How to Develop Your Watercolor Skills Over Time

Watercolor is a relationship—not a race. Your skill doesn’t arrive all at once. It grows quietly, layer by layer, just like the art you create.

Whether you’re just starting or returning to watercolor after a long break, this post is here to remind you: your creative path is allowed to unfold slowly. And your skills will deepen the more you connect to the process, not just the product.

Start with Presence, Not Pressure

It’s easy to focus on technique, perfection, or “getting it right.” But the foundation of skill is presence. If you can sit down, breathe, and let yourself play with color—you're already growing.

Make time for:

• Color mixing explorations
• Simple washes and gradients
• Observing how water carries pigment
• The more you notice, the more you'll understand. Watercolor teaches by feeling.

Practice One Thing at a Time

Skill grows in small moments. Focus on one concept—like layering, brush control, or wet-on-wet blending—and revisit it often.

Try:

• Repeating the same subject with different techniques
• Making swatch charts of your colors
• Keeping a watercolor journal for little daily experiments

Every time you return to the page, you're strengthening your creative trust.

Learn from the Paint Itself

Handmade watercolor paints especially have their own personalities. Some bloom. Some granulate. Some settle deeply. Get to know them—not to control them, but to collaborate with them.

Let the paint teach you. Let your curiosity be the guide.

Want to fall deeper in love with watercolor's uniqueness?
- Read: What Makes Watercolor Unique?