You know those people who are like "Hey!.. I want to try this!" and don't care that actually haven't held a brush since the second grade of school? Yep, it's me. Hi there, I'm Ann :) And it's never too late to start, right? :)

I am very new to watercolors and art in general, but who the heck cares :) As long as it keeps me busy in this uncertain time and makes me forget to have a sandwich every 40 minutes I'm in.

Here we go.. I'm still fighting with my scanner for the edges of my paper, so don't mind if some of the pictures are going to be cut out %)

Materials that I will use for this challenge (and the only that I have actually right now):

Brushes: Pinax Poseidon (squirrel mix) #1, 6 (round); #16, 8 (flat);
Watercolors: White Nights from Nevskaya Palitra (As Russian, I'm surprised and proud that a lot of people actually know and paint with them. For a long time it was only one option for artists here);
Paper: Very cheap one (maybe too cheap?) from Nevskaya Palitra, 200gm, I don't think there's any cotton.

Day 1: Right Here, Right Now

I do not feel comfortable to paint such a large painting yet :) Can you imagine A4?!... It can fit around 500 words, 28 little doodle cats or half of the spilled cup of coffee. No no no too much for me so far. So I cheated a little bit and took A5 size :)

14 Days of Drills to Advance Your Skills - image 1 - student project

I painted only with Payne's grey. Took me around 30-40 minutes but I drew a pencil sketch first (no ruler, I promise).

Day 2: Testing Your Brushes

Easy-peasy! I have only 4 of them lol and stole 3 more from my little niece just to see how they behave. I have 4 brushes from Pinax Poseidon (squirrel mix) #1, 6 (round); #16, 8 (flat) and 3 synthetic ones from nearby art store :)

14 Days of Drills to Advance Your Skills - image 2 - student project

Day 3: Basic Pressure and Consistency

I tried with all my brushes... Well, I think I already have some progress lol Starting from the 3rd page it became more consistent (with the round brush). Surprisingly, but it was very difficult to use a big flat brush for me. Smaller size brushes were very meditative to use :) and I think I need more paper...

PS: I like to touch everything with my hands before my hand lotion absorbs well.. So you can see my fingerprints in places where I touched paper and watercolors couldn't get through to the paper :D

Pinax Poseidon (squirrel mix) #6 (round)

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Pinax Poseidon (squirrel mix) #16 (flat)

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Pinax Poseidon (squirrel mix) #8 (flat) and #1 (round)

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Day 4: Even (?) Stripes

Well.. My first thought was "Witch! Burn her!", the second "Are you sure it isn't black magic?". Alright, alright... Calm down, put the torch down, the lady on the screen tells me that it's possible?

Here are my drills, I use only one brush (Pinax Poseidon #6 round). I've tried several different approaches: firstly, I started with just lines..

14 Days of Drills to Advance Your Skills - image 6 - student project

From the third page, lines became a little more consistent and even, I found that it's simpler to make them when my hand is hovering and holding the brush by the tip of the handle. I also tried different directions (up-down, down-up, left-right, right-left). But I still couldn't handle tiny lines made with the tip of my brush

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So, I decided to practice only the consistency of lines with the tip of my brush and switched to A5 size paper, they aren't straight at all but at least they've become more consistent(ish). I also found that it's simpler when I hold brush's handle in the middle:

14 Days of Drills to Advance Your Skills - image 8 - student project

Day 5: Flat Brushes and Variation

Has anyone noticed that longer lines look like bamboo? Walked back to vanish in a bamboo forest...

14 Days of Drills to Advance Your Skills - image 9 - student project

UPD: Came back out of the bamboo forest to share something else.

You know, we all have these ridiculous long lists of saved classes on SkillShare... I've found that lesson where you can paint beautiful poppy flowers in 15 minutes, I always told to myself "I'll paint them today" and immediately something was crossing my mind and I did everything but those damn poppy flowers.

And today! That was the day! lol

I thought that nothing can make my day worse and I painted them. I realize one simple thing when I started, that I am more familiar with my brush, more confident. I knew what to do and how, everything became clearer and I actually enjoyed painting along with someone.

Day 6: Angled and Compound Stitches

That was the sixth day of the challenge and the eighty-first day of the quarantine, I was trying to survive as I could. My family thinks that I am crazy because drilling, scanning, painting, eating, and fighting with delivery companies are only things that I do. I ask my little niece to change the water in jars for candy.

That was the first exercise that actually makes my hand ache. I'm still not satisfied with the result, but it gets better.. I think.. I'm trying to practice color combination as well, sometimes they match, sometimes they don't. I tried in different directions, it was always easier for me to paint towards me, it also seems it's more comfortable for me to paint from left to right.

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Combining both directions together. I like how colors matched on the right paper, it seems like it's glowing.

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Day 7: Compound Curves

Honestly, I kinda didn't get this exercise. I either don't hold my brush right or my brush isn't good enough for the exercise (it's a round brush but pretty pointy). Or maybe it's too big. Or maybe I tried to curve it too much. Oh well, maybe It wasn't just my day. Couldn't get the consistency, I think my 4yo niece can do better lol. But it was ok-ish with bigger "S". I want to try this exercise with another brush when I get a chance.

Here's my talent :D

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Reversed "S" was better and easier for me.

I wonder if it actually depends on the alphabet we use? As a non-native English speaker, I've been taught to write in the Latin alphabet after Cyrillic. So, my hand just naturally better with other brush strokes and reversed "s" is similar to the way how I write down number 2.

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Day 8: Extreme Changes in Directions

Aaaaand boom! Please, update your subscription to Skillshare! Do you know, my friends, how frustrating is that when you are in the middle of the pandemic?

Anyway.. My niece stopped to change the water in the jars for candy, caramel candy payment is not accepted, chocolate only :( Have to go to a supermarket and stop by an ATM.

Started with "U"s :) Love "U" :)) "U"s were meditative and relaxing. My small flat brush is too small to hold that much paint inside to finish the whole line :)

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"V"s. Didn't like them at all :) so, honestly finished them as soon as possible like "the best student" :D

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"N"s.. They are ok. But I like this exercise when I was practiced with a smaller brush.

PS: Hello to Cyrillic alphabet :D The very first "N" is the letter "И" lol

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Day 9: Pressure Changes

I'm surprised how many different marks you actually can make with only one brush... Bigger brush strokes look like fat worms :D

And I finally out of paper :/

14 Days of Drills to Advance Your Skills - image 18 - student project

14 Days of Drills to Advance Your Skills - image 19 - student project

I was painting some green leaves and flower petals later after the exercise, seems like my hand knows what to do. And I don't have this micro panic attack before every leaf. As well as I'm afraid to make mistakes less than before, like common! Seriously, look how many of them I already did and how many I will paint more.

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We definitely are trying to paint a masterpiece and just skipping the most important and simple things at the beginning. I wish I had someone who could slap me and tell me what to do and where to start. Seems like I start to realize why watercolor was soo frustrating before.

Day 10: Pressure Changes

I just leave it here :) That was so meditative.

14 Days of Drills to Advance Your Skills - image 21 - student project

14 Days of Drills to Advance Your Skills - image 22 - student project

14 Days of Drills to Advance Your Skills - image 23 - student project

Day 11: Combining Pressure and Compound Marks

These damn chubby circles don't want to come out nicely at all.

Anyway, I kept going, I think I saw slight progress. I would like to try it again but definitely with another brush. Seems like my brush a little bit soft for this exercise. But! by the end of the 4th page, I started to feel this "whole hand + wrist rotation" movement that helps to draw a circle in one touch. I noticed as well that the clockwise movement is easier for me, and again my hand was hovering.

I wonder what I usually do that helps me to have more control with hovering hand?.. The first thing on my mind is that I'm a teacher and usually I don't have a chance to rest my hand when I write on a whiteboard. Second is that I used to work on a deli 10 years ago and I was cutting/chopping/slicing a lot of things with a knife and usually hand is in a hovering position when you do that :D

Even though they are not that roundish I still like them :) and I liked the exercise.

14 Days of Drills to Advance Your Skills - image 24 - student project

14 Days of Drills to Advance Your Skills - image 25 - student project

Day 12: Nested Circles

Not sure how people do that. I didn't feel like doing the nested circles, so I just have a bunch of circles. And it was, even harder to paint them. Brrr...

The orange ones look like a super curly hair :) or little circles of the Hell :))

14 Days of Drills to Advance Your Skills - image 26 - student project

14 Days of Drills to Advance Your Skills - image 27 - student project

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PS: As the whole world in a difficult situation right now and a lot of us stuck in different places, we all have to keep ourselves busy. So my watercolor set is about to finish and unfortunately, international delivery isn't an option right now. So I've ordered 3 tubes (yellow, red, blue) from White Nights, can't go wrong with them and it's such a pain in the ass to prepare a well with watercolor from a pan. So the last two days, I've painted only using 3 primary colors.

As a person who isn't certain how deeply I want to go to explore watercolors, I don't want to spend a lot of money on paints, brushes, and paper. Of course, a lot of us are trying to find a perfect combination of quality and quantity. And.. I started to research what kind of paint I want to try next. I don't have anything against White Nights, but I would love to try something new.

So, most of the top watercolors brands have student grade paints and professional.. blah blah blah... yes, we all know, just buy one and paint! But the thing that actually bothers me a lot is that all the student grade paints have a variety of colors in a set, when I'm as a "student" prefer to have a set only with primary colors (warm and cool variation of each) to actually learn how to mix them. Yes, we all have been taught if we mix red and blue we get purple, but if we mix warm red and cool blue we also can get a brownish variation of purple. Same works with yellow and blue combination, as well as yellow and red. There are unlimited numbers of colors that you can get every time you mix paint.

But professional sets are the opposite actually, they all have 6 primary colors (warm+cool) and another most popular colors to fill the set (like Payne's grey, burnt sienna, several greens and etc). It is sooo unfair! Aren't students have to learn how to mix colors. And of course, the price difference is big, and it's even more expensive to buy 6 colors in tubes separately.

I know Daniel Smith has little test packs with 3/6 colors in a set, but they usually 5ml and expensive. Or of course, I can buy a huge set of 48 colors and it's definitely going to be 6 primary colors that I need, but I don't see the point of it.

Not sure why I'm telling all this here, but maybe there's someone like me who's struggling as well or maybe someone's found a perfect set of student grade paints :D Please, let me know as well if it exists!

Day 13: Advanced Practice

It was a lazy day and I didn't want to practice at all :) Here is my quick practice ...Zzz..

Btw, it would be interesting to practice "Z" for the "extreme changes in directions" exercise.

14 Days of Drills to Advance Your Skills - image 29 - student project

14 Days of Drills to Advance Your Skills - image 30 - student project

14 Days of Drills to Advance Your Skills - image 31 - student project

Day 14: Create and Compare

Here is the day! :D When you can see the result of all hard work (if you haven't noticed yet).

I started with the sampler sheet, used as a warm-up before the door. It was quite hard to do, because of the size of the squares and I have a big brush. Plus before I was practicing on A4 size paper :) Anyway, here's my sampler.

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And here is before/after door. I took A5 size again, took me under 30 minutes.

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Final Thoughts: That was very interesting!

This course helps you to build confidence. Seems like you open new sides of your brush. You don't have these micro heart attack when trying to paint something anymore (oh my God?! how to make this brushstroke, what if I'm going to screw up?!). At least, you know one thing for sure - If you don't know how to make it then take paper and practice. And you know that will definitely help.

You also discover what directions and movements are comfortable for you, you start to "listen" to yourself and your hand ("Shit! I just painted a perfect circle after 30 minutes of practice! How did I make it? What did I change?!" - and you are trying again and again until you find your perfect position), discover your strong and weak sides. In the middle of the course, I realize that I'm also much confident when painting because I spend a lot of time with my brush in my hand.

And this is so true, that most of us rush to paint a masterpiece and keep forgetting about small and simple steps which help us a lot.

I would recommend it to everyone, it's a very eye-opening course.

Thank you, Jen! The course is very structured and all the instructions and samples are very clear. I know you are doing your best to answer and comment on all the projects, that can take a lot of time. One of the most important steps of learning is getting feedback from teachers and students.

I would love to walk through the course again with different brushes, I think I will use a sampler sheet for warm-ups and some of the exercises as a relaxation :)

Thank you one more time! :)

PS: One idea what to do with your drills ;)

After finishing the course, I was left with a stuck of drills on my desk which I couldn't just put in a trash can. I couldn't accept the fact that there's no practical use for them anymore when one of the classes from Skillshare crossed my mind. That was a class about making your own calendar :) There are plenty of exercises and most of you guys don't stop on 1 page of practice, so it should be enough for 12 months ;)

Here's my version of the calendar :)

14 Days of Drills to Advance Your Skills - image 34 - student project

Anna D

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