Mako - No-Fail Watercolor

founder of makoccino

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To everyone who is afraid of failure.
Remember, everything is a valuable experience. Nothing is wasted, but its a waste to do nothing at all.

I love that watercolors teach you three main things: to let go, to focus on the process and to adapt along the way.

The thing is, sometimes we want to control absolutely everything in life. Before we even start a project or want to do something new, we overthink and overplan. Then, because we dont know how things will turn out, since we cant really control them, we get scared and call everything off.

The same goes for starting to learn how to paint with watercolors. A lot of false beliefs and myths are holding people back from continuing their watercolor journey or even beginning.

You might keep telling yourself stories about how:

You dont have a background in art.

Watercolor painting is the most challenging medium because you cant really control it or fix mistakes.

Youre simply not talented enough because youve failed in the past.

Maybe youre afraid to waste your art supplies because you worry that your artwork wont be perfect. Or maybe youre secretly scared to fail, so you avoid it.

The truth is that watercolor painting is a skill everyone can learn! You just need to stop being so hard on yourself and start controlling the way you approach it!

Just like with cooking, youre not born with a unique talent that tells you exactly how to make the perfect pancakes, right? You learn about different ingredients, how youll need to prepare the batter, how to make the pancakes fluffy and the ideal timing to flip them over.

Let me tell you, my first attempts at cooking were disasters! Did I think I was a failure just because all the pancakes fell apart and I set off the smoke alarm? No! It only meant I needed to adjust what I was doing! Did I give up on learning how to make pancakes altogether? No! My love for eating them was too strong to simply give up, duh! Spoiler: Now I make the best pancakes ever, if I do say so myself.

Its the same way with watercolor painting. You learn about the tools, try out different techniques and things still might not turn out the way you want themeven if you follow the instructions. But thats okay and part of the process. You try, learn and adjust. Because there are no failures, only opportunities for you to learn and grow!

The water in the cooking pot is about to boil over: You change the settings or remove it from the stove. Your watercolors start to spread out too much: You take a tissue or a damp brush to soak them up.

Having the perfect idea and planned-out process is sometimes not enough. Things happen, and you need to learn to adapt, just like in life. And thats okay! Thats part of the journey!

The more you practice and give yourself permission to play around with this medium without worrying about what others might think, the more fun youll have along the way!

Your watercolor painting isnt about creating a perfect painting. Its all about focusing on the present moment, enjoying the process and, most importantly, enjoying yourself!

Painting with watercolors doesnt have to be complicated or difficultonly if you make it so!

To keep things simple, Ill first walk you through the essential watercolor supplies youll need to set yourself up for success. My motto is quality over quantity. Who doesnt want to save money while seeing amazing results?

Then youll learn how to mix your watercolors and what colors to choose for your painting.

Creating a colorful and vibrant watercolor painting isnt particularly difficult or complicated, but there are a few things you want to keep in mind when you choose your colors and mix them together. And thats exactly what were going to talk about!

Remember, you dont need to have the exact same tools and colors that I show you in this book. Because there are so many different brands you can choose from, Ill tell you generally what to look for and how to make informed decisions when buying your watercolor supplies.

Having the right tools and knowing how to use them will give you not only more control, but itll also give you a lot more confidence whenever you start a new painting!

Sometimes looking at someone elses art can make you feel overwhelmed. You might think, It looks so complicated; Ill never be able to do this!

The thing is, even the most complicated-looking piece starts with the same fundamental techniques and key elements as it gets created layer by layer.

Because so many possibilities of what you can paint with watercolors exist, its impossible to cover everything! To give you an idea of whats possible, Ill cover some of the basic watercolor techniques and show you how you can use them to create various paintings using different landscape elements. If you need more painting ideas or resources for your watercolor journey, check out the What to Do Next chapter inside the book .

There are many different ways you can paint with watercolors, from the traditional approach to more modern ways of painting. The goal is the same: to capture the beauty that surrounds us and to express ourselves in our own unique ways.

Use the techniques and ideas that I show you in this book to get familiar with watercolor painting (I mean, you need to start somewhere, right?), and then you can expand on that! Most importantly, give yourself permission to play, experiment and have fun as you learn without judging yourself! Youll be surprised at what youre capable of!

Have fun!

Buying watercolor supplies can be super overwhelming, right? While you dont need a lot of different things to start out with, the supplies you choose to buy can make the difference between loving watercolors and being discouraged by them. One of the reasons why most watercolor beginners get frustrated and quit is because they think theyre not talented enough! In reality though, they chose the wrong supplies! I dont want this to happen to you!

Remember, its all about being aware and knowing what to expect. If youre completely happy with the supplies youre using, thats amazing! But if youre getting frustrated because your paper is breaking, the paint wont mix or because you cant make specific watercolor techniques work, know that its not your fault! It simply might be time to look into better supplies. Become their master and not their victim!

One of the things that watercolor beginners usually dont pay much attention to is the paper theyre buying. When youre a beginner and want to have a fulfilling experience while you learn, you want to make it as easy as possible for yourself! Good-quality paper will help with that.