I love painting trees but spent 3 months trying to paint a weeping willow and failed. I stopped painting for 5 years. Started again recently looked through all my watercolour books and couldn’t find any of my favourite artists painting a weeping willow so they must be difficult. I then went through my failed pile which is pretty big and looked at my weeping willows and I was about 80% in the right place with them. I’d obviously got into a poor and negative mindset. Listening to this video has been very enlightening. Thank you.
I often find that there is a part of most paintings that is ok and so I cut that bit out and frame it. Painting is like fishing or photography - you're always looking for a bigger catch or the dream shot; it's all part of the fun. I like the idea of the practice calendar.
I have just started painting because my wife won't let me build a dark room... Photography and the darkroom taught me to get used to failure... lol. Taken the Monet approach. I got a few subjects and paint them over and over and compare. Some days I am happy, other days sad, other days angry. Interesting journey.
A much-needed video. Thanks, Matt. I've started painting on the backs of all my failures. Of course, sometimes these amount to another failure... but, wait for it, a better class of failure! And when they work, it's heartening to turn over and look at the 'failed' side and realize just how far you have come. Make your mistakes with confidence, I say!
it's so true, sometimes I am so disappointed and want to give up but then I tell myself to keep going and the next thing I know, I create a painting I am happy with. We all just have to keep painting !
The reject piles of artists and artesans are interesting.Not everyone sees the work there as failures. Sometimes the painting that is last to get framed (perhaps out of pity) is the first to sell. And lot of times the work looks better after a while. And worst case... you learn. As I progress I find myself more particular about the materials I use. Most importantly the paper. Not all papers work for all types of painting. I find that the texture and sizing need to meet with the style and subject matter. I use many types of paper but I have to choose according to what I am painting.
You are so right. Many times I will stop, breath, go back the next day and realize it’s not as ugly as I thought. I am gentle with myself. I take those “failed” examples and write on the back what things I liked and what things I could improve on. And I use those for reference for the next one. Thank You.
Brilliant advice. Thank you for showing your “ failed” pile. Wow that represents an enormous amount of effort, give yourself credit for that. I really heard you when you talked about the social media showing only success which can equate to all facets of this good and bad thing we have created with it ( social media). As a society we only seem to applaud success and forget to applaud effort. Reward seems to be our only motivation. I prefer what you said. Show up and do the work and THAT is the reward. I have shared this with a few people so I hope your words touch them too. Thank you.
Whenever I struggle in watercolour I welcome the difficulties as part of the painting process. And yes my pile of unfinished watercolour paintings is always present 😀 and I still cant stop painting… 🙏🌸
thank you for the reality!!! finally :) I so appreciate the honesty. Social media is a façade (dishonest) and makes us feel like continues failures. We never measure up. We need to see the errors, the struggles, the time over time attempts. The artists who do not reveal this are doing themselves an injustice. The true respect for them, that they gain from the viewer, comes from seeing their discipline and how they try and try again, until they succeed.
Thanks for this talk, I'm starting out, and met some frustration, yet, I'm soldiering on, I firmly believe the only way to get better is to sit and paint. Every painting is teaching something new.
My great discovery along with your channel is this: I can listen to your commentary while performing my “chores” not having to look and study other time consuming videos! Thus freeing up my study and painting time😄. All of your motivation tips I know but hearing again just rejuvenates my goals. Please do not stop. Your voice and down to earth practically is inspiring. Thanks.
Boy am I glad I watched this video! I have a pile of failed paintings and thought it was just me. It gets frustrating, but I’m glad to know that I am not alone. Thank you!
What a lovely and important video, inspiring, encouraging and with some good tips. The watercolour journey can represents life's journey - we never stop learning and need to keep practicing to find the joy. If you find the joy of life in watercolour then every painting is a success. ❤
Thank you for this valuable encouragement. It does boil down to ‘little and often’ and hard work. As a musician these principles apply just as much. Your point about detaching self worth from both failure or success probably the most important.🌈🌹
Brilliant Matt, you speak for us all, all of us who may be so self-critical, and may I add, impatient. Repeating that the journey never ends will perhaps give us permission to be kind to ourselves and continue with our quest to create the magic we seek. Thank you!
This is so encouraging! I had self-doubts along the way, and seeing your pile of unsuccessful paintings showed me that even successful artists have their bad days. You are the first master who showed his "failures" this way, and it is much appreciated. Now I am learning to look at my every painting as a learning step.
Don't feel down. You just haven't had proper instruction or don't have the right answer to your problem. What other medium is so unforgiving? Keep going.
Wow, perfectly said, Matthew. I need to keep this video on a constant loop in my studio. Great encouragement and sanity when frustration overwhelms effort.
I love the idea of a practice calendar. I do intuitively do this because I try to do a little painting often. Nonetheless, I do look at my paintings (and I'm a beginner) and feel a tad disappointed with the outcome. "It's a bit messy", "I don't like that leaf", "that doesn't look how I expected and not in a good way", "how the heck does she manage to get such a loose, fresh painting". This is great advice.
I like what you say and honor your words. I don't put my learning curves in a pile. I find even the worst paintings can remind me of where I started and where I am headed. And if you don't have bad paintings to compare with the good, how would you know when you have a good one. Art is also very subjective to personal taste. Some days I am feeling down and questioning my self-worth don't always know if it is my work or my attitude about myself. Very often I do find myself being overcritical and unhappy with my art and have to walk away and come back as you suggest. I do think we do expect to be able to paint like pros. And don't really see the hours and practice they have applied to the craft. I have learned to be gentle with myself and it is ok to fail, but not ok to give up because of those failures. Thanks for bringing this subject up and being genuine and honest about your ability to keep at it and celebrate your success.
Ha! So true. I tend to do this in all aspects of my life. And encourage others to do so when they think of me ;-) Set the bar low so they'll be impressed whenever I manage to pull anything off.
Your video really hit home with me. I appreciate your intelligent, inspirational and encouraging message. Your gentle but candid approach is invaluable! Thank you for sharing this. Saving this one!
Thanks Matt! I create so many utter failures and get so down about "wasting" the hours, days, weeks and sometimes months that went into them. But then I remember that the time was only wasted if I didn't learn and grow from them. If I allow it to make me give up then it WOULD be wasted time. I definitely struggle with comparing myself to others on Instagram, and hence don't log on very often any more. Everything you discussed seems to describe me 🤨 Great advice and nice to know other have the same/similar struggles. 🙏
So glad this was helpful for you. The struggle never goes away completely, I don’t think. But we can become more mindful of our thoughts and how they can help or harms us. Best of luck to you!
Thank you for sharing what you have learned on your journey as an artist! This is just what I needed to hear to start 2022. . Looking forward to watching more of your videos. Happy New Year!
I don't know how I "missed" your channel until today! Thanks ever so much for the sage advice. Once I took a workshop with the famous (in the US, anyway) watercolorist Tony Couch, and he stated, "I paint so I can learn to paint."
thank u for these great words, it's inspiring me so much and now im not afraid of failing, because u said if ure painting now, ure doing a small step to be an artist, thanks, Matthew!
It's really good video to know artist's sincere inside. I'm not artist but I want to do something helpful for the artist because all beautiful things own their positive power and it's the artist who creates this kind of things. Thank you, your words touch me so. ❤️
Beautifully talked. I believe it is applied to anything we do. There might be better outcome but never best or perfect. So as you have said, we can go on to improvement.
Since I picked up a brush for the first time late last August there has only been one day I have not painted anything simply because there was just too much going on. I paint every single day simply because I love it. I love putting different colors to paper and watch what will happen, how they will play together and what the end result will be. I guess I am an artist because I create art, but I know I will never be an artist in the sense that it will become my full time profession (I actually love the job I have 🙂). Each time paint and water hit the paper I learn something new about watercolor and I am more in awe of it. I guess I am blessed that I am not super self critical of the outcomes of my art creation, maybe because I don't post anything on social media and never will, maybe because I love the process too much to worry about the outcome, maybe because I don't have to rely on art paying my bills, or maybe because I just don't give a crap what anyone thinks about my creations. I proudly display them on my walls and don't give one hoot about whether anyone thinks I am the next Seago or not. I paint because I love it and if I learn to paint well while doing it, the better 🙂. Matt, your paintings are all beautiful and inspirational and your style is something I both admire and aspire to. Thank you for both sharing your painting knowledge and your beautiful finished pieces here and on other social media platforms. Both your style and your attitude are absolutely amazing and something many look up to!
Thank You…. I needed this as I’ve found I am becoming discouraged and even depressed that my vision for myself is not measuring up… I am either a great artist or not even a mediocre artist, it would is either black or white in my mind… Personality trait I suppose but not one that is kind to myself…☹️
That pile was very inspiring. I have the same pile (although I put the 'okay' ones in there too) and was just looking at it before I clicked this video. So thanks for that.
Matthew, I waited to watch this video until I could really listen. Such great advice. What a good lesson to share with us. I really appreciate your words of wisdom. Sincerely, Marla p.s. i still wish I could see the fails, lol.
Thanks for talking about this. I often wonder if successful artist, professional artist, are pulling off hit after hit. The viewer rarely knows the reality of the final shown image. Personally I'm at a very exciting place in my journey, where I'm far from good, but I've got enough practice under my belt that I'm no longer intimidated out of trying to challenge myself. I accept that I'm not going to do my best the first time. In fact, I will often paint the same subject more than once because the learning curve is so steep right now. I'm having a terrific time with watercolor. It's the first thing I think about in the morning - I guess I'd even say I'm in love with it. So I've managed to view my 'failures' as success because I truly learn something every time. Working that creative muscle makes me better, indisputably. I guess what I do regret occasionally is not honoring my paper, my supplies. Because I value them (perhaps too much), I want to give my best, so not creating something I'm proud of can make me feel like I've wasted my supplies. My solace is in buying large quantities (which in turn makes the paper far less expensive) and knowing that sizing has a shelf life and to not use it and let it go to waste on the shelf would be far an insult. Again Matt, thank you for your perspective and food for thought.
I saw this video early in my watercolor journey, and it is never far from my mind (which is to say failed painting are never far from my reality, heh ). Anyhoo, just saw it pop up again, and figured I'd leave this comment to let you know your efforts aren't falling of deaf ears .
Thank you very much for your videos, they are very good. I am from the country of Chile and here it has cost me a lot to find a mentor. I am very happy to have found you, you are the best 🤗
Discouraging. Since we will never "arrive", continual practice towards some illusive "good enough" sabotages my motivation. Less emphasis on product and execution frees me to explore and enjoy mark-making.
Thank you Matt. Your insight is very helpful. I just usually spray water all over my failures and let the paint run and then throw the paper away. Maybe not too grown up but it is cathartic. LOL Happy holidays
I hear you!!! Personally I paint black all over my failed painting, wait for it to dry, tear it apart and throw it away!!! I know, like a 3 year old but hey :)
I've done this too -- spray it with water -- but then it starts looking much better and ends up being my best painting yet! Which tells you something about my other paintings... ;) I guess I just like abstract.
Good message. Pro tip: If a painting has totally failed and you don't like the way you feel when you look at it, ALWAYS use the back of the paper! Don't waste expensive watercolor paper, some will say the back is a different texture or it doesn't have the proper sizing. But don't worry about that, just use the back of the paper. You will soon agree..
Good video. Personally i fail much much less than other people because before i paint i do the painting in my mind few times and have a plan. Still watercolor is tough medium and i do also have failures albeit not as much as many people.
Mathew you talk sence, reminds me of myself before the dreded LOCKDOWN,your hints ive been teaching and telling exactly what youve said hear, BUT its reminded what i was forgeting ,due to this foggy period weve been going threw, my art friends are giving up because of it and how they are feeling ,but im glad ive been reminded by you ,,,thank you,il spread the word ,regards William
Wise words, Matthew. I have this pithy saying...no failed watercolor is completely worthless...you can always paint on the other side! Which I do by the way. I often cut them smaller and use the backsides for warm up drills. WC paper isn't cheap and I'd rather practice on real cotton rag wc paper than wood pulp paper. I like the idea of waiting to finish like Andy E does; will try that.
Fırçamın ucunda aradığımı bulana kadar yola devam etmeye niyet ettim.evet çok yer kaplıyor yaptıklarım ama bunlar benim yolculığumun kilometre taşları. Teşekkürler böyle bir konuya değindiğiniz için.
This is such a helpful and motivating video Matthew, thank you. I’m going to start a painting calendar today, I’ve read somewhere, I think it was by James Clear that Jerry Seinfeld practiced writing jokes every day, and crosses it off his wall calendar, that’s how one improves and stays sharp, so this practice can apply to all areas of life.
@@learntopaintwatercolor I used to be very uptight and self-critical. Now I just study my failed painting with fresh eyes and use it as part of the learning curve.
Thank you, very useful advice and suggestions, especially the calendar one. By the way, I chop up my really badly failed paintings and use them to make handmade paper.