Some time back, I came across a list of twenty-five tips for artists that I felt was helpful. I do not know exactly where I got the tips, but I will pass them on for your benefit.

Do I religiously follow the tips? Of course not. But I did tape the list to my art easel, hoping its presence will somehow soak into my artistic psyche, and make me a better artist.

• Do value sketches.
• Simplify your subject.
• Do a fairly accurate drawing.
• Think shapes, not objects.
• Paint from large shapes to small shapes.
• Pay attention to edges – hard, soft, and lost.
• Be sure to have hard, soft, and lost edges in your painting.
• Paint quickly, but under control.
• Get in and get out.
• Make your first stroke your best stroke. Remember,  fewer strokes win.
• Use the largest brush you can for as long as you can.
• Fewer palette colors result in fewer touches to the substrate.
• When painting with watercolors, use a spray bottle to assist moving the color on the paper.
• Paint on an angle to help keeping the color moving.
• Tilt the board for even more movement.
• Don’t worry about “messing up.” If you can’t correct or use your mistakes, turn the paper over and paint on the back.
• Remove the stress by just playing. You don’t always have to create the “perfect painting.”
• Use your brush to interpret, not render.
• Stick to what attracted you to the subject in the first place. Down play everything else.
• Be selective to where you place your level of attention.
• Just let it happen, don’t try to “make” it happen.
• Paint the same subject several times in a series.
• Be smart. Understand that you will probably make more “bad” paintings before you start doing good paintings.
• Paint! Paint! Paint!…and have fun.