Painting lessons to be learnt from nature

Published about 2 months ago • 1 min read

Nature's messy right?

Hey Reader

I live in the UK. It’s wet - Most of the time! But wow - the past 6-7 weeks have just been dark, damp and damn right depressing.

There I said it and if you’re here in the UK with me too. You’ll know what it feels like when it actually stops raining.

I feel like the daffodil at the bottom of my garden “Can we come out yet? Has it actually stopped!”

So…This week it stopped. For a little bit and I actually got to go for a walk - in nature. Cup filled right there. 😌

And do you know what stood out most?

Nothing in nature is neat.

Leaves are chewed at the edges.
Branches grow in strange directions.
Flowers overlap, lean, twist, and sometimes look like they’ve had a rough Winter too!

And yet… none of it looks out of place.
In fact, that messiness is exactly what makes it beautiful.

Somewhere along the way, though, we learned that painting has to be tidy. Controlled. Perfectly placed.

We sit down with watercolours trying to make every petal behave, every brushstroke match the picture in our heads.

And that’s usually the moment frustration arrives. Because watercolour - just like nature - isn’t meant to be controlled at all...

Water moves.
Pigment spreads.
Edges soften.
Unexpected things happen - that’s the absolute JOY of it all..

When you start to see painting this way, something shifts. Instead of fighting the paint, you begin working with it. The blooms, the uneven edges, the accidental textures stop being mistakes and start becoming character.

Nature never apologises for being imperfect.
A wildflower doesn’t compare itself to the one next to it.
A tree doesn’t restart because a branch grew crooked.

It simply grows.

And your paintings are allowed to do the same.
Because messy doesn’t mean wrong. Messy means alive.

So this week, I want to offer you a small shift in perspective:

Instead of trying to paint something perfectly… try painting something naturally.

Til next time,
Sue 🎨💛

Head over to Youtube to paint this one with me and please hit subscribe.

“Life is messy, but that's where the magic happens - in the mess." - Anon

Oaklands Road, Bridgend, Bridgend CF31 4SN
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