Here’s a little article to motivate you to maintain good habits. The aim is simple: let nothing get in the way of your motivation to paint!
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Indeed, we sometimes start a new activity or hobby with a lot of good resolutions in mind. But as you go along, it’s easy to slip into complacency. Lack of motivation, loss of creative impetus, loss of inspiration… You spread yourself too thin, leaving your equipment lying around here and there. In the end, you almost stop wanting to paint!
Well, no! Read on and head back to your workshop, energized and motivated as ever!
1. Brushes: take good care of them!
We take a brush, then another… 1 finer to paint finer. Another clean one, here, that’ll be better!
🛑 Stop the scattering of business!
Firstly, by placing your brushes all around you, you run the risk of accidentally staining your hands and then smearing them all over your canvas. Secondly, when you need a brush again, it won’t be available…😤 And thirdly, acrylic paint dries quickly: your brushes will be gone, and can go back in the garbage can!
💡 Get organized! Arrange several containers of water on your work surface: jars for your brushes, tubs for your spalters. They’ll thank you!
But don’t leave them to simmer overnight – they’ll lose their hair or take on the wrong shape.
As soon as you’ve finished creating them: put them away! All you have to do is run them under cold, clear water to get them back in good condition!
2. The painting: put it in a safe place
You don’t have to hide it for fear of it being stolen 😉!
🛑 If left unattended, it could be damaged! On the floor, it’s not safe from a blow. It will also gather dust.
🛑 Left on your painting table, it takes up space. If you get the sudden urge to create a new painting, you’ll first have to go through the tedious process of tidying up. That’s a recipe for loss of motivation!
Don’t risk “just pushing it a little” either… it’s bound to get an unfortunate splash of paint!
In short, take your courage in 2 hands, and get into the habit of to store your paintings properly.
3. My canvas: I polish it to the end
Before starting a new work, I advise you to finish the current painting 100%.
In other words:
- sign it. Ah, you still don’t know how to deal with that signature thing?
➡️ take a look hereand signing a painting will hold no secrets for you!
- varnish the canvas ;
- countersign your work, on the back ;
- draw up the certificate of authenticity.
Then your painting is ready. To be sold, to be offered, to be exhibited, etc.
4. I don’t paint in the middle of a happy mess
So it’s a bit picturesque, of course, to have a well-stocked workshop, with stuff everywhere… Here sprays, there rags full of paint, here tubes piled up, not properly closed, in this corner a catch-all box, and back there… oh more tubes! And brushes! And knives! Surpriiise, a palette…!
🛑 On the road to waste with half-dried tubes, damaged equipment and stained clothes.
💡 Treat yourself to a beautiful workspace: tidy up, organize, clear away! If you’ve got a little free space at home, make a work surface – easily and cheaply!
You’ll see how pleasant and ultra-motivating it is to paint in a clean, uncluttered space.
5. To move forward better, I take a step back!
Forget fast fast fast, I paint as long as I’m inspired. Brushstrokes follow one another, I add layers, I add colors, I add matter, I… STOP !!!
Don’t lose the pleasure of painting by putting too much pressure on the result or on timing. You don’t have to finish your work in one go – quite the contrary. Step back and take a step back from your creation. Come back to it later, let the project mature, let your imagination grow.
6. I ignore outside opinions
There’s nothing more tempting than asking the people around you what they think of your creations. To find out if they like it, to be reassured about their talents… In short, does my work have value, am I a good painter?
So forget it!
Of course, when you first start painting with acrylics, you lack confidence. That’s only natural. Asking others for their opinion (endorsement?) won’t help you move forward and gain self-confidence. Quite the opposite, in fact. You’re going to have all kinds of thoughts about colors or patterns, frame size, tools used, shading, everything! It’s all so subjective. Faced with the same painting, two people can have completely opposite feelings. Your creation belongs to you, it emanates from you, from your emotions, from your imagination, so it represents you, it’s beautiful 💕!
🛑 Be especially careful with social networks, which attract all kinds of Internet users, including haters! Share your creations, present your paintings, but don’t ask the audience for their opinion!
7. I let my creativity run wild
Whether you’re an amateur painter or a professional artist, you can’t force creativity. You can gather ideas beforehand, write them down, imagine colors to use and so on. But paint when you feel truly inspired. It should never become a constraint, an effort, a planned activity. Don’t seek productivity at all costs. Listen to your desires, listen to your emotions, and go to work when you’re ready, relaxed, with time to paint in good conditions.
8. Thou shalt not copy other artists
Easy to say. I want to start acrylic painting, I’ve bought my equipment. But what do I paint? How do I start? Shapes? Landscapes? Abstract? Figurative?
Obviously, the first brushstrokes of your artistic career can be hesitant. There’s nothing wrong with looking at what you like and what inspires you in other painters, but above all, look around you! Nature is full ofideas for painting, shapes and colors! Paint to music and close your eyes. Listen to your emotions and try to transcribe them onto canvas.
Practice. You’ll soon see which style suits you best.
9. Thou shalt not compare thyself to other artists
Impossible to compare: to each his own style. Each way of painting is unique, because each artist is unique. Each painting is unique.
Afterwards, in fact, some artists are very active, painting a lot, producing numerous works, and selling them with a certain regularity.
Make no mistake: it’s not just a question of luck, and even less a question of talent! Behind these sales, there’s a whole lot of work to be done in terms of communication, setting up a website to gain visibility, and carefully crafted posts to present your paintings on Instagram, for example. These are hours of exchanges and sharing with prospects and web users.
Go your own way – you too can do it!
10. Get out of your comfort zone!
📢 Be careful not to get stuck in one way of doing things. Try new things, new painting techniques, experiment, innovate!
There are no mistakes in painting, only experiments. Why not try other textures, acrylic pouring or molding paste? If you’re more of a figurative painter, why not challenge yourself to produce an abstract painting and try something new?
Do as I do, experiment with oil paint!
The risk of painting the same thing over and over is to get bored and lose the idea of pleasure and the motivation that goes with it. Without motivation, inspiration fades…
Painting is a wonderful, magical art ✨. There is always a beginning, but never an end!
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