Everyone is looking for that magic bullet, or magic trick to make their work look better. Everyone wants shortcut or 5-steps to become a painting master. And if there is one, I While I am a firm believer of deliberate practice, it's important to know that you still need to invest your time into it. Painting, like many other skills, is obtained and mastered by doing. Sure, talented people might reach higher skill level faster, but I also know many talented people who never get as good as they can be because they don't put in the time for it. 

 Muddy color and dirty wash are the most common struggles I've heard from the students. While there can be many factors, I believe the biggest reason is we don't let watercolor flow. I often say let it flow. Watercolor is alive, it does what it wants and our job as a watercolor artist is to "work with it" not "control it".

 I have been working on a commission piece for the past two weeks. It was a very fun, challenging but rewarding experience. I thought it would be fun to share my process here with you.