3 watercolour rules I break! What “rules” do you break?

I was scrolling through Instagram and saw a reel by @watercolorsbybree about what watercolour rules she breaks, and it got me thinking… what rules do I break? I like to use the term “rules” loosely when it comes to watercolour. I think anything creative shouldn’t really have any rules. But there are some people that are very passionate about doing things a specific way… and that’s just not me. #1. I don’t change my water as often as I should. Using dirty water does risk having your painting look muddy and dull. And sometimes, mine can. But honestly, sometimes I’m just too lazy. I don’t sell my work so I don’t worry as much about the outcome of every painting as much as I do about the process. So I don’t stress too much about that. However, if you find your paintings are looking a bit muddy, you may want to change your water often or have more jars of clean water on hand. #2. I double dip in my paint. Yes my yellow is always looking a little green and that can impact the colour if I want to use it on its own or mix it with a warmer colour. But the beauty of watercolour is that it is a water soluble medium, and with a few swipes of a clean wet brush you can clean it quite easily. So again, I don’t stress too much over contaminating my watercolours with other colors. And lastly, #3. I sometimes like to use white paint to mix with my other colours to lighten them. Now to a lot of people who are very serious about watercolor, this is a big no-no. Traditionally, when you want to lighten a color, you should be adding more water, not white paint. This is why you’re supposed to paint light to dark. And if you’d like to preserve the white on your paper, you should be using masking fluid or painting around those areas you want to keep white. Adding white paint to your colours will make it more opaque. I think both ways can work. And really, you should just do what you want to do and use what you want to use. You are the artist and these are your paintings. Break what rules you want to and focus on your creativity and love for painting. What watercolour rules do you break? Let me know! (I also have a few rules I don’t break, should I make a reel on those? Let me know!)