Don’t give up – finish your watercolor painting even if things don’t go your way! Learn in this easy-to-follow tutorial why I never give up mid-painting and how you too shouldn’t – because you’ll learn more from a painting that you finish than from one you don’t.
There are paintings where everything goes right. There are paintings where everything goes wrong. And there is the majority of paintings where things go well until we encounter moments of hesitation and doubt. Suddenly nothing goes according to our plans.
In this demonstration I paint a portrait which in my mind was to become a different painting from the one I finally finished. This is not a bad thing, nor is it lack of control over the process. This is adaptability, quick reaction to what is happening on the paper and listening to what the painting needs. Try not to stick to your plans so much that you won’t notice when a change is necessary, don’t be surprised and don’t quit. Continue painting however much you feel the painting is not coming together.
Listen to your ‘intuition’ or inner voice, react on the fly. Don’t necessarily improvise but trust your gut when it urges you to do something unexpected. It’s your subconscious mind giving you hints from your past experiences. Use it to your advantage and don’t give up mid-painting. Finish what you started and judge after it’s done. More often than not the result will surpass your expectations and if nothing else, you’ll learn more from painting that you finish than from one you don’t.
