u/EmilyTeachesArt

Been teaching watercolor for almost 10 years and the students who grow fastest aren’t always the most talented — they’re the ones who build good habits early.

Here’s what I actually see make a difference:

1. Consistency beats talent every time.

Short sessions 2–4x a week will outpace long sporadic marathons. Your hand and eye need repetition, not inspiration.

2. Experiment on purpose.

Pick one thing to test each session — a new brush, a limited palette, painting from life instead of a photo. Treat it like research, not a finished piece. You can’t mess up an experiment.

3. Use your supplies.

Hoarding nice paper and good paint is fear dressed up as frugality. You read me. Clock it. Use the good stuff. That’s how you learn what it actually does.

4. Your body matters.

Stretch your hands and shoulders. Drink water (not your rinse water — what? this happens!). Get outside. Painting is physical work and burnout is real.

5. Learn to see, not just copy.

Photos flatten light and color. Start noticing color temperature, shadow edges, and simplified shapes in real life. You’ll know it’s clicking when you look at something and instinctively start mixing it in your head. “Oh! Hey! I could paint that cloud! I’d probably mix cerulean with ultramarine…”

6. If you ever want to sell your work, start thinking about it early.

Pricing, basic record-keeping, simple communication with buyers. Not salesy — just organized. Most artists who struggle financially waited too long to learn the basics.

7. Take a class occasionally.

Trial and error alone is slow. A good teacher compresses years of mistakes into a single session. Workshops, local classes, even a focused online course — all of it helps. I just took one on pigment understanding and definitely I’m a better teacher because of it!

8. Find your people.

Even one other artist friend changes everything. Feedback, accountability, someone to share the frustration with. Local guilds, open studio nights, even this subreddit.

What’s something nobody told you when you were starting out?

For me it was number 5.

Happy to answer questions — see number 8. 😉