FIVE reasons my art went from bad to good...

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Ms. Jenna, you and a number of other folks on YouTube have taken a 68-year-old lady and turned her into a much livelier old lady who has a task she wants to 'master'. Given the time we have on this planet, I want to spend it with art, and lord willing, watercolors and y'all. Thank you. ☮

Dumb as this sounds, the biggest jump for me was creating/finding lists of things to draw and paint. When developing a daily habit of practice, there will ALWAYS come that day where you think nobody wants to see that. You've already painted that. There's nothing interesting to paint or draw... If you skip once or twice, the habit is broken and it'll just as easily become three years as three days. Instead, pull out the list and paint the next thing on the list. Obviously, if you're inspired, paint your inspiration. But on the days that nothing seems interesting, just pull out the list. I keep it on my phone and whenever I see something interesting I'll take a picture or just make a quick note to add it to the list.

45 years of practice and patience and always learning! Completely self-taught. Comparison is a dream killer.

I am 47 now. I am not a born artist. It was a deliberate choice. It was mostly for self expression and self healing. I discovered watercolor 5 years ago. I plan to be a best selling artist by 60. Thanks for your tips!

One of my favorite growth moments was, six months ago. I was taking a Zoom watercolor class and the instructor told us that as she was developing her skills she would ask watercolorists what percentage of their paintings turned out good. Fairly consistently they said 3 out of every 10. The instructor said for her it was 3 out of 13 that turned out. It was so freeing to know that all artists have paintings that don’t work, it is part of the creative process. She also said you need those failures to try out new styles and techniques, they’re how you develop your own personal style.

My favorite part of the journey has been hearing artists like yourself say things like..."keep going, patience, practice, mistakes are teachable moments, fall in love with the process." I am retired and have fallen in love with watercolor painting...I'm determined to continue to "grow" even at my age! Thank you for the encouragement and inspiration! Heappy painting everyone! 🥰

My biggest growth moment was just letting myself be creative with out forcing creativity. Any practice is practice

I had high standards and couldn’t meet them and was so hard on myself until I started doing things with my non- preferred hand. I expected the work to be wobbly and imperfect and it helped me embrace the imperfect and find value in the process. I have made friends with the brush now and can see real progress from painting everyday for over a year. I am much better for it in my heart and mind. ❤️🌷☀️

As an art teacher for over 25 years, I totally agree with Jenna’s advice and tips! Thank you Jenna for sharing your journey.

When i got my Fine Arts degree in College, my draws were too stiff. I quit drawing for a summertime and a friend who is an illustrator gave me an advice: "distort". I was too concerned about proportion and perspective... I decided to draw just for fun and all the sudden everything I had learned got integrated and my stroke started to flow gracefully...

I am so thrilled to run across your channel on YouTube and this video.I am a 79 yr old retired RN and have tried almost every craft. I've always been intimidated by watercolor painting. But not anymore. Thank you for opening my eyes to something new and exciting. I can't wait to get started but 1st I am going to watch all your tutorials and get your book. I have alot to learn and you're my new guru. Thank you so much for jump starting this old lady again. ❤🎉

In a similar stroke of fate, I was given a crate full of art supplies that had been abandoned in a storage unit and your book was among them! I didn't even realize you were the author until you mentioned the book by name at the end! 😂

That piano teacher sounds like the best! And explains your approach to art 🎹 The best teachers teach the why so you don’t have to memorize the how 😊

My biggest growth moment was when I learned to stop being afraid of painting shadows. For so long I wouldn’t paint them dark enough. Once I learned to overcome the fear, my flowers had so much more dimension.

For real, it was upgrading my supplies. I couldn’t believe the difference it made to get good paints, paper, and brushes.

Thank you for the encouragement. I was blown away by a neighbour who's an artist who fosters my interest in watercolours and invested in me with my first student grade palette and proper paper. As soon as I picked up the brush, I realized all the tentative forays with dollar store and garage sale supplies were in the past. she's loaned me books on colour theory and sent me links to tutorials on different techniques that are guiding my progress. Thank you for showing where time, patience and hard work end up.

I am deeply appreciative of your relaxed teaching style and deep understanding of color. composure and style. I, at 72 years old, have decided to attempt watercolor painting. I have no art training...zero. I had no idea where to start. I came across your channel, watched your "Ten Trees" video and feel so relieved that I don't have to know how to draw before I can paint; I just have to understand shapes. I have subscribed to your channel and plan to begin my artistry soon. So, from an old guy without a clue, bless you for sharing your talent with me. I'm very excited to have you as my teacher!

I understand that you're just being the person you are, but I found myself gratefully stunned by your candor and humility, and the confident, sincere, enthusiastic, and generous place your experience(s) has led you to! All Blessings, Peace, and Light, to you and yours, in all you do! Be well always! Namaste! 🙏🔥🙏

I am an Art Therapist and when I started a creative practice based on my training that was totally separate from any attempts to create finished work that anyone else might see, it advanced my creativity exponentially. Often I scribble as a warmup. By creating with a focus on process over product, and getting comfortable with making tons of truly “ugly” but expressive art, after a few years of this, the quality of my work made a huge leap. Keeping a creative journal or sketchbook was part of my process too. I paint watercolor but I gravitated to mixed media/experimental water media based paintings. Another big advance was when I started working big and also when I began using high quality materials too. I decided my art was worthy of being taken seriously, and I went from scrawling images with glitter crayons on napkins to large scale paintings. Within a year of making that commitment and painting daily with the intention of sharing my artwork, I opened a studio/art gallery. I agree with all five points. If you’re passionate and love making art and make a lot of it, you will get better.