What is the greatest advice ever received?

This weekend I'm having a fabulous time in New York City with some artist friends enjoying the museums and art galleries.  Therefore, I'm posted a collection of advice  for watercolorists that I've seen on the internet. This list is in no particular order.

• Paint a sky as quickly as possible and leave it alone as a sky is rarely improved by going back on it
• Your brush is only a vehicle. Let the paint water and paper do the work
• Don't be afraid of making a mistake.
• Lay down a big juicy wash of color, and then don't touch it.
• Accidents" can turn out to be positive things you never would have thought to try, yet love the results of.
• Less is more.
• Be patient, don't overwork, let each glaze layer dry...walk away.
• Often step back and watch my work from different distances.
• Particularly waterolours are best viewed from a distance
• Start out with as big a brush as you can
• Paint lots
• The point of interest should ...not.... be in the center....
• It's just a piece of paper...if at first you don't succeed, make it into a box.
• The bad ones make the good ones all the more better.
• Paint what you see ..Not what you know. 
• If the idea is one you love, then it's worth painting five or six times until you're happy".
• Quit using so many colors
• Practice, practice, practice!
• Use the "good" paper, and use your "good" brushes. "Paint like you're a millionaire!"
• Step away from the painting!! Put the brush down!" 
• Value does the work, color gets the credit.
• Mix your colors on the paper.
• Big ideas and big shapes lead to simple and effective paintings.
• It's only paper.
• Paint the forest...not the trees.
• Use the best paint and paper you can afford.
• Plan your composition. If the composition is wrong the entire painting will be wrong. Do a value study with pencil or gray markers or some paynes gray or burnt umber. Thing big shapes, not little objects and connect them. Remember to save the lights. (see step 1) Be patient. Let layers dry. Use the biggest brush you can handle to get the job done. Work large brush to small. Step away from your work. When you are trying to figure out how to finish and something is wrong, it is rarely a small detail but something that should have been worked out earlier.
• If you want it perfect then you might as well take a photo instead.
• Value change is more important than hue. If your painting is all the same value it is a flop no matter how exquisitely it is painted.
• Take a photo to see if you have enough contrast".
• Do not have focal point in center of painting, don't have anything interesting going on at the edges of the painting, be careful not to have lines leading you out of the painting, don't make the roads or rivers too straight as it moves the eye too fast ( have speed bumps or curves), if you lead the eye to a point in picture be sure to have something interesting there, at the center of interest have the most contrast and detail. Don't have detail at the periphery of sight because the eye doesn't see detail there when looking at a scene. Show depth by color temperature and making distant things faded out and blurry.
• The more often you paint the better you become. Paint every day even if it's just 15 minutes.
• Value does the work, Color gets the glory.
• Understanding that “less is more”
• Choose the subject that you love as it will motivate you to practice and this love will soon develop into infatuation thereby, greatly benefiting your work
• You must believe that “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”, never worry about criticism
• You must believe that there is no “best work”; everything changes with time so learn to constantly search.

I hope that you had your favorite in this list. To add to this list, send your comments below.

Today's artist find is Bev Jozwiak.

Have a great week,
Danielle