What is the one thing you must have to complete a successful 
painting?

Without this, you will muddle along with your work and probably 
never paint anything that will make you proud. You will struggle 
with passages time after time, and make the same mistakes over 
and over. You may even get frustrated and give up before you 
paint a good piece. 

What is this characteristic?

Confidence.

If you paint with confidence, you will quickly overcome your 
mistakes and learn to work past them. You will no longer allow 
the voices and opinions of others to affect you. You will 
actually begin to look forward to challenges in your paintings, 
because you will know that you can use those challenges to 
improve your work.

One of my favorite sayings is "I would rather put down a quick, 
confident brushstroke that was wrong than a hesitant brushstroke 
that is right". How can I say this? It's because I know that a 
hesitant stroke that is "right" is made because I was so worried 
about messing up that I really took my time to get that one 
stroke right. This will probably lead to strokes later, if done 
the same way, that will not go with the look of the rest of 
painting. The piece will be made up of a bunch of single strokes 
that, while done competently, don't go together in the painting 
as a whole.

On the other hand, if I try to make quick confident strokes, I 
will capture the "essence" of the painting faster. This will lead 
to a more cohesive work, with every stroke complimenting the 
last.

So how do you develop this confidence in your work?

Think about it first. I spend a lot of time reviewing my drawing 
and working on it between painting stages. This helps me 
concentrate on where I want to go next in the painting. I can 
then choose the best stroke for that passage.

Give up having to make each stroke perfect. This is a biggie -
you have to let yourself make mistakes. Don't worry about making 
a bad brushstroke or putting down paint in the wrong place. As 
you loosen up, you will find your confidence increasing. If you 
make a mistake, leave it alone and go on with the painting - most 
attempts to correct the mistake just make it worse.

Concentrate on the values and shapes. You will make a much more 
confident stroke if you give up having to get the color exactly 
correct. Instead concentrate on the values and shapes. This will 
help you paint more abstractly, even in a realistic painting, by 
forcing you to think of "shapes" and "lights and darks" instead 
of things. Then you can take a bolder approach to your work, 
which will increase your confidence.

Make up your own mind about your work. Don't put too much 
stock in what other people say about your work, good or bad. 
Concentrate on painting for yourself, and your confidence will 
increase. Opinions are very subjective in the art world. Listen 
to your own inner voice both while you're creating a painting, 
and when you are viewing your work. 

Work on increasing your confidence, and watch your work grow! 

Artist Stephen Blackburn is the creative genius behind the award 
winning work, "Sunbathe", awarded during the international floral 
competition sponsored by International Artist magazine. He has 
been featured in the American Artist publication "watercolor -
Summer 1997", International Artist magazine, and The Artist 
magazine in Kent, England. His image "Forgotten Treasure" was 
included in the book "Best of Watercolor - Painting Composition" 
by Rockport Publishers, and another is featured in the book "Best 
of Watercolor 3". Mr. Blackburn teaches his unique style of 
watercolor in classes and workshops and frequently exhibits in 
the Midwest.  For further information visit 
http://www.LearnWatercolors.com.