Tricking Myself Into Painting Paid Off

Recently, I went camping in western Colorado with the Front Range Nature Journaling club. As I was packing to leave, I tried to remember the last time I had nature journaled. I made plenty of bird lists this spring but hadn’t done any drawing or painting. I decided to go all in for the weekend. I wouldn’t just nature journal, I’d actually use my watercolor paints.

To force myself to follow through, I didn’t take my colored pencils along, knowing I would get bored with black and white at some point. This trick helped. But so did stumbling across an old project while I was packing.

I had forgotten all about my Colors of Colorado cards, a format I designed to be a fast and easy way to practice watercolor painting. This was the perfect trip to work on them. In the past, the question “Is this actually native to Colorado?” has kept me from even starting. My neighborhood is full of exotic imports, and it didn’t seem right to paint an imported flower, even if I was seeing it in Colorado. In the mountains, I would be less likely to come across something foreign. So, instead of packing a watercolor journal, I took my CoC kit. 

I didn’t have the energy or desire to work in color until the second day, when I remembered something I keep having to learn. I don’t let myself nature journal or paint because it won’t be perfect, but even though it isn’t, it’s always fun. I love observing nature. I love putting paint on paper. Why do I deny myself these pleasures?

My first subject was an aspen tree. I painted its leaves and then its trunk. I surprised myself. My paintings are not perfect, but they are much better than I expected. I did three more cards over the course of the weekend and each of them was fun to paint.

But the real surprise came when I got back home. I compared my early CoC cards with those from the trip and was stunned. My drawing and painting skills have improved more than I realized. It’s like looking at work by two different artists.

It’s true that it’s been four years since I did the first cards, but I haven’t taken any classes or pursued systematic practice. My nature journaling is a thing of fits and starts, something I do occasionally. If you had asked, I would have said I haven’t really done anything at all towards improving my watercolor skills. And yet, there it is: major improvement in my art work. It proves what John Muir Laws is always saying: making art is a skill improved by practice. Put in the pencil miles; you will get better.

Now that I’ve been reminded that nature journaling is one of the things I love, I’ll be doing more of it — at least for a while. And I’ll keep reminding myself that the way to get better is just to keep doing.