This year one of my goals is to improve my watercolor skills. To help me measure my progress, I am painting the same image at regular intervals. This specific image came from master watercolor painter Julia Barminova, @juliabarminova on Instagram. 

She posted the above cherry blossom photo in April of 2020 to show her students the type of images she chooses to paint from. She was also gracious enough to give feedback to anyone who also decided to paint it, and post it online.

The lighter washed out image is my first attempt at this in April of 2020. I can remember how afraid I was of color and using too much. The second painting is one I did a month later. The difference to me is remarkable. I had planned then to paint this specific flower branch every April from now until I couldn’t stand it anymore. 

Then the unthinkable happened. I lost the photo. I have not painted this specific image for more than two years now. As you may have deduced, I found it again.

Since painting the two paintings in 2020, I have been fortunate enough to take two online classes from Julia, which was an absolute treat since she lives in Russia. One of the classes focused on painting water and the other on florals. The biggest lesson I learned from her was one that I already knew, but is easy to forget. Draw more than you paint. This is especially true in watercolor, for there are no cover ups in watercolor. My other big take away was to stop being so afraid of the paint. It’s just paper. It can be replaced.

I was excited to start adding paint to the drawing pictured above using the techniques I learned from Julia’s classes. That being said, I took my time with the pencil drawing.

Below is the mostly finished painting, and a comparison image. I might fuss with a few more small details, but overall I am happy with where this one ended up. For comparison I used a LOT more paint overall, and I focused on painting shapes rather than trying to paint flowers. Additionally, instead of pink and brown paint, I got brave and leaned into my color wheel. I trusted the lessons of the masters - I used Sap Green, Cobalt Blue, and Quinacridone Rose to mix my neutral colors and the dark darks.

I expect to paint this specific image at least once, maybe twice more this year. I’ll be sure to post updates the subsequent works. 

I’d love to hear more ideas on how other people measure their skills sets. Please drop any ideas or tricks in the comments below.

Happy painting to all!

Jill