World Watercolor Month 2017
Woah, would you look at that? It’s mid-August already- time flies when you don’t have any! So World Watercolor Month (July) is officially over. My goal was to make a watercolor illustration for every weekday in July and I’m super proud to say I succeeded! Here are some reflections about the past month.
Challenges
This challenge was quiet the undertaking for me not just because I usually suck at doing anything daily, but also because July was otherwise a busy month for us too. As a result I was even more sleep-deprived than usual and this ended up being a strain not just on me but my family as well.
What I Learned
Despite the difficulties, I did manage to reach my goal (ending with an extra painting even!) and it was totally worth it. I feel that I grew as an artist thanks to the rigor and discipline of daily practice and my watercolor & inking skills improved by leaps and bounds. Most satisfying of all was the comfort and looseness I developed with the medium by the end of the month- something I’ve always struggled with.
Going Forward
Things did slow down by the end of the month when my phone got stolen, I couldn’t post on Instagram and suddenly it was August. Still, it was such a great experience that I know I have to keep going in some form or another. While my watercolor skills did improve a lot over the month, I had quiet an itch by the end to explore other mediums as well. So I think I will try to continue with the daily practice, but with a little more freedom for exploration. I want to be strict with myself but I also need to leave some room for “sick” days because I’ll be giving birth in about a month and family and health come first. So here are a few tips/things to think about for myself and anyone else that might want to start a daily practice.
Accountability- Posting everyday on Instagram made me feel like people would notice if I stopped or skipped a day, so it felt like there’s no way I could “cheat”.
Motivation- I hung up my paintings on the wall next to where I painted. Seeing my progress day-to-day, week-to-week really kept me motivated. It was also just such a great feeling to finish a painting and be able to hang it up next to the others.
Go-to Topics- Sometimes harder than the painting itself is figuring out what to paint. I had a list of ideas of what to paint at the ready, but on those days when I felt so uninspired or exhausted, all of those ideas felt too ambitious because I still had a clear idea in my head of how it should look. What would be better is to have some looser ideas or topics that let me paint in my comfort zone and don’t need too much thinking so that it becomes a meditation of sorts... Of course I have no idea what that kind of topic would be for me, but I guess knowing what to look for is already a start...?
That’s it for now folks- happy making! :)
♥ Aditi