“Everyone asks me what is the secret to getting better at watercolor? Is it buying better paints? Using 100% cotton paper? Finding the perfect brush? In fact, the greatest secret to watercolor is something you can’t buy.”
What is it? “Time.”
Now, don’t get me wrong – good supplies absolutely help. Better paper, quality paints, and reliable brushes can make the process smoother. But watercolor has always been a medium that’s built around timing.
Timing the water.
Timing the paint.
Timing when to add another layer.
Timing when to simply leave it alone.
For me, though, there’s another kind of timing that’s just as important: making time to paint.
As a mom, I don’t have hours to spend sketching, planning, and painting every day. Most days, finding even a few uninterrupted minutes feels impossible.
But I also knew I needed to make creativity a priority in my life.
“I’ve realized that making art is one of the best ways to care for my mental health—and let’s be honest it’s a whole lot cheaper than therapy.”
So I gave myself a challenge:
Paint for just 10 minutes a day.
That’s it.
Usually I’d do it first thing in the morning so I didn’t spend the rest of the day feeling guilty that I hadn’t painted.
And surprisingly, that simple rule made watercolor feel so much easier.
Instead of trying to finish an entire painting in one sitting, I focused on just one small part, add one layer, or work on one section of the background.
If I finished early, I’d spend the extra time swatching colors, testing ideas, or deciding what I wanted to tackle the next morning.
And if I went a little over ten minutes? I’d finish the brushstroke I was working on, set everything down, and come back the next day.
And guess what – something unexpected happened…
Instead of fighting the painting, I started working with it.
Every layer had time to dry overnight and when I came back in the morning, I could look at the painting with fresh eyes instead of making tired, rushed decisions.
Little by little, I became more patient.
More intentional.
And much more intuitive with watercolor.
The funny thing is, I originally thought this challenge was about finding time to paint.
But I realized it was really about giving the painting the time it needed, too.
Success with watercolor isn’t about how many hours you can squeeze into a single day.
It’s about showing up consistently, giving yourself permission to slow down, and trusting that each small session builds on the last.
Because ten minutes today…
and ten minutes tomorrow…
will take you much farther than waiting for the “perfect” afternoon that never seems to come.
“So if you’ve been waiting for the perfect time to start painting, this is your reminder: you don’t need an hour. You don’t need a whole weekend. Just give yourself ten minutes tomorrow. You might be surprised how much those ten minutes can change—not just your watercolor, but your confidence as an artist.”
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