Learning to paint is just like learning to ride a bike. You don’t know everything by just looking at the bike. You have to get on the bike and practice, putting one foot in front of the other to keep on pedaling. And if you fall…well, you just get back up, right? Or would you stop trying altogether?  

It’s the same with painting. No one is born the best door hanger painter in the world. It comes as a result of lots of practice and lots of not giving up. You have to go little by little, and over time, you will learn. 

Now, that doesn’t mean you won’t ever make mistakes. In my 10+ years of painting, I have definitely had my fair share of them!

I’ve misspelled names on door hangers, added extra letters to words, and even had new ideas turn out totally different than what I envisioned. 

Even though making those mistakes didn’t feel good at the time, I’m glad I didn’t let them stop me. I’m glad I got back on the bike and kept on pedaling — it’s what makes you better! 

In this post, I’m going to show you a few of my biggest painting bloopers and the lessons I learned because of them! I want you to remember that you aren’t alone in this, and embracing your mistakes can help you become a better artist!

Lesson on Mistakes #1: You can always paint over something

Last winter, I decided to paint a holiday quilt block design on Facebook Live. If you’ve never seen one before, it has a lot of straight lines and not a lot of room for whimsy. Which means mistakes are pretty noticeable!

I was just about finished when I stepped back and realized one of the colors I had chosen was all wrong. I was so concentrated on perfecting the lines that I didn’t realize the green turned out much darker than the original Christmas green I was going for. 

So…I just painted a lighter green over it, which got me the color I originally hoped for. That’s it. Problem solved! 

Sometimes, the best fix is the simplest solution. And at the end of the day, it’s just paint! You can always paint over something. 

Lesson on Mistakes #2: Remember what you learned

Recently, I went live to paint a watermelon welcome sign. I was super excited about how this would turn out until I started painting the watermelons. The problem was, I was trying to paint a light red color on top of buffalo plaid. And because the red was so light, the pattern underneath showed through. 

So, I stopped right where I was and came up with a new plan. I let the part I had already painted dry, then used my previous knowledge of color priming to turn it around! 

I already knew that gray makes a GREAT color primer under red, so I just painted over the watermelons, let it dry, and then went at it again!

Sometimes, the fix is to stop and reflect on your past experiences and knowledge to determine how to stay the course. 

Lesson on Mistakes #3: It’s okay to redo something after you get some practice in

Like I said, learning how to paint takes practice. Any time you implement a new technique, you’ll have to do it a few times before you get it just right. 

I was reminded of this lesson a while back when I was teaching a new painting technique to my Facebook followers. It was the first time I had used it, and because of that, I had to repeat the process over and over until I got it just right—yes, even on live. (Side note: It was a cool experience learning alongside my followers!) 

Even though things didn’t turn out how I wanted to right away, I decided to go back and try again. I’m glad I did, because it also showed my followers that it’s totally okay to change something if you know you can do better!

Lesson on Mistakes #4: Sometimes things don’t work — and that’s okay!

I saved the best for last here! There’s one project that, to this day, my husband and I lovingly refer to as the “Crime Scene Candy Cane.”

Exhibit A: 

Obviously, I never intended it to look this way, but after an experiment gone wrong, it was too funny not to keep around!

This was a few years back, but at the time, I was learning how to use a paint-pour technique on Christmas ornaments. So I thought…why not try this out on my Facebook Live? The problem is, I didn’t think it through and jumped right in. 

If I had thought about it first, I would have realized that a candy cane is one of those designs that always has a specific look — the stripes and colors are the same every time, otherwise, it’s not a candy cane!

After trying to fix it with other techniques (that weren’t working), I decided to just let it go. It would forever be remembered as a project gone wrong. However, it taught me that not every technique is right for every project, and that’s more than okay! Mistakes happen. 

Mistakes make you a better artist; learn to embrace them!

Something you always have to remember when painting is that you have to let go of what you envisioned, and let the experience take you where it does. That’s part of the fun! When it doesn’t turn out how you want, learn from it and move on — you’ll be better off for it.

But if you want to get a little more practice, then join me inside the Painter’s Clubhouse! We work on monthly door hanger projects together, and you can get the support you need to improve your skills. (Plus, it’s tons of fun—we even have annual meetups!). 

The doors are currently closed, but if you add your name to the waitlist, I’ll let you know as soon as it opens back up!