Thank you for your honesty Jenna. What most students NEVER see is all the failed attempts of their teachers before their final work is revealed. Some of the best painters in history make small scale “studies” of their paintings first before committing to the final piece. The study (And there may be several) is where any mistakes are massaged out and strengths are played up. Maybe cropping down closer to the subject is done at this stage, a different proportion surface, more contrast, refining your color choices etc, etc. This is actually the fun part for me because I get to work things out with no one seeing. It feels like play time. So loosen up, put on the music or a podcast, practice your studies and have fun.
Posted above my desk: "Failure is the only way forward." I approach each new painting as a learning experience, not the creation of a masterpiece. This helps a lot!
Hey Jenna, I am guilty of ALL the things and exhaled when I realised that even you do these too! Love, love, love your florals and will (when I can afford it) uptake your Art Within courses to free up and find my own style. Thanks for this video. Hugs ❤
Hullo Jenna, I do enjoy watching your videos and believe they are never a waste of time, Thank You! I know it is so hard to maintain a fresh perspective and continuing to be open to new subjects, you do this so very well. Please keep going just as you are and we will keep watching. Until next time/video . . .
The fear thing is VERY real for me. I get paralyzed before I can even start. Grew up w perfectionist mother & it's soooo hard to accept mistakes when I make them, even the ones that only matter to me. So I fear to start.
But you are posting about this so there must somewhere between an impulse to create ? I took have had vicious critics in the past but at 64 now I know they are long gone . There are no painting police . I want to paint more than I am scared of errors .
I am like that too so now I just call them all practice and I plan that I will probably do it twice. If I am happy with it the first time then it’s a win!
Ohhh, I have to say, I like your title and thumbnail for this! I see so many titles on TH-cam that include big red X marks and a person with a judgy expression, and a title that comes off feeling like “Are YOU making these near unforgivable and/or oh-so-obvious mistakes?!” Even if the tone of the video is actually great, I often find those kinds of thumbnails off putting. I understand it can help get clicks, but it feels like it does so on a negative basis. I clicked on this because it sounded informative rather than playing on the viewer’s fear of not being good enough. Having now watched the video, as a fellow teacher, I also want to say well done normalizing mistakes we all make so beginners know that even experienced painters can struggle with these things, and great job too offering ideas in this video for ways to improve in these areas.
Hi Jenna, I love your art and I I’ve learnt a lot from you. I find that when I post my watercolours on Facebook I sell quite a few, however, I never do direct copies of anything, I take what I have learnt and create my own art. I have never had the reaction I’ve had today. I painted a page full of sweet peas and so many people have said it would make a great fabric for silk scarves, bedding curtains etc. I’ve taken it off my page because I thought if it’s that good I don’t want it to be stolen. Can you tell me how I approach this, I understand your designs are used for wedding stationary! Thanks in advance. X
I'd like to complement your content and offer pointers to improve your videos. Your 4 lecture points were great, but some visuals would be good, such as showing examples of the mistakes. Even professors use white boards or slides, as just lecturing in a monotone would boring. Also, you are a beautiful woman. Get the hair out of your face (curl back, clip/ barrette, or new style without bangs or shorter, smaller amount of bangs that don't constantly cover your eyes and face). Use an iron on your boyfriend's shirt pockets, or better yet wear a shirt that's more attractive and your size. You are intelligent, talented and a good speaker, but video presentation is subpar simply due to visuals whereas actual content is great.
Thank you for your honesty Jenna. What most students NEVER see is all the failed attempts of their teachers before their final work is revealed.
Some of the best painters in history make small scale “studies” of their paintings first before committing to the final piece. The study (And there may be several) is where any mistakes are massaged out and strengths are played up. Maybe cropping down closer to the subject is done at this stage, a different proportion surface, more contrast, refining your color choices etc, etc. This is actually the fun part for me because I get to work things out with no one seeing. It feels like play time.
So loosen up, put on the music or a podcast, practice your studies and have fun.
Posted above my desk: "Failure is the only way forward." I approach each new painting as a learning experience, not the creation of a masterpiece. This helps a lot!
Love this completely agree
Thanks :)
Fantastic information. Wow. Thank you, Jenna. Warm wishes from Minnesota! ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you, Jenna. Hit the nail on my head!❤️🦋
Hey Jenna, I am guilty of ALL the things and exhaled when I realised that even you do these too! Love, love, love your florals and will (when I can afford it) uptake your Art Within courses to free up and find my own style. Thanks for this video. Hugs ❤
Hullo Jenna, I do enjoy watching your videos and believe they are never a waste of time, Thank You! I know it is so hard to maintain a fresh perspective and continuing to be open to new subjects, you do this so very well. Please keep going just as you are and we will keep watching. Until next time/video . . .
The fear thing is VERY real for me. I get paralyzed before I can even start. Grew up w perfectionist mother & it's soooo hard to accept mistakes when I make them, even the ones that only matter to me. So I fear to start.
But you are posting about this so there must somewhere between an impulse to create ? I took have had vicious critics in the past but at 64 now I know they are long gone . There are no painting police . I want to paint more than I am scared of errors .
Your videos are so helpful! Thank you for remembering the struggles of new artists, both mentally and technically.❤
Absolutely afraid to make mistakes! I can get a painting to a certain point and then I FREEZE, because I am afraid of ruining it.
I am like that too so now I just call them all practice and I plan that I will probably do it twice. If I am happy with it the first time then it’s a win!
You called it perfectly. This is exactly how I feel.
This is me! I FREEZE and then I'm like, whatever and overwork it. I'm trying to remember when I freeze that's my brain trying to say, "take a break!"
All of this is SPOT ON!! Thank you.
Thank you always good to be reminded👏
Ohhh, I have to say, I like your title and thumbnail for this! I see so many titles on TH-cam that include big red X marks and a person with a judgy expression, and a title that comes off feeling like “Are YOU making these near unforgivable and/or oh-so-obvious mistakes?!” Even if the tone of the video is actually great, I often find those kinds of thumbnails off putting. I understand it can help get clicks, but it feels like it does so on a negative basis. I clicked on this because it sounded informative rather than playing on the viewer’s fear of not being good enough. Having now watched the video, as a fellow teacher, I also want to say well done normalizing mistakes we all make so beginners know that even experienced painters can struggle with these things, and great job too offering ideas in this video for ways to improve in these areas.
Very informative. Thank you. ❤
This is so fascinating ☺☺
Hi Jenna, I love your art and I I’ve learnt a lot from you. I find that when I post my watercolours on Facebook I sell quite a few, however, I never do direct copies of anything, I take what I have learnt and create my own art. I have never had the reaction I’ve had today. I painted a page full of sweet peas and so many people have said it would make a great fabric for silk scarves, bedding curtains etc. I’ve taken it off my page because I thought if it’s that good I don’t want it to be stolen. Can you tell me how I approach this, I understand your designs are used for wedding stationary! Thanks in advance. X
Love this!
Take a break and let the watercolor elves work on it. Amazing results.
Overworking... Uggg. 😮💨
I'd like to complement your content and offer pointers to improve your videos. Your 4 lecture points were great, but some visuals would be good, such as showing examples of the mistakes. Even professors use white boards or slides, as just lecturing in a monotone would boring. Also, you are a beautiful woman. Get the hair out of your face (curl back, clip/ barrette, or new style without bangs or shorter, smaller amount of bangs that don't constantly cover your eyes and face). Use an iron on your boyfriend's shirt pockets, or better yet wear a shirt that's more attractive and your size. You are intelligent, talented and a good speaker, but video presentation is subpar simply due to visuals whereas actual content is great.