September 18, 2026
Why is watercolor so hard?
Watercolor feels so hard for 3 main reasons: you compare your failures to other people's successes, you pick topics that are still too difficult for your current technique, and you paint blindly, without a system for interpreting a subject. The solution is to remember that every painter struggles as much as you do, to start with simpler and smaller topics, and to study one artist you love so you can break down how they paint.
Why does it feel like everyone else succeeds at watercolor?
When you look at what other people paint while you are struggling so hard, it feels kind of depressing. You get the feeling that everyone else is succeeding in watercolor except you.
The breakthrough happened at an in-person watercolor retreat I did with my students. At the end of the 3-day event, I asked them what they thought of it, and one student's answer made something clear to me: your point of view is biased.
You are alone in your watercolor studio. You are alone with all the failures you see in your own work, and at the same time you see all the marvels that other people are doing. As long as you keep in mind that every single person painting in watercolor is struggling as much as you do, it becomes a relief.
Does struggling with watercolor mean you have no talent?
No. I understood this second reason thanks to a student who joined my French program, "Sublimes Aquarelles". People who start the curriculum begin with what I call the master classes. These are modules where I break down all the pieces of watercolor:
- how to make the pigments mingle
- how to mix your colors
- how to draw the perspective
These are very small exercises, and they are beautiful in themselves. A beautiful thing doesn't have to be a very complex or very difficult thing. Some of them are what I call specific techniques for watercolor painting, like the Eye of Sauron or the X-Men technique.
In a chat with the other students, this student said: "It's already reassuring to work on the techniques on a small scale. It proves we're capable."
So if you struggle with watercolor, it doesn't mean you don't have any talent. It means the topic you pick for your own painting is still a little bit too difficult. Elements like perspective, buildings or figures can still be hard because you don't have the technique yet.
What should beginners paint in watercolor?
For new people, I strongly suggest starting with very simple topics, like a cloud or a sky. I call these small-scale exercises "watercolor LEGO". If you work this way, you are on the right track.
If you find yourself struggling, pick topics that are easier, simpler and smaller. By doing so, not only will you be able to create so much more, you will also learn so much more.
The best part is what happens when you hit a big roadblock. You will know exactly what the difficulty is. Is it the cloud? The snowy house? The perspective? As soon as you simplify the topic, you also reduce all the factors where things could go wrong. When you analyze your painting and diagnose what went wrong, it becomes so much easier.
What happens when you paint without a system?
The last reason you struggle so hard is that you paint blindly. You don't have a system to interpret a topic in watercolor.
This happened to me. I don't know how to paint flowers in watercolor, I really don't. I did a live painting session with my students without knowing anything about painting flowers, and I told them: "You know what, let's try some stuff." It didn't go well. There was no real light coming from those flowers, because I painted completely blindly, without knowing what I was doing at all.
If you ask me to paint a sky, I can do it quite easily. For flowers, I don't know how. Painting without knowing how is one of the biggest reasons people struggle.
How do you learn a new subject by studying one artist?
If you find yourself in the same spot, pick one artist whose work you love. That's what I did. One of my students recommended a French watercolorist, Jean Lacalmontie, who wrote a book about the flowers of his garden. When I saw his flowers, I thought: wow, this is so beautiful.
Here is the process I followed:
- Take one of the artist's paintings.
- Break it down into manageable pieces to understand how they paint.
- Don't try to copy every gesture. Break it down your way, then build it again your way.
- Apply what you understood to your own topic.
The study is just an experiment. You don't need to make something beautiful or an artwork. The point is to understand how this artist paints this specific subject. Mine wasn't perfect, but by doing it you grasp things you can then use on real topics.
For example, I saw that in Jean Lacalmontie's flowers, the brightest parts are the white of the paper, and he darkens the colors where the petals bend. So I picked a flower of my own and tried to emulate his way of doing it. I left the white of the paper for all the brightest areas, then added color where I could see darker areas. The result worked so much better than my previous flower sketch.
This is the difference with watercolor tutorials. You don't reproduce everything the artist does. You take inspiration from their way of doing things. Then you have a method you can lean on, and you won't struggle as much as before.
FAQ
Is everyone else really better at watercolor than me?
Your point of view is biased because you see all your own failures and only other people's best work. Every single person painting in watercolor struggles as much as you do.
What is a "watercolor LEGO"?
It's my name for small-scale exercises on simple topics, like a cloud or a sky. Because the topic is simple, you know exactly where the difficulty is when something goes wrong.
Should I copy an artist's watercolor tutorial step by step?
No. Pick an artist you love, break their painting down your way, and rebuild it your way. The goal is to understand how they approach a subject, then apply it to your own topic.
If you want to finally create on your own, with a proven system instead of copying tutorials, this is exactly what you'll find here 👇
Discover The Loose Watercolor System