can feel daunting when you step back and think about all the ways you'd like to improve as an artist. There are skills you'll be honing your whole life, lessons around every corner.   

That's why it's so refreshing to come across such a simple trick that can boost your watercolor abilities instantly. This is a watercolor practice that you can apply today and see it payoff in your paintings right away. 

A Watercolor Secret to Strengthen Your Composition Values and Focus

 So what is this simple "secret?"

Squinting! 

That's right, squinting. Let's take a moment and go through the six ways that simply squinting at your watercolor scene - whether it's a reference photo or a landscape right in front of you - can enhance your ability to perceive your watercolor subject and achieve the outcome you are hoping for.

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6 Ways Squinting Can Improve Your Watercolor Paintings

1. Squinting helps you simplify your watercolor scene.

Squinting helps you simplify your watercolor subject, to mute some of the finer details of the scene so you can determine what is most important to the final watercolor painting. Basically, it blurs the elements of the scene that distract from the main idea of the scene, which allows you to focus more on the broad shapes, the values, and the overall composition of your painting.

This is the simplification that is crucial for creating a strong visual impact. 

2. Squinting improves your ability to see a full range of values and achieve contrast.

Squinting also enhances your perception of the contrasting values in your watercolor scene.

Values are simply how light or how dark something is, and identifying the spectrum of values in a scene is an essential skill as a painter. Values are really what makes your painting work. And if you follow me regularly, you know I talk about this over and over and over again.

If you want to convey light in your scene, values are the main tool that you have to do that. So by squinting, we're better able to see the contrast in the values of the scene.

3. Squinting allows you to more accurately perceive color nuance in your watercolor scene.

Squinting also allows for better color perception.

A lot of times we have preconceived notions of what color certain things are. You know, we always think the sky is blue, the grass is green. But there are so many nuances in these shades of color. And by squinting, we can more accurately perceive what those colors are.

4. Squinting at your watercolor subject helps you improve your composition.

Additionally, squinting helps you improve your composition.

This goes back to seeing the big shapes of the scene. If we are eliminating detail, not getting too hung up on the small things in the scene, we are able to assess things more clearly. We can then focus more on the overall composition of the piece.

By simplifying the scene, you can identify areas that may need adjustment in terms of focal points, leading lines, or the distribution of elements in your composition. When you squint, you can think more in terms of shape. You can more clearly grasp your composition, and you can understand what elements need to be moved around in terms of balance and put together an overall better composition.

5. Squinting promotes a more "painterly approach."

When we squint at our watercolor scene, we become more expressive in the way that we paint the scene. We move away from trying to render things exactly as they are, we're less consumed with the small details in the scene, and we tend to focus more on the larger form.

This can really impact the way that you make brush marks. You tend to paint in a looser, more expressive manner, which is really the goal of so many of us as painters. It helps us go beyond a simple depiction of the watercolor scene and access the ability to express how the scene makes us feel, the impact the scene has on us. 

6. Squinting at your watercolor scene helps you prevent overworking your painting.

We all want to avoid overworking our scene. It is one of the biggest struggles that beginner watercolor artists have (and that's why I have a dedicated lesson about it). 

And this is another benefit of squinting at your watercolor subject - it can help you to avoid overworking your watercolor.

If you can really start to squint and see the simple statement of your scene, this will help you get a painting down on paper and not be so consumed with finishing every little bit of it in such an exact way. Squinting can remind you not to get lost in the details. 

Overworking a painting can lead to a loss of freshness and spontaneity and it can serve as a reminder to stay focused on the big picture and avoid unnecessary detail. Use this simple strategy to help you simplify your scenes and make more compelling, stronger watercolor paintings!

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Stop Overworking Your Paintings!

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