Home Forums Explore Media Watercolor The Learning Zone Painting: How often do you paint?

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  • #991797
    snowsilk
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        There’s a lot of research about the power of practice!

        (Great thread here: https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1347236)

        Which made me wonder:
        1) How often do you paint? And how does this compare to how often you would LIKE to paint?
        2) More importantly, what do you do to paint more often?

        I often find myself “decompressing” by researching on painting when I need a break. What’s intended to be a short 10-15 break often ends up taking much longer as I disappear down the rabbit hole… Which makes me wonder if I’m better off just using that time to paint!

        I realize for me that my biggest obstacle to just painting is my frustration: My paintings just don’t come out the way I envision! I spend a lot of time drawing to get the composition just right, which takes forever and is especially frustrating because I don’t think I’m good at drawing… And I much rather be painting! Often, by the end, there’s so much that I’m dissatisfied with my paintings that I don’t know where to start to fix them!

        Also, it takes me forever to “set up” my space, which creates inertia.

        Would love to hear what you do to find more time to paint regularly. :)

        #1203813
        hblenkle
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            I try to paint every week. During classes we do two paintings or more a week. Between taking classes I paint once a week with a friend and do usually one painting.

            #1203842
            Cyntada
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                You’re quite right about inertia being a barrier. So is obsessive drawing (although drawing skills are very important, and so is good composition. No argument there, but you have to practice actual painting too, so…)

                Get a sketchbook, a small palette that fits in your pocket, one waterbrush, and GO OUTSIDE. Do a minimal drawing just to set some guidelines, and practice slinging paint. This is what unlocked watercolor for me… it’s like the sketchbook is a personal diary, a safe place to try things and learn without fear of “messing up”. Every attempt is a lesson, and if you aren’t happy with how it looks? Make some notes, turn the page and keep going. No one has to see it unless you choose to share!

                Making a portable kit really, truly, was the thing that got me painting regularly. It’s so easy to grab I don’t ask whether I should bring it, it just comes along and if there’s no free moment to paint, it was no burden to bring it. I do have a studio area, a table just for painting with a few storage drawers. This is quite a luxury and I am grateful to have it. Right now though, the same sketchbook is on the table, because guess where 99% of my paintings are? :lol:

                You can tear a larger sheet into small cards in lieu of a bound book, or put some paper in a binder or have your local office store spiral-bind some WC paper for cheap. The possibilities are endless for sketchbooks, but for me the “book” part is important. It makes the difference between something that is a little personal (safe, private) and something that could be pawed through if I left loose cards out on a table. Obviously that’s not a concern for many artists, just sharing a peculiarity of my own, for your consideration. If you fee like others will judge or criticize your results, maybe shielding your work from those eyes will help you free up and just paint. Putting the miles on the brush is what helps you get past the frustration… so go make a bunch of paintings and watch them get better with every turn of the page. Believe me, it will happen!

                I realistically paint 1-2 times a week in the book, a few times a year in the studio on quarter-sheets, and wish I could wet a brush every day. Having the kit for lunch breaks is the best of all, there’s a good hour of painting time on many days when I am far too tired to paint at night after work.

                This is a great poll, thanks for posting it!

                CK =)
                I take great comfort in knowing that my genuine typos will probably be blamed on some device's autocorrect. :angel:
                DIY art supplies, sketches, and more: cyntada.com / @cyntada
                #1203810

                A public commitment to paint every day has been a great help to me and choosing a theme has eliminated the task of finding what to paint next.

                Doug


                We must leave our mark on this world

                #1203814
                hblenkle
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                    Maybe the grid method of drawing would help. It should increase your accuracy and speed in drawing with little need to correct the drawing. You can grid a copy of your reference, grid the paper for your drawing, do the line drawing on the paper the size of your watercolor paper, use carbon paper to transfer your large drawing to your watercolor paper. You could just draw the big grid on the watercolor paper, draw using the grid method from your grid on the reference copy to the grid on the watercolor paper, and erase the grid on the watercolor paper once the drawing is done.

                    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idvP9oUEGko#aid=P-pHxNJtq8U
                    There are more videos of grid drawing. I did a You tube search on “grid method drawing”.

                    #1203811

                    Another thing that got me painting daily were the 50 or so ATC’s (2 1/2 x 3 1/2) paintings I did which I painted watching tv.

                    Doug


                    We must leave our mark on this world

                    #1203835
                    noge
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                        Ist weather related – I live in the mountains and do mostly PA

                        #1203864
                        Cedarita
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                            Agree that reading about painting can easily become a substitute for actually painting.

                            I think having a small portable kit, like cyntada suggested, can eliminate the excuses not to paint. And how about thinking of your sketchbook as a journal: a DAILY record of your life in painting. No exotic locations or special set ups necessary, and small in size so it’s quick to dash something off. Just paint the things around you, or splash colors that record your feelings about something. Make a commitment to yourself that you will do at least a tiny painting in your journal every day, and see how your enthusiasm for actually painting grows when it’s fed regularly.

                            #1203820

                            I paint daily.

                            That doesn’t mean that I FINISH paintings daily. I paint elements in my paintings that sometimes take weeks to finish… but I try to give myself an hour every day. One hour. In the big scheme of things, it really isn’t much time. :)

                            And I love every minute of it!

                            Char --

                            CharMing Art -- "Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art." Leonardo DaVinci

                            #1203865
                            snowsilk
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                                Those are great ideas! I find myself spending forever trawling pinterest for ‘inspiration’ when I could have been better off painting.

                                I keep a journal for illustrations and sketching but have had trouble finding a good journal that responds well to watercolor. I might just make my own!

                                Charm, I took your advice (and the advice of many others!) to finally upgrade to better paper. Bought a pack of Arches cold press to try and it’s amazing what a world of difference it makes!!! It’s so much easier to work with and makes painting less frustrating. Thank you!

                                #1203829
                                indraneel
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                                    I draw and sketch nearly every day. But watercolor, it depends, sometimes once a week, sometimes several. Rarely, a few weeks pass by when I’ve not picked up a brush. But I’m starting to now use a brush for ink sketches, and it’s helping the watercolors too.

                                    #1203843
                                    Cyntada
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                                        You should absolutely make your own journal! Use some of your Arches. It paints perfectly on the back, in fact I prefer the back of the cold press. There’s WIP threads here on WetCanvas and tutorials all over the internet if you need some inspiration.

                                        Another advantage of sketchbooks is that you can practice random things that don’t add up to a “painting”. Like doing a page of random leaves, or swoopy lines, or whatever. Of course you can do that on loose paper too, but (for me at least) it feels less like “wasting paper” to practice on the pages of a book.

                                        I’m so glad the new paper is helping you out. Life is just too short to paint on crummy paper! :wave:

                                        CK =)
                                        I take great comfort in knowing that my genuine typos will probably be blamed on some device's autocorrect. :angel:
                                        DIY art supplies, sketches, and more: cyntada.com / @cyntada
                                        #1203856
                                        Susaleena
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                                            I want to paint every day but realistically only once a week or a few times a month :(

                                            #1203840
                                            maryinasia
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                                                one idea….draw what you want to paint, then transfer the drawing to a couple different pieces of paper to play with the paints on….less drawing time, more time to experiment

                                                #1203836
                                                noge
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                                                    :wave: Today I have painted 3 Eggs :D

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