,As I think about the theme this year "How to Become a Better Artist" the most important thing is what I'm talking about today. No one becomes a professional athlete, a wonderful musician, or gets good grades without this, practice.  Since this applies to everything, it applies to artists as well. The more you practice, the better you become.

I think some people think that you're either gifted or not with the ability to be an artist. Skills are just not "gifted" they are learned and practiced. You can have an easier time learning something, but you can't skip the learning process. 

When I talk about skills, I’m talking about getting the results you had in mind. This is the #1 reason I teach, I know everyone has the ability inside them to get there. I can see where you are as an artist now and where you want your art to go, and show you what you need to do to get there. Of course that will take some practice, if you want it bad enough. 

I’ve had students that wanted to learn art for about a week, because they realized it was hard learning the skills they wanted or they just weren’t that interested. I have also had students that dedicated a lot of time to their lessons and artwork. It is easy to see who will be great at it. If a person thinks creating is unimportant then they will never become great at it.

Art is not like athletics where the most successful do better with the right body type, if they practice hard. Or is it like academics, where the greatest minds plow ahead. Art is expression and while your creating there is no wrong way or answer. Art accepts you just the way you are, even if you are color blind or need to create with your teeth or toes. This is what makes art so wonderful.
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So this week I encourage you to dedicate more time creating. Hey! I didn’t say the dreaded word practice! Just create for fun, more often. 

I will also be dedicating some more of my time practicing. One thing I want to practice more is loosening up my work, which tends to go towards realism even tho I don’t want it to. Not that I don't like realism, but I love my paintings that are more playful with colors and brushstrokes.  So I will be making several 10 minute paintings with no reference photos. This will keep me lose and playful. You can watch those videos below and I hope you join me for this daily art challenge. 

Don't worry about how your art turns out. I know that is hard. Just focus on enjoying the process of creating.  

I can't believe the snow finally caught up to us! We are still in Arizona. Waiting out the snowstorms. We woke up to six inches of snow this morning! In Arizona!? What??? Are you getting snow too?

By the the end of February I'm ready for spring to come. Some of you must be feeling the same because I put out the poll last week asking what my Createful Art Members wanted me to paint, and cherry blossoms won. Members also get a reference photo to help them paint this. You can become a member anytime and get this reference photo. 

So, this week's tutorial is How to Paint Cherry Blossoms. Hope you enjoy!

Learn how to paint cherry blossoms in this, step by step, acrylic painting tutorial. This lesson is perfect for beginner-intermediate artists. Make sure to have fun painting and be creative! 

If you love this painting you can buy it here

Supplies Needed:
Here is the list of supplies I recommend and use for my paintings (Amazon affiliate links below)
1. Paint Brushes and wash brushes 
2. Acrylic Paints - The paint colors I use include: Heavy Body - cadmium yellow Medium Hue, cadmium red light Hue, quinacridone magenta, ivory black, Emerald Green, Phthalocyanine Green (blue shade), phthalocyanine blue (Green shade), brilliant blue, Bronze yellow, dioxazine purple and two tubes of titanium white. I also use bronze, gold and silver metallic paint, same brand.
3. Canvas Panels 8x10"
4. My PALETTE (Colors don't dry out!)
5. Water
6. Paper Towels

Here are the Steps to Painting Your own Cherry Blossoms.
Step 1: Paint Background
Step 2: (optional) Add splatters of pink or white
Step 3: Paint Branches (sometimes I call them stems)
Step 4: Paint Flower buds
Step 5: Paint Open flower (sometimes I call them blobs) 
   - round the edges of your blobs like petals
   - add white to lighten your flowers and add highlights
   - add middles with yellow
Step 6: Be creative and add your own personality to it! 
Please note: any paintings created using my tutorials are for personal use only, NOT to sell. This is a copyright issue.

Let me know in the comments if you have any questions. Thank you for watching! Please share this video if you enjoyed it.

It's a fall day outside and all those tree colors are creating an art itch that I'll have to scratch with some watercolor paints. There is a free flowing way I love to paint that will have me relaxed in no time. I would love to share with you all the steps I take to paint these birch trees in watercolor. The video tutorial below will help you create your very own birch tree painting. I hope you enjoy!