Learning painting is a long term consistent effort

 

Some of the works I like during 2016

 

 Here we are at the last week of 2016! It has surely been an challenging journey for many of us. Whether is the election result, the famous people who passed away, the disasters, or our personal life event. Despite of all these, we should still look back and reflect what have we done and accomplished. Here's some of the things I've done for my watercolor:

 I'm happy to say I've done all of the above in 2016. You might notice most of these goals I set for myself this year are not a one time goal. They have to be done consistently and for a long period of time before I can starting to see the result. Take painting for example, your painting today is the result of your past 5 years! It is a trade skill that you learn and master over a long time. You don't become a master overnight. Some people may be more talented than the other. They learn and grow faster than people who off the same starting line. But without consistent effort, they still won't become the artist they wish to be.

Mileage is the main ingredient in a master's painting.

 What makes many master watercolorists' work a master piece is the mileage behind each of their brush stroke and shape design. You can copy them and get as close as you can and learn from it.  But when it comes to your own painting, the decision making and the artistic instinct of your brush stroke will reveal if you are a seasoned artist or an student. 

 A year can go by very fast if we decide to just let it fly by without embracing it and squeeze as much juice as we can out of it. I don't know how was your 2016, but let us get ready for 2017 and make the most out of it. Time is relative, many say time goes by fast, and I agree when I look at my children. But what I discovered is that if you are able to stay productive and do as much as you can in the given time, it slows down for you when you look back. 

 Lastly, I really want to thank you for your support in 2016. Your feedback and participate of my blog and videos are very valuable to me I wish you a happy new year, and I promise you there are going to be more great and new exciting things happening here at Café Watercolor! Here is a compilation of the timelapse videos I made in 2016. I had a blast watching it myself, hope you enjoy it as well!