🎨 Finding Rhythm—Real-Time Rebuilding & Watercolor Wins 🚀

🎨 Chaos, Coffee & Watercolor: Real Talk from the Studio

 Pull up a chair, friend—let’s get real about art, business, and the beautifully messy path between them. 🫖🎨

If we haven’t met, I’m Zarah over at Watercolor Wizardry, and you’ve absolutely caught me mid-chaos (which is honestly the place where all good creativity starts). Lately, every day feels like a wild mash-up of live painting, podcasts, emails, blogs, landing pages, and the never-ending attempt to create something that feels as good on the inside as it looks on the outside.

So—how do you keep going, growing, and glowing when life (and art) is a constant experiment? Here’s what I’m learning, what I’m building, and what I want to share with you.

☕️ Morning Mayhem & Magic Every morning, I’m in the Watercolor Wizardry Academy community—live. Not polished, not perfect, just showing up, painting, and figuring things out (sometimes while still in pajamas, if I'm honest).

These daily lives are part of our big experiment: focusing on livestreams while painting the lessons. Why? Because I believe it behefits me, it benefits members and mastering those detailed, meticulous techniques builds real confidence that you can bring to any project—whether it’s a dainty petal or a wild, free-expression piece because you'll understand how watercolor behaves, what to expect.

Building something real takes more than just nice tutorials. Watercolor Wizardry Academy is in beta while we build. We’re building together, trying new approaches, sharing honest wins and flops, and supporting each other as we go.  We are in construction mode.

🔄 Schedules, Sanity & the Tetris Game of Time

Confession: I had to totally flip-flop my own schedule, again.  After my livestream, I followed the “responsible” schedule I had mapped out—handle the human things outside of building the program, etc, then create. And guess what? By the time I got to the fun stuff—like podcasting, blogging, and sharing my thoughts—I was wiped. No energy. No spark. Just me, staring blankly at the screen, not even understanding what I'm saying... actually couldn't even speak my thoughts clearly. Or, atleast I thought.  I'm listening to the podcast now and I actually sound great compared to how I was feeling at the time.  Normally, it's a one shot, brain-dump and I'm off to the races...but this podcast took me a few tries because I felt so out of it.

I should’ve followed the bliss when it was hot.  Next time? I’m flipping it. I’ll ride the energy wave and create first, while the inspiration’s fresh. The “adulting” can wait. Maybe this reminder will help you too—follow what lights you up first. The grind will still be there (but at least you'll be glowing).

And hey, speaking of connection: every Wednesday I go live to the public. You’ll find me painting on YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitch—you name it! Whether you want to chat or just lurk with your coffee and laundry basket, you’re welcome in my creative little corner.

💬 Progress > Perfection (and Why We Need Each Other)

Some days, it feels like I’m on a creative treadmill—new ideas, new structures, starting fresh again and again, as if it was groundhog's day.  I feel like I'm still at the beginning after all this time and that makes me sad to see it that way. So, I make myself look closer and try to change my perspective.  I see and realize that I am moving forward. I’m have learned A LOT and I'm still learning, experimenting, and slowly turning chaos into color and probably forever will be, which is actually pretty awesome.  I don't want to get bored.

There’s this sneaky voice that likes to point out how far you haven’t come—ignore it. Actually, drown it out with reality by finding all the things YOU HAVE DONE.  If you let self-criticism win, you stay stuck and sad (and nobody wants to paint from that place).... well, unless you're inspired from it, which is a different thing.  Anyway, my point is, become your own best cheerleader. Keep showing up. Even if you only move a small step forward each day, it really adds up.

This isn’t just about watercolor—this is life, y’all.

🖌️ Key Takeaways from the Studio

• Do what energizes you first. When you start with the fun, you have more fuel for the tougher stuff.

• Hyper-realism is a technique, skills, and confidence builder. Even if you love loose florals, those foundational skills make everything easier.

• Show up. Messy but consistent is key. Community, accountability, and daily-ish action beat perfection every time.

• Honor your progress. Every small win adds up to something big, even when you can’t see it yet.

• Encourage yourself relentlessly. Self-kindness is what keeps you going, even when nothing’s going right.

💪 Action Steps for Creative Momentum

1. Hang with Us Live: Pop into a YouTube or Facebook live—even if you’re lurking while doing chores. There’s creativity in community.

2. Practice One Technique: Pick a hyper-realistic element (like glass, petals, or shadows) and go deep, not wide—see what mastery feels like.

3. Sign Up for Workshop Alerts: Workshops and daily(ish) updates—if you want behind-the-scenes be updated, get on the list!

4. Encourage Yourself Daily: Seriously. Leave yourself a post-it, say it in the mirror, text a friend—anything. Being your own best cheerleader is a superpower artists forget to use.

🔮 Moral of the Story (but, like, chill) Building art—and a creative life—from the heart means chaos, courage, and a lot of faith.  That means believing in something that isn't in reality yet.  That's faith in the UNSEEN. You are the creator of what you want, and creation happens through you. Show up for your ideas, honor how far you’ve come, and let community lift you on the stuck days. Your authentic creative flow doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. As long as you keep moving (and do some deep, cleansing breaths), you’re on the path.

And when life throws in a little chaos? Just paint through it. Sometimes the best work appears when the plan falls apart and you’re left with—just you, your brush, and an open page. 💕

Keep painting, keep playing, and I’ll see you in the studio.

Big hugs and have fun painting!
Zarah