This week I share a portrait I did sometime last week. When I was editing the video, I remember the time I was painting this. I am painting a beautiful model. I gave myself a lot of pressure to do a good painting of her. But later on, I decided to just have fun and enjoy the process. Even though I end up liking the painting a lot, I didn’t know if the painting will be successful when I am painting it.
We often talk a lot about technique. Of course, we all want to get better. I am constantly seeking to become a better artist as well. However, think about that time when you first starting to paint. The way you enjoyed the sense of discovery and exploration of the possibility. The way you enjoy the process. If you are like me, your first few attempts were probably not that good. But we gave ourselves a pass because we knew we are just getting started. After we are more comfortable with watercolor, been to some workshops, and made a few decent paintings, we starting to hold a higher standard to ourselves. Before we know it, painting starts to feel more stressful. Why do we do that though? Why don't we give ourselves the same pass and saying to ourselves "I am still learning, failure is expected, I had fun though."
I am as guilty as anyone. Especially now that I consider myself a professional artist, I always have the pressure to do the best work I can. I feel that every painting I put out should and will reflect the quality of the work I do. While that might be true in a professional sense, I want to challenge you to go back to the original enjoyment you had with painting. Most people nowadays don't start painting because it is an obligation or a sense of duty. They start doing it because it is fun and enjoyable. If you don't have fun and don't enjoy the process anymore, you want to step back and think about this. Yes, being an artist is more about just having fun. But if you don't enjoy the process of creation and not worrying about the outcome, you might get scared when painting as the pressure looming in. Painting with fear is never a good thing especially in watercolor.
So for this week, grab a paintbrush and make some mess! Have some fun and enjoy the process! Don't worry about the outcome of the painting. If your end up good painting, great. If not, you still learned and had fun!