5 Easy Tips to Find More Time to Paint Watercolors

Are you always hoping for more time for watercolor painting? (I am know I am)

Today I am sharing 5 ideas that will maximize your painting time -- really!

I was able to more than double my weekly painting time after I implemented these strategies.

Yes, these are commonsense suggestions and you may well have come across some of them already. But if you actually put them into practice I promise you will gain more time to paint every week.

#1. Be open to inspiration in your own life & snap photos!

This week's Top Tip is to look at everything with your artist's eye. Anything you see that you think, hey, I could paint that, or, (if you are like me) I could paint a simplified or looser version of that, take a picture of it -- and make sure to save it to a Folder devoted solely to Creative Inspiration.

I will share, the very first time I knew myself to be thinking as an artist, about 5 years ago, I was driving my car and I saw ahead through the windshield a beautiful cloudscape and I thought, wow, I think I could paint that, I should get a photo -- and then I kinda got emotional thinking who what me? huh? but I did pull over and I did take the photo and, another day, I pulled up that photo and did paint the cloudscape. It was a pretty cool experience, no lie.

So, the next time you unpack your groceries and you notice the appley- shaped apple, or you walk to your car and see the nearby tree has new shiny leaves, or you take a moment to appreciate the pattern of your bedspread -- take photos and save them to your Inspo folder!

(Photo screenshot of my Art Inspo folder in my Photos app) 

#2. Do the same thing in your digital life!

Take screenshots or add bookmarks of anything you come across on your phone or computer that pleases or interests your artist's eye. Be sure to save the screenshots and bookmarks to inspiration-designated locations so they are easily found later. (See the Resources section below for help on bookmarks)

#3. Every time you participate in an online painting tutorial that you enjoy, do yourself a favor and take the necessary steps to subscribe to the YouTube channel and follow the Instagram account.

This is really a nobrainer! But maybe because of shyness or feeling a novice at the beginning, it took me more months than I like to remember before I was ready to acknowledge my continuing interest in painting and tutorials, and finally started favoriting and following artists. Once I did so, I definitely found it a timesaver to have new stuff by artists I favored basically be dropped into my inbox, and I could save or delete it quickly -- no more searching for projects or trying to remember what's the name of that artist I like? lol. 

#4. Start, or add to, your shelf of art books.

You can check out art books at your local public library for free! Your library may have inspiring books already available on their shelves -- fyi, watercolor art books bear the call number 751.422 and the author name.

(Photo of local library's watercolor art books on the shelf) 

You can also access the library online, search their inventory by subject or keyword or author, and make a request for a specific book. Your library will email you when the books are available for pick-up.

Now, before I purchase any art books for my personal collection, I always check to see if I can borrow them first from the library. Maybe you are like me? I don't have much space for books at home and I need to stretch my art materials budget as far as it can go. I regularly go the library for my fiction book fix, so repeat-requesting the same art book is no big deal for me.

You can also buy low-cost art books at your favorite secondhand stores and garage sales, but of course stock and inventory is likely subject to chance.

Amazon.com and AbeBooks.com do sell used books, and as long as an art book isn't a brand-new release, I've had luck over the years finding and buying reasonably-priced and good-quality used art books.

(Photo of one shelf of my art books) 

And, don't forget about gift opportunities! You family and friends may already be aware of your interest in watercolor painting, but if anyone asks you for gift ideas, let them know you'd love a Barnes & Noble or Amazon gift card so you can build out your art book collection.

Remember, when you are flipping through art books to take photos of any pages that inspire you and add them to your Inspo folder.

Or, if it's your own art book you can tag it with a post-it note so you can easily find what you're most interested in next time you're looking for inspiration. 

#5. Keep your art supplies all together in one location.

This is a real timesaver and also allows you to keep on top of your entire supply inventory. (See the Resources section below for more info on organizing art supplies)

(Photo of my shelf of watercolor supplies)  

See? Just like I mentioned at the top of the post, these are really basic tips.

But, if you're like me, you've read some of these suggestions before and maybe even thought, yeah, I should do this, but then life happens and none of this gets put into play.

Sadly, if the hacks aren't set up,

the next time 30 minutes pop open for you,

you will waste 10 minutes trying to figure out what to work on, and

waste another 5 minutes gathering up your art supplies, so

now you only have 15 minutes to paint :(

(which is still worthwhile in my book but you *could* have had

twice as much creative time)

Or, HAPPILY, if you've got the hacks in action, like I do now --

you have 30 minutes free, and

quickly found a watercolor project you bookmarked, and

grabbed your art supplies, so

you completed an enjoyable tutorial within 30 minutes

I've been painting watercolors for 5 years, and these 5 easy hacks helped me to double my creative time. I love sharing what I've learned with watercolor beginners!

RECAP:

#1. Snap photos of inspirational things in your daily life, and save to inspo folders.

#2. Take screenshots of or add bookmarks to phone/computer content that appeals to your artist's eye, and save to easily found inspiration-designated locations.

#3. After you take an enjoyable online painting tutorial, subscribe to the YouTube channel and follow the Instagram account.

#4. Start or add to your art book collection, and tag interesting pages.

#5. Keep your art supplies all together in one location.

Remember, by implementing these 5 easy tips, we gain many more minutes actually painting – which is widely acknowledged as not only brain-enriching creative time but also restorative self-care time – yay! (See the Resources section below for more info on the positive health effects of the arts)

As always, let me know what you think and feel free to reach out with any questions or comments :) 

RESOURCES:

Adding Bookmarks

I use Apple products exclusively and mostly work on my MacBook. Here's a link on how to add bookmarks in Safari on Mac.

https://support.apple.com/guide/safari/bookmark-webpages-to-revisit-ibrw1039/mac

If you use Apple phone IOS, or PCs, Android or other systems and need help with bookmarks, please do an online search for your specific situation.

Organizing Supplies

I love artist Amy Maricle's approach to organizing art supplies -- categorize, contain and repurpose, get rid of stuff, make it pretty -- so I am linking her blog article in case her system works for you. (And, yes, I bookmarked this a few years ago!)

https://mindfulartstudio.com/how-to-organize-your-art-studio/

Healthful Effects of Art Experiences

While there are many scientific and medical sources that substantiate the positive healthful effects of the arts, most recently I have been reading Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us, Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross (New York: Random House, 2023), which I requested from my library :)

Compelling research supports that making art for 45 minutes reduces the stress hormone cortisol by as much as 25% regardless of skill level or project outcome (p.28).

Engaging in one art experience (visiting a museum or gallery, going to a play or a concert) per month can extend your life by 30%, and engaging in just one art experience per year extends your life by 14% (p.108-109).

The arts builds brain resiliency (p.109).

Recommended: 7 Easy Watercolor Brushstroke Drills for Beginners — Quick Tutorials to Improve Your Skills

About the Author

Written by Mary Moreno of Mary Moreno Studio, a self-taught watercolor artist since 2020 and creative blogger sharing practical, beginner-friendly tips and tutorials.