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Drawing (and Painting) Improve with Use of the Right Side of the Brain.

“Most people never learn to see well enough to draw,” according to Betty Edwards, author of Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain. And since painting requires the same perceptual skills as drawing, if you struggle with drawing, you’ll undoubtedly have similar troubles with painting. But you say, you have no interest in drawing? What can you do if you just want to get to the fun of your painting? Hmmm, I have a comment. 

PRACTICE A SKILL TO IMPROVE YOUR PAINTING.

Why avoid picking up skills that would boost your painting ability? If you’re serious about learning to paint well, let me suggest you read Betty Edwards’s Drawing On The Right Side of The Brain and make a serious effort to do the exercises that she suggests in the book. Learn and practice drawing! It’s more interesting than you think. Plus, drawing and painting are intimately connected, and as painter Ian Roberts says, “The quickest way to improve your paintings is to learn to draw.”

In her book, Edwards states that drawing is a skill that anyone who can read or write can learn fairly quickly. Her instruction and exercises are designed “for people who cannot draw at all, who feel that they have little or no talent for drawing, and who may feel doubtful that they could ever learn but who think they might like to learn to draw” (pp. 3-4).

WHAT I LEARNED.

I read Edwards’s book recently and was amazed at how much I learned. While I was aware that the tendency of artists to “name” the things they paint gets them into trouble when they try to “see” accurately, I wasn’t sure why or what specifically to do to stop “painting what you think you see.” After reading Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain, now I know what to do!

Hemispheres, page 29, Drawing On The Right Side On The Brain, 2012 Edition.

TWO BRAIN HEMISPHERES. TWO MODES OF THINKING.

Scientists have found that the human brain is constructed of two hemispheres, a right side and a left side. Each hemisphere, amazingly, has separate and somewhat different functions and capabilities. Research shows that both hemispheres are involved in high-level thinking, although each side is specialized for a different MODE of thinking. 

Study of brain injury has found that the language and language-related capabilities are mainly located in the brain’s LEFT hemisphere for most people. Edwards calls left-brain functions “L-mode.” L-mode ways of thinking are verbal, rational, linear, objective, analytic. 

In contrast, a second way of knowing is governed by the RIGHT hemisphere of the brain, “R-mode” thinking. In this mode, Edwards says “we can ‘see’ things in the mind’s eye,” thus seeing the big picture. R-mode thinking is intuitive, holistic, imaginative, nonlinear, non-verbal. “Using the right hemisphere we use metaphors and image solutions, and create new combinations of ideas and novel ways to approach problems” (pp. 36-37).

At times each hemisphere may share tasks with the other, with each half taking over whatever parts are suited to its style. However, one hemisphere can also take over and inhibit the other. Research suggests that the two halves can be at cross purposes, with one half insisting on taking over a task it thinks it can do “better” than the other half. The LEFT hemisphere, apparently, prefers NOT to give up tasks to the right hemisphere UNLESS it doesn’t like the task.  

Illusion, page 46, Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain, 2012 Edition.

RIGHT HEMISPHERE USE IMPROVES PAINTING.

Perceptual, painting, and drawing skills largely depend on RIGHT hemisphere function, so unless you can shift your thinking style to R-mode, you tend to gloss over visual information, see what you expect to see, and fail to observe or paint accurately what is before you. (This is why your painted “tree” may not look like a real tree: your verbal, language-based, left hemisphere brain is hindering your art. Your left-brain will actually CHANGE incoming visual information to fit its preconceptions without telling you. You will find that you CANNOT depend on what you THINK you’re seeing.)

HOW TO SHIFT MODES AND LEARN TO SEE?

Shifting modes of thinking is not automatic. There are ways, however, you can learn to shift your thinking from a left hemisphere, verbal emphasis to a right hemisphere, visual mode that will improve your art. In Drawing On The Right Side of The Brain, Betty Edwards will show you how to do just that. She teaches several techniques to help you shift your mode of thinking and learn to SEE.

Throughout Edwards’s book, you’ll learn the five simple perceptual (seeing) skills necessary for drawing (and painting), including: 

    * Perceiving Edges (where one ends, another begins),

    * Perceiving Spaces (what lies beside and beyond),

    * Perceiving Relationships (perspective and proportion),

    * Perceiving Light and Shadow (lights and darks),

    * Perceiving the Gestalt (seeing the whole and its parts).

You’ll also learn skills invaluable to accurate perception, creative thinking, and problem-solving. Being able to access the right hemisphere of your brain more easily will allow you to know yourself better, to access your intuition better, and to achieve “flow” in creative activity more easily ( where you lose track of time, your activity becomes intensely interesting, and you’re “in the zone”). Further, you may become better acquainted with your “self” — how you see and feel about things — so that you can make that awareness more visible in your paintings. 

Size misperception, page 172, Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain, 2012 Edition.

IN SUMMARY.

Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain by Betty Edwards is an excellent and valuable resource because it gives clear, practical advice for techniques you can practice to see better and improve your art. Borrow a copy from your local library, or buy the book from a nearby local bookstore, or online.

I must confess that I have owned Edwards’s book for many years but never read it until very recently because I assumed it was simply a how-to-draw book. I wasn’t fully aware that the same skills that apply to drawing also apply to other creative work; that connection just wasn’t clear to me, although it makes perfect sense. Now it is clear, thanks to this stimulating book. I wish Edwards had chosen a different title because the book opens perceptual doorways in many directions and is about much more than just drawing.

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See And Think Like An Artist!

Many beginning painters believe that to produce a good painting, all they need is mastery of technique.  However, it takes more than finely executed techniques to achieve an artistic result.  Artists need to OBSERVE CLOSELY what they intend to paint.  When you’re an artist, seeing isn’t simple.

Most of the time, we look at things with only part of our attention.  We see only what we expect to see.  We assign a verbal label to many images.  For instance, if what we are looking at is a “tree,” we may not look closely at what is really there.  We think we know what a tree looks like, because we’ve seen so many. This habit of not paying close attention saves time and keeps us moving along in our busy lives BUT prevents us from actually LOOKING at things.  In the everyday world, we quickly categorize in words and move on.

However, to paint or draw successfully, artists need to slow down so they can examine and study the shapes and values that make up an observed scene.  Artists try to avoid a verbal label for an object they may paint (such as as “tree,” “box,” “barn,” or “shoe”). Instead they train themselves to interpret what they see in a new, nonverbal way.  SEEING means focusing attention, looking at form – shapes, values, and colors – before beginning to paint.  Where is the light hitting the tree branches?  Can you see through the branches?  What is the overall shape of the tree?  Are branches straight, upturned, crooked, rough?  Is the tree lopsided or symmetrical?  Are the highlights a different color from the shadows?  What is the weather, and how does it affect the appearance of the vegetation?  By asking such questions and looking carefully, you can start to accurately paint what you SEE, NOT what you THINK you see.

“End Of The Day” Watercolor Painting.

Learning to draw helps you see, and being able to see will help you draw.  The perceptual skills and mental processes necessary for drawing are the same as those used when painting with a brush. In fact, artist Ian Roberts maintains that “The quickest way to improve your painting is to learn to draw.” Drawing trains the mind, hand, and eye to work together, without the distraction of color.  Further, drawing shapes and values helps you notice and decide what information you will need in order to actually paint your image. If you can’t see important shapes and values, you won’t be able to draw or paint well.

Many beginning artists avoid drawing altogether if they can, feeling that their drawing skills are not good.  (And they also may want to start painting right away, thinking that drawing is a distraction from the fun of painting.) However, you should not feel obliged to render precise drawings of what you wish to paint!  Do not let your concerns about drawing technique prevent you from trying to draw what is before you! 

One of the main purposes of drawing is to TRAIN yourself to see shapes and spaces more accurately – to “see” like an artist and take note of important details.  By keeping your drawing SIMPLE, just getting something down relatively quickly, you can allow yourself to SEE.  Look for BASIC SHAPES, and notice how they are connected.  Find larger shapes first; then fit smaller shapes into them.  More specifically, see the image as a whole; then concentrate on individual components.  That is, move from general information to the more specific. Distracting details are only decoration on the surface of these shapes, like frosting on a cake.

“Winter Is Coming” Watercolor Painting.

Concentrate; work slowly and intently.  Give yourself the time to observe and take in information before rushing to produce a finished image.  Ultimately, you should be able to perceive everything you see as totally abstract forms, values, lines, and color, as in a jigsaw puzzle.  Remember that shadows are shapes!  Reflections are shapes as well.  Backgrounds have shape and should act as frames for the subject of a painting.  Only when you can “see” in this way will you begin to be able to create the appearance of three-dimensional reality on your flat, two-dimensional paper.

Frederick Franck, artist and philosopher, says in The Zen of Seeing/Drawing:  “I have learned that what I have not drawn I have never really seen, and that when I start drawing an ordinary thing I realize how extraordinary it is, sheer miracle . . . .”  So do not hesitate to sketch and draw what you intend to paint.  (Or even make a small sketch daily, drawing everyday things or imaginary scenes that might be totally unrelated to anything you want to paint.) As you draw, you will notice important details and sharpen the mind/hand/eye coordination necessary to improve your painting skills.  Drawing is not something you can or cannot do; it is a skill that requires practice and time, just like any other ability (including painting).  What matters is not the quality of each finished drawing, but the continued practice of close observation.

“Flowing Forward” Watercolor Painting

Another benefit of drawing and sketching, in addition to developing necessary observational and perceptual skills, is that you will automatically begin to condense observed information into a more SIMPLIFIED FORMAT, and this ability will come through in your painting.  With a drawing you are more likely to end up with your focal point being prominent, because you concentrate mainly on that particular feature.  Your drawing will be simpler, easier on the eye of the viewer, as you collect only the information that counts and leave out extraneous material.

Strive to “see” the world in terms of shape, pattern, color, line, and texture.  Having observed carefully, take your time, and use the information to record what you see as skillfully as you can.  As you go about your daily life, you may be surprised that you begin to see details that you never noticed before, that you look at the world around you differently. Mastering these skills will undoubtedly improve the quality of your painting.  Your personal viewpoint or individual perception of the world will become more and more apparent as you interpret what you “see” and choose what to record and include in your drawing or painting.

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Find Confidence!

What comes first – behaving and thinking confidently or achieving some success?

Do you hope you’ll feel confident someday, perhaps when you’ve become more competent? When you’re more successful? When you’ve accomplished an important goal? 

Or maybe you believe that a person is either born confident, or is not?

Self-confident people trust in their own abilities, capacities, and judgments; they also believe that they can successfully face day to day challenges and demands. Confident people acknowledge their OWN achievements and efforts. They are their own cheerleaders, without needing validation from someone else. Being confident not only helps them to seek new opportunities but also to trust themselves more. Psychologist Abraham Maslow might suggest that individuals need inner self-respect as well as esteem from other people.

It seems to me that feelings of confidence can come and go, varying to some degree day to day. Perhaps confidence is not an all or nothing condition. As you develop skills and achieve success in one area of your life, confidence grows. In contrast, having an off day, making embarrassing mistakes, or encountering criticisms or put-downs can create self-doubt. Everyone has some insecurities. Thus, circumstances can have an effect on your self-esteem and viewpoint.   

     

‘Jug On The Butt’ry Shelf’ Watercolor.

ATTITUDE MATTERS.

Although external events may temporarily affect your sense of self, confidence actually comes from INSIDE YOU. Your thoughts and beliefs about yourself determine how confident you are. Even if you have a difficult and discouraging day, you can remain confident that tomorrow will be better and that you’ll be able to overcome any demands you might meet. 

Do you believe that you could never be a confident person? Do you feel that you don’t deserve to be confident? Perhaps you fear that if you appear confident, other people will feel you are showing off or acting like you are better than they are. Are you afraid others will be jealous if you behave confidently? In fact, most people like being around those with confidence. Your doubts about your own worth are just thoughts that are NOT necessarily justified! Maybe you deserve to be happy and confident. I’m suggesting strongly that you do and that believing you do can help you achieve confidence.

A belief or thought is in your head. In other words, feeling confidence is a frame of mind, an attitude. It is NOT solely dependent on how others see you, but on how you see yourself. You can choose to feel confident.

Therefore, since you can choose what to believe about yourself, you can also learn to develop the skills or practices that will help you sound, act, and feel more confident. How specifically? Let me share a few things that have helped me build up some confidence. Believe me, as a child, I was insecure in my abilities, shy, and hesitant.

1. First, be kind, patient, and understanding with yourself, as you would be to a good friend. Speak to yourself with COMPASSION, kindness, and encouragement. Take time to nurture and care for yourself. You deserve it. Don’t pressure yourself to be perfect or say you’re useless. Stop comparing yourself to others. (There will always be people who are both better AND worse at things than you.) The most important relationship you have in your life is with yourself, so make it a positive relationship.

2. Master your inner critic, the inner voice that expects you to be perfect and not make mistakes. That voice may say you have no talent or can’t do anything right. Don’t believe it! Self-criticism is shaming. NEGATIVE thoughts are toxic and discouraging. Instead, encourage yourself – you’re learning and improving every day.

‘Forsythia in Vase’ Watercolor.

3. Don’t automatically seek approval from others. Always seeking approval from outside yourself is an easy TRAP. Decide for yourself what you think about things.

4. Avoid dwelling on your mistakes; try to concentrate your thoughts on things you have actually done well, on strengths. You have undoubtedly accomplished much in your life. Emphasize your successes, and celebrate them in your own mind. You attract more of what you pay attention to. What you focus on will actually increase. As singer Johnny Cash said, “You build on failure, [but . . . ] use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget the mistakes, but you don’t dwell on it. You don’t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.”

Start to create a “SUCCESS SPIRAL” where one good outcome lays the groundwork for more and then more. The more you achieve success, the more you will come to expect it, the harder you will work, the more you will accomplish, and the more confident you will become. POSITIVE EXPECTATIONS will result. And what you expect, you get.

5. Set a goal to become more confident, and make your desire intentional and explicit. If you don’t know what you want, you can’t take action. When you state an INTENTION, however, you can then plan ways to take the specific actions that can improve your confidence. Building confidence is an ONGOING PROCESS of building skills and changing attitudes. It doesn’t just happen to you. You resolve; you make a promise to yourself to take action.

6. VISUALIZATION can be an effective catalyst for creating your confident life. IMAGINE having already achieved confidence. Describe to yourself in as much detail as possible what a wonderful confident life will be like for you. What would it mean to you if you achieve your desire? Close your eyes and imagine what it looks like, smells like, sounds like, feels like, how you would behave. The process of visualization directs your subconscious to be aware of the end goal you desire, making a positive outcome more likely. Imagine what you WANT to happen. Remember, what you focus on, you get more of.

‘Red and Green’ Watercolor.

ACTION STEPS.

So, how exactly? Having set your intention to become more confident, realize that goal is up to you to achieve. Set up a system or plan to help you take daily ACTIONS. Scientist Martin Seligman reminds us that a positive self-image by itself does not produce anything, but requires positive and productive behavior.

1. Perhaps you could practice talking in a confident manner by speaking clearly and in a straight forward voice, choosing words that a confident person would use. Speak up. You need to SOUND the part. Stop mumbling and apologizing – don’t talk like a hapless victim. For example, DON’T BLAME your difficulty on someone else (or make some other excuse). Admit your troubles, but step up, take responsibility, and say something to yourself like “I can figure this out!” Your words have power.

2. Train yourself to project confident BODY LANGUAGE. In other words, stand tall, take up room, make eye contact, smile and greet others. Feel your feet on the ground; keep your body relaxed and open.  Don’t slouch or hunch your shoulders; don’t cross your arms; don’t avoid eye contact; don’t fidget. Social scientist Amy Cuddy has shown that an individual’s posture does not just reflect that person’s level of confidence or insecurity. Posture sends messages to the brain that can actually change your internal chemistry and the way you FEEL. Furthermore, your appearance and presence affect how others see and treat you, and ultimately how you feel about yourself. When you are relaxed and confident, others will feel at ease around you.

3. Similarly, wear CLOTHES that make you feel good and are comfortable, clean, well-fitting, tasteful, and well taken care of. By creating the impression that you are confident and being proud of the way you look, you will begin to feel more confident.

4. In addition, EXERCISE can invigorate and strengthen you. It can boost your mood. It keeps you healthy. A strong and toned body certainly increases your confidence. Try to find a form of exercise you enjoy so you’ll be likely to continue.

5. Allow yourself to be a learner. Have the courage to take a risk and give yourself a CHALLENGE. When breaking out of your comfort zone and starting something new, you are expanding your own limitations. As you successfully complete difficult tasks, you learn, becoming more confident and more resilient. Easy wins usually don’t feel as satisfying.

6. Finally, offer your HELP to others. Doing so is generous. When you reach out to others in a positive way and share what you are learning, your confidence soars; when you encourage learning in others, you recognize what you already know. Teaching my watercolor classes gives me confidence. While I recognize and tell my students that I do not know everything, I offer plenty of ideas for them to try, having done a lot of experimenting myself. I have learned that I can always pivot and try something else if the painting does not go as planned.  While I focus on helping others, I worry less about my own inadequacies.

‘Colorful Tulips’ Watercolor.

SUMMARY.

Being confident is a frame of mind. It doesn’t just happen but takes work to build, develop, and maintain. Make the decision to become more confident, and commit to cultivating that attitude. It is NOT dependent solely on how others see you, but primarily on how you feel and what you believe about yourself. 

Choose and practice some of the specific steps mentioned above. Behave and think like the person you want to become. As social scientist Amy Cuddy says in her TED talk about confidence, “Fake it until you become it.” Remember, confidence is a skill that can be learned, an ongoing PROCESS. When you stumble, get side-tracked, or have a discouraging day, don’t give up. Take a breath, give yourself a short break (perhaps a treat), and REFOCUS on taking action to become more confident. Pick up where you left off, and persevere.

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How Do I Critique My Own Painting?

To critique a painting ( your own painting included), your aim is to see clearly both the STRENGTHS and WEAKNESSES in the art. What worked and was painted well? What could have been improved? Strive to maintain your objectivity in order to accomplish an impartial evaluation. Detachment can be elusive when you are looking at your own painting and are emotionally invested in your own work. Therefore, step away from your picture for a time and don’t try to critique as soon as you finish a painting. Your emotions can skew how clearly you see your work, so it helps to set the picture aside for a day or two.

‘Floating Christmas Tree’ Watercolor Painting.

AIM FOR OBJECTIVITY.

Remember, as you evaluate, consider the painting as a whole. Small mistakes don’t matter, so don’t be overly distracted by them. Set aside criticism of the little things and negative judgements of your abilities. Notice what you have done well, so that you can pinpoint what to continue doing. And note how your work could improve. Your aim is to problem-solve and work out constructive, specific ideas to try next time. If you have overworked a painting, it is not helpful to tell yourself, “This is awful!” Instead, for example, make a note to yourself to stop painting earlier (before overworking) and to stop fussing with tiny details hoping to fix every little mistake.

HOW DO YOU FEEL?

In order to critique your work, you need to know what you’re trying to accomplish in your painting — your goal. Your job as a painter is not to copy and paint exactly what you see, but to paint how your chosen subject makes you FEEL. When your painting makes you feel the same way you feel about your subject, then you have succeeded in capturing emotion and feeling in your painting.

‘Winter Sledding’ Watercolor Painting.

WHY?

All good paintings have a simple, clear idea behind them. WHY have you chosen to do this painting? What has attracted you to this image? Take the time to think about and experience what the image means to you. Does the scene suggest a sanctuary, relaxation, loneliness, or perhaps is it bustling and filled with people? The reason you painted this picture is your personal connection, and that connection should come across in the finished painting. Is your message clear?

WHAT?

As you evaluate your finished painting, you may want to ask yourself a series of questions that focus on some of the important characteristics of good art. Set your painting up so you can take a look at it from across the room. Which part of the painting do you look at first? The eye is generally drawn to the spot with the most contrast. This space should ideally be your chosen center of interest. You want to draw attention to the center of interest so that the viewer focusses here. It’s WHAT your painting is about. (Be sure to choose only ONE focus.) 

If your eye is drawn elsewhere first, you might want to increase contrast (whether contrast of value, color, shape, or edge) at your center of interest to emphasize this part of your picture. Remember that a full range of light and dark values, from darkest darks to lightest lights, can create more impact. You could also add a pop of complementary color at your focal point to attract attention.

Further, your center of interest should be the most detailed area of the picture, since detail also attracts the eye and tells your viewer where to look. Ideally, keep other sections of a painting less detailed and thus less emphasized. All parts of your picture are NOT equally important and, similarly, should not be equally detailed. How did you deal with detail?

‘The End Of The Day’ Watercolor Painting.

PLANNING AND COMPOSITION.

Did you plan your approach to this painting before picking up your brush? Did you think about rearranging the major shapes in a balanced, pleasing way to improve the composition? Did you test out your ideas first in a small value study? Did you simplify and leave out confusing details? Did you establish the lightest light values right away? Did you consider what colors would support the mood of the scene? If you didn’t do these things BEFORE painting, you may notice a jumble of shapes but no focus, values too similar to each other so nothing stands out, colors that don’t suit your subject or clash with each other, background or sky tacked onto your paintings as an afterthought, etc. Might thinking about the above questions have helped improve the final painting? 

‘The Tire Swing’ Watercolor Painting.

TECHNIQUE AND EXPRESSION.

How was your technique in this painting? What was easiest for you, and what was done well? Did you have difficulty figuring out the sequence of layering colors – what color can be laid down first, then what other colors should follow, or did you mistakenly try to paint everything at once? Were you scared you would make a mistake so your brushstrokes became small and tentative? Were you hesitant in your color mixes, ending up with timid colors? Next time, you could take a chance and try to be bolder. 

If you noticed self-criticism and discouragement while painting, be patient and kind to yourself. It will help you relax. Try to be aware of how you’re feeling as you paint, since your emotions affect your brushstrokes and the quality of your work. When you’re tense, you could take a break and some deep breaths, calm down a bit, then return to painting with a more composed attitude.

JUDGING WETNESS.

How did you do judging the wetness of the paper compared to the wetness of the paint and brush? Do you need to practice judging wetness to improve your ability to create the edges you want to create? If so, get some scrap paper and practice painting hard edges, soft and lost-and-found edges, while varying the dampness of the scrap paper. You might also rehearse ‘softening’ an edge (an essential skill) on scrap paper.

‘On The Way To Groton’ Watercolor Painting.

IN SUMMARY.

Asking questions of yourself (without critical judgement) gets you in the habit of making deliberate decisions regarding your painting. These questions help you evaluate your work objectively, considering value, wetness, color, composition, mindset, and technique. You can walk yourself through these questions for each painting. And start to decide what you like, what interests you, what you paint well, what areas you might want to improve. As you rely on your own awareness, you take charge of your painting while increasing your painting skills and decision-making ability.

Related earlier blogposts: 

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Prevent, Correct, And Reframe Your Painting Mistakes!

      

Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to the error that counts.                                                                                                                          Nikki Giovanni, poet, writer.

                                                                                                      

It is a common misconception that experienced painters don’t struggle or make mistakes. Not true! We all inadvertently make wrong decisions at times when painting and get outcomes we don’t desire or intend. Failing in this way is unavoidable. If recognized early, however, many mistakes can be corrected in watercolor. You can lift colors, blot, scrub, scrape, disguise mistakes, change values by lifting or glazing, reevaluate and change course, or even adjust a composition.

YOU CAN CORRECT MANY MISTAKES.

One of the simplest techniques to correct a mistake involves BLOTTING AND LIFTING wet paint. If while you’re painting you accidentally smudge or paint over an area you intended to keep white, quickly blot up the wet paint with a paper towel or tissue. As long as you have not painted with a staining pigment, the color will lift. (Suggestion: Become aware of which paints on your palette are considered staining. Common staining colors that cannot be easily lifted include Permanent Alizarin Crimson, Phthalo Blue, Phthalo Green, some of the Sap Greens, Gamboge, Permanent Rose, Prussian Blue.)

Another technique for altering wet paint is using a THIRSTY BRUSH to remove some color from your painting — e.g., to lighten a wash, create a highlight, or lift out clouds. The painted surface should be damp, with the shine just about to go dull. A ‘thirsty’ brush has been moistened but squeezed nearly dry before the brush is moved over the moist painted surface. After each lifting stroke with a thirsty brush, wipe the brush clean to remove wetness and lifted paint from the brush before continuing to lift.

If your paint has dried, WETTING AND LIFTING can remove areas of dark color. To lift at least some of a staining color, you will need a stiffer brush and stronger scrubbing. Use a very wet brush to wet the area where paint will be lifted.

Work in small areas to loosen and lift paint, before moving and moistening a new spot. SCRUB until the water loosens the dried pigment. Quickly blot to absorb the liquid with a paper towel or tissue, removing the loosened pigment along with the water. Do not let the loosened color remain on the scrubbed surface. If the damaged paper fibers reabsorb the color, you will not be able to lift it. Be sure to have a wet enough brush when using this technique – using just a damp brush may rough up the paper and scrub the paint deeper into the paper. A slight variation to the above scrub-and-blot technique would be WIPING OFF COLOR with a paper towel or tissue.

‘Mountain Stream’ watercolor painting, using scrubbing and lifting.

SCRAPING can help you recover a lost highlight or create sparkle. You can scrape with a variety of tools (for different effects), either before your applied paint dries or after. To add texture to tree trunks, for example, scrape wet paint with a palette knife or hard brush handle. Scraping can form dark marks on wet paint as the paint flows into the scrape. Or, on less wet but still damp paint, scrape in lighter marks as you push paint away from the scraping.

‘Red Canoe’ watercolor painting, using scraping and lifting.

‘Waves’ watercolor painting, using scratching and scraping.

Rocks can be highlighted and textured with a knife or palette knife by scraping and pushing damp paint. An X-acto knife can scrape dried paint to reclaim highlights, generate sparkle on water, or repair unsuccessful dry brush work. Keep in mind that scraping can damage paper, so it should be one of the last adjustments made to your painting. (Sandpaper can also remove pigment and bring back the white of the paper, although it also damages the paper.)

Hazel Soan, in The Essence of Watercolour, maintains that errors in “light-toned early washes are NOT a problem. As soon as darker tones are employed the eye is distracted from the pale tones.” Soan goes on to suggest that sometimes you can reclaim your watercolor by disguising or DISTRACTING from a mistake. Add a dark-toned accent, such as some grasses or reeds, near or over the error “to distract the eye away from the problem.”

OPAQUE colors, if not overdone, can be used to cover some painting mistakes or recreate lost highlights. Edges can be redrawn with an opaque color. Titanium White, full strength, can hide a mistake against white paper, while a matching opaque color can reclaim a colored background.

Too many layers of paint will eventually destroy transparency, so consider GLAZING to preserve transparency and improve color harmony. Tame overly bright colors, make shadows interesting, or even enliven dull dark color by glazing with a TRANSPARENT pigment. When glazing, make sure the surface of the paper is thoroughly dry. To calm bright colors, choose a transparent NON-STAINING pigment and apply it quickly (without scrubbing). To rescue dull, dark colors, use transparent STAINING pigments (such as Permanent Alizarin Crimson, Phthalo Blue, or Phthalo Green) for glazing. As Jean Dobie explains in Making Color Sing, “turn an error into an asset!”

‘Apple Blossoms’ watercolor painting, using glazing to tame background and create depth.

MISTAKES HAPPEN. HOW YOU REACT AFFECTS THE OUTCOME.

While no one enjoys or aims to make mistakes, the way you react to an unintended outcome makes a difference. Will you respond with upset, embarrassment, and self-criticism, and feel that you’re a failure as a painter? If so, you will lose objectivity and be unable to learn from your mistakes. Instead, try to remind yourself that mistakes can actually be good things (even though it may not initially feel that way)! Making mistakes is a clear sign you’ve moved beyond your “comfort zone” and are challenging your abilities. In other words, this is exactly where you NEED to be so that you can learn and improve your skills. Remember, to improve your skills, give yourself a challenge.

MISTAKES SHOW US WHAT WE NEED TO LEARN.

If making a mistake upsets you, stop painting and take a break. If you don’t know what the painting needs, you should stop. Avoid an emotional response by giving yourself some distance from your painting so you are able to regain some objectivity. A mistake does NOT mean you’re a failure as a painter or a person. When you regain your calm, you’re ready to REFRAME your thinking about your mistake. The best artists are problem solvers. Remember that mistakes are unavoidable, no big deal, and they present us with clear lessons. Looking at your work with fresh eyes, evaluate what happened and think about how best to correct and learn from this mistake. (Look for an upcoming blog post on how you can critique your own work.)  What specifically isn’t working? How can you improve what went wrong? (One or several of the above techniques might be useful.)

REDEFINE ‘MISTAKE’.

Yet another way to look at mistakes is as gifts. What just happened on your paper may not have been what you were planning to have happen, but… it may be something good, if not even better than what you intended. It may be a chance to change the direction of your painting if you let go of a preconceived idea that is not working – it’s okay to be open and change your mind. Perhaps the paint is moving in an interesting way, creating a pleasing effect. Is the ‘mistake’ truly a mistake or instead an opportunity to take the painting in a different, better direction? Letting go and allowing the painting to lead requires trusting in the PROCESS (rather than stubbornly trying to control the paint and force a desired outcome). It’s not easy, yet there are times when you might wish to rethink your initial intention and let the painting begin to ‘paint itself’. Try it! (This option can result in a looser style of painting.)

‘Pitcher and Pears’ watercolor painting, a picture that wanted to ‘paint itself’.

SUMMARY.

Try not to rush to correct all your painting mistakes. It is sometimes best to evaluate your work near the end of the painting process when you can see how one area affects or supports the other sections of a picture. While many mistakes can be corrected or improved, at times it can be best to start a picture over. Try to learn from any blunder. Identify where and how you can improve your work. If you’re not learning from your mistakes, you’ll tend to repeat them. With experience you will become confident about what you can correct as well as know when you probably should begin anew. Continue to enjoy the process of painting, without trying to force the watercolor to always bend to your will. Part of the beauty of the watercolor medium involves its flowing, unpredictable nature and its ability to create beautiful, transparent blended color. Don’t get discouraged – becoming frustrated or giving up could be the worst mistake of all.

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