Pushing Through Frustrations & Challenges in Watercolor Painting
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 ต.ค. 2024
- Painting is not always a smooth relaxing experience. Sometimes its fraught with frustrations and hard to solve challenges. Being patient and keeping a positive attitude towards learning from those challenges will help you get through it.
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It’s SO EASY to overwork and get muddy. And I’m realizing that some of my favorite colors in oil are my worst enemies in watercolor. Yellow ochre, I’m talking about you!
I'm sure many people have already said this but I really like this very colorful painting. A new idea to 'Don't throw it away. It's still watercolor paper.' will not go unheeded. Thanks.
The gouache trick! Yes! I’m ordinary today! Thank you! Great save!
Love the distant trees and trunks that add believable detail.
Thank you for sharing frustrations, sense of getting it wrong, and pushing through anyway. Great lesson. And when watercolor is totally dry, if I don’t want to throw away the work, I can gesso over the whole thing and create a new painting. Which amazes me frankly. Yay for gesso.
It's so important that you did this. Most beginners are clueless how to fix our mistakes, and at the beginning there are a lot of mistakes.To hear problems from a professional has such an impact. Thank you.
Showing problem solving is so valuable. It frees us from the perfection that is debilitating.
I really appreciate you sharing how you were challenged and how you fixed things. The finished painting is very pretty!
Those trees are just beautiful.
After a 20 absence from doing any form of art I thankfully started drawing again last year. Well now I've started to attempt watercolor. Its only been about 3 weeks. And I didn't now about cotton verses pulp paper. Needless to say I'm binging all of your material. You are a great artist and a wonderful teacher. I got my arches and am ready to go. Thanks for this episode!
Ahh I can't focus on work. LOL. I start one video and it leads to another.. and then another. I keep learning. You rock Steve!
Of my hundreds of TH-cam subscriptions you are my ABSOLUTE favorite. I enjoy your intros and humor (like Reece looking outside at the snow). You brighten my day but even more I learn so very much from your videos!!!! Thank you so much!
This turned out beautiful!
I do believe that most if not all paintings can go through an "ugly duckling" phase until more contrasts, layers etc. are added. Thanks for encouraging everyone to stick with it and appreciate the process not just the end result.
Your failures would be my greatest success, love your art and TH-cam channel
What a joy to watch and LEARN! I'm a beginner...i have not painted a painting yet, still just getting to know color theory, color, mixing colors, ....all the baby beginner stuff. I want to try to paint this. TY STEVE!!!!
I really like how it turned out.
This is one of my favorite vids! Its like "Bob Ross goes dark..." it was very useful to hear how you cope with a painting gone bad...which, looks beautiful to me. The use of white gouache at the end was a great tip.
This was really timely for me to run across as I am working on an old silo barn with trees at the moment and was about ready to give up. So tomorrow I will go back and see what if anything I can salvage. Thanks Steve for the words of encouragement!
Best of luck!
WOW!!! Lovely 👍😊 real enjoyed hearing the internal monologue. Excellent tips.
I know you said you didn't like the bright colour on the wall facing us, but I loved it. That bright orangey colour was nicely off-set by the dark foliage around. And if it wasn't as bright the bright green tree would have stolen the show. So true what you said about not over-detailing brick, it's all about suggestion.
Overall this came out very well! I learned so much from seeing your process and seeing how you fixed things. What I love about your style is that you add extreme detail in some areas, while leaving others loose.
Wow, you really did save it. Thanks for the lesson/example/reminder. I find sketching on location, for example at a burger joint etc, helps you learn to deal with things that aren't turning out exactly perfect. Just go with it, adapt to what direction it's going, see what it might end up being.
This was awesome! Knowing that an artist of your high calibre shares similar frustrations was so reassuring. But seeing how you were able to persevere with the painting and demonstrating some tips on how you saved it was great. Thank you! Not often do artists share their "errors" and I really appreciate that you do.
This is beautiful. You’re way too critical of your work. I learned so much. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks! Just understand, critical analysis is important for me as a professional. It's how I improve!
Thank you for this,I finished a piece that I thought was ruined but I found that using this as a learning oprutunity and relaxed and was able to salvage it ,although not the best or something I'd share to my friends ,I learned to utilize my white ,which I've hardly used ,thanks for your channel I've progressed beyond my expectations
Thank you for this one. Pushing through is important. Love the finished piece.
I great way to show how to turn things around from something that wasn't looking so great to a wonderful picture good enough for framing. Cheers.
I like it!! I agree that watercolor can be frustrating and unforgiving! I don’t have a whole lot of access to art materials (specifically masking fluid or gouache) so watercolor has been a particular pain in the butt for me. I learned to paint starting from digital, then charcoal, pastels and acrylics. Strange order, but I picked up habits that are disastrous and opposite in watercolor painting. For some reason though, I’m a sucker for challenges and I haven’t given up on watercolors. I’d like to see more videos on how you save paintings! Thank you for the vid!
Oh my gosh, I love your picture. It's wonderful.
Nice. I did enjoy it. Pressing through is an important lesson, indeed!
I love when you tell how, even as a professional artist, you have had to do a lot of rescues, so I don't feel bad when I have to do them. Also, I love how you don't cover up do-overs, but let us watch and learn from them.
I appreciate your encouragement to just "push through", and to hear that even professionals like yourself get frustrated.
Steve, my Arches papers and Mr. Graham paint, also brushes you suggested purchasing just arrived !
Now it's time to return to my favorite watercolor painter on youtube !!!
Cheers from Brazil !!! :)
I think it turned out great. Thanks for being so frank.
I am very thankful that you took the time to show your failures as well as how to overcome them and learn from them. Very informative and I think you came out with a good piece!
Those tree trunks up front are great. I gotta practice that.
Fear, and pushing through, has been such a topic of my life this past few months.
It was a hard, but freeing when I learned the lesson that the only way to get past fear is to move through it.
hi from Ireland . Just started painting . Thanks for being authentic. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and skill in an authentic manner. Felt really connected with you.Learnt a lot as l observed you paint . Thank you.
What a great painting. Dana
I have to agree with Amal Bensaleh- you're failures would also be my greatest successes. I think this one is stunning. Love all your painting- you make it look so darn easy! You've been a great help to me( as a beginner) Thank you Steve.
Thanks! Appreciate the kind comment.
Hm, myself, I think the ability to salvage a crashed painting is an aspect of professionalism, and demonstrates a high level of craftsmanship. Sticking with it through the rough patches til you get it just right is like the artists version of endurance. Keeping your head and trusting your training, experience, and your work process when you can't see your way out -- finding a way to find your way when the choices are not clear; tbat makes you the guy that can handle the really hard stuff.
I will always appreciate an artist's video of them thoughtfully critiquing what they are doing as they work. Thank you for sharing all the valuable little thought-nuggets
Thank you so much for this channel. I so enjoy the videos, and always find them very useful. Greetings to you from Denmark 😘
Wonderful advice. Thank you for sharing this, allowing me to learn the value of the sometimes very frustrating process of learning through practice!
Great video! Thank you very much! I straggle with watercolors but it is always inspiring to watch your videos!
Steve I only wish my allures look as good as this. Great explanation for a few issues I seem to have. Enjoy this beautiful day.
Oops. “failures”
I enjoyed this vid. Then I scrolled through your others. I’ve watched most of them at least once. After this one I looked at the one where you tell us that in order to maintain color luminosity/brilliance, one can create contour by using the base color or analogous colors. I have been struggling with the use of complementary colors or Payne’s gray/neutral tint with “disappointing” results. Today the lightbulb went on! I got it! Thank you!
Excellent! Always glad to hear that!
Thank you Steve!
Interesting video. And, I do so appreciate your raw honesty.
I am grateful also. I find trees my biggest hangup. I hate my trees. I just got a lot out of that painting process as I have created paintings that I loved until I added or finished the trees. Anyway I found this a big help.
Very interesting and most practical.Thank you for your demo.
Amazing & inspiring! I learn many things from each video - thank you
Acceptable? That painting is absolutely beautiful! I'll take any mistake paintings you feel you make. You should see "my" frustration paintings. But I'm learning through your videos and I appreciate your instructions. And I love your humor. And I just love trees and leaves and apples!
I do understand. I've been there believe me. My frustrations now come with unmet expectations and putting pressure on myself to achieve certain results.
I LOVE your work and ideas!!! INSPIRED
Loved all the demonstration, thank you.
Nice save, Steve. I find myself giving up on a painting due to trying to "fix" a particular element which leads to overworking. Thanks for the reminder to keep going on the painting as a whole to use as a learning experience.
Great video! Thank you! Especially for the tips about focusing on one area and practicing techniques even if the rest of the picture may be a loss. Every brush stroke is a learning experience.
Hello from North Carolina! We only got snow that didn't stick.. BOOO. Anyway...this painting, in the end, turned out really nice! In my watercolor painting, I tend to want to give up in the middle of a painting that doesn't turn out like I had hoped. My friends always tell me that I am way to hard on myself. This video has given me a new mindset to press on regardless of the challenges that may "go wrong". This painting is proof that it is worth it to keep going. Thanks, and Merry Christmas to ya!
I'm going through the same frustrations at the moment but not with a painting as complexd as yours, just the shading of leaves. But its good to know confirmed artists like you go through the same challenges! Thanks so much for this, its very encouraging.
Love your tips n how you make it friendly n doable
Not only are you an amazing and talented artist, but you are a very gifted teacher as well. Love your work and your teaching process. Thank you and God bless you.
Thank you. This had helped with overcoming a big slump.
I like to hear your thoughts as you paint. It helps to understand the process
I love this guy!
This video comes at a very propitious time as I have been struggling recently. I have not been well and have been discouraged with my recent attempts. Seeing a professional work through difficulties has motivated me to persevere.
Excellent Diana. Glad to hear it!
Great video and so informative. Love the Bible verses at the end of the videos - inspiring.
The acrylic guache trick is genious! Thanks for the video.
Thanks for this very good video. I often get disgruntled with a painting and end up throwing it out. I'm going to try harder next time that happens.
This was very helpful, knowing that it is possible to find a way around is or look like a mistake, does help a lot.
Again another amazing painting!!
Just getting back into watercolor painting after years of raising my children. You have a wonderful, easy way of teaching that is non-pressured and reassuring at the same time. Really appreciate the tips and the refreshing honesty at what you, an artist of 30 years, view as mistakes and then how you go about fixing them. It definitely gives me the feeling that I will be able to fix my mistakes...certainly not to your level, but increasingly so over lots of practice. Your videos make me even more excited that I have decided to get my old Rembrandt Watercolour Paints and Brushes out again. Watercolor really is a fantastic art form and I feel like a kid again with excitement. Thank you Steve!!
Yay! Thanks for that encouragement for me also!
Well deserved!! :D
"Failure is a teacher." Well put. Needed to hear that after a recent watercolor debacle. I'll quote you in my art fb group and post a link to this video.
I so enjoy learning from you your lesson on trees is very helpful thank you from Austrlia
13:58 Hi glasses!
I love how you problem solve, and how you chose when to fix things and when to hide them. it speaks volumes about your maturity and experience in painting.
You are the boss, Steve ! Everything you impart is a jewel of art knowledge. Thank-you for sharing!
This was very useful! As a beginner I often feel like I'm just pushing through my paintings. Only once have I given up and not completed it. So it's nice to hear your insights on this, and sort of comforting that it still happens to more experienced artists. I think you did a great job salvaging it, and I took some great tips out of it.
Dear Mr. Mitchell,
A big Thumbs Up for you and for this "learning/teaching video".
You are so humble and yet courageous to admit that you still face some frustrating moments given your long history in drawing and illustrating and your profound expertise in the watercolor medium. This is a boost for all beginners - or the ones who fear doing mistakes and stumble with ways for fixing them. I left behind many ruined pieces and neglected to finish or to correct some many others. It was something both depressing and baffling.
Your finished piece is marvelous. You might not be so happy with the result if you were expecting something different, but nevertheless, I loved it. Sometimes a few mistakes can lead to an unexpected thing.
It was very useful to know how you envision painting the house. I have never heard or read this important tip before - about picking up the details that a naked-eye might capture and not detailing everything. I will try this method as the result of your procedure is strictly amazing. Another important tip was using White Acrylic Wash. I would have thought of mixing up some white acrylic and watercolor pigments, but of course, it would have messed the whole idea. I will try your way, as well.
Thank you for sharing this experience.
Thank you for your instructional tips.
All the good luck with whatever you endeavor.
J.
Your techniques are helping me improve so much. I never throw out something that goes wrong and I always find a way to revamp it into something else. Sometimes a landscape gone wrong is changed into an abstract design.
Sometimes, when all else fails, I find, cut up, it can make nice bookmarks. I've done that to a few. For some reason, people tend to think they are great, hand painted gifts. Go figure.
Great lesson! One of the things I really like about painting is the constant problem solving. It helped me a long time ago when one of my profs told me that painting is always a journey without a destination. In other words you don't paint 20 paintings and from then on do perfect paintings the rest of your life. Enjoy the journey!
Really appreciate the time you take to help other artists. I learned from this too. Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Merry Christmas!
Just like life............ya gotta push on.... Thanks for sharing.
It’s gorgeous
Great tips and very inspiring thank you
Such a valuable lesson for watercolor beginners like myself. Thanks Steve!
Thank you for uploading this and doing an explanation of the thought process of working through the rough patches and solving the issues that come up. It's so important for non-artists to know and artists to remember that a piece of art doesn't come fully formed from start to finish. It isn't without struggle, but it isn't impossible to push through and get to a result.
Well said, thanks!
I absolutely love this painting!
Thank you for this video, it's a great inspiration for me. Especially when you encourage us to "press through" with a painting we think is rubbish, if only for the practice. Usually I just get fed up. Your comments on your process are really helpful too.
I so needed this today I have been struggling with a painting for several months. Just wanted to give up. Tomorrow I will get right back at it!
Honestly I'm grateful for all the challenges you worked through, for all of the insight you've shared on this video. I think your intuition was spot on for an educational video that is definitely a HUGE help for me and countless others. Thank you!!
So glad to hear that. I was hoping it would be!
Hi Steve, I think it looks great, not overworked at all! Thanks for sharing 😃
One of the best tutorials I have learned from Thank you!
Steve, I would love to have your ‘failures’! A beautiful painting. Thanks for the tips.
Thanks, Steve. Since you taught me so much about using gouache, that Japanese white ink, and the other Bleed-proof white that I use, plus now I have Daniel Smith's watercolor ground, I rarely have to throw away a painting. Oh, I forgot to mention your video on scrubbing and erasing and lifting with water. I have learned so much about correcting mistakes, I try to push through the frustrations and use each mistake as a learning experience. That is thanks to you!
Glad to hear it Maryan!
very nice. and if it's a save...wow.
Wow, that looks fantastic! You do amazing work!
This was really helpful, as I was in a slump with a painting, and was wondering IF it was going to be salvaged or finish up as a re-cover and paint over with medium and do it again.
I think there comes a point in all painting where I wonder what I'm going to achieve with this mess before me.
It's then that my teacher will say - 'Just ignore what you've already done, and concentrate on what you want it to be.
You will get there!'
You have very admirably just demonstrated the same idea, and with great results.
As for the frustration and challenges - it's all a part of watercolor painting and learning.
Thanks and have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!
I so appreciate your teaching. I'm just learning and really love this video!
Hi Steve, Great video! I find it very helpful when you describe what you are planning then watch how you go about achieving that - even if things don't go according to plan :-) Like how you use different picture exposures to "see" the subject in a different light. I have been studying highlights, form shadows and cast shadows on objects to be able to see them more easily. Found that taking a picture and looking at the image in the paint.net program while playing with the various controls (contrast, brightness etc.) to be enlightening (pun intended). Please keep the videos coming!! Cheers! Hank
I really enjoyed seeing how you painted
Thank you so much, really helpful tips 🎀
Thank you so much for this video! I'm learning lots with every one of your demos. I may soon even begin to think I may be able to paint!