Innholdsfortegnelse for Spring 2026 i Watercolor Artist

Bulgarian artist Svetlin Sofroniev believes that watercolor bestows an inherent luminosity on its subjects. “The white of the page shines and nourishes the translucent color,” he says. “For me, the beauty of watercolor lies in the way the page sparkles underneath.” Fittingly, Sofroniev's first name means “light.” Yet when the award-winning artist speaks about light, he's just as often talking about color—treating the two as nearly interchangeable. As the artist explains to his master-class students, the right question is not how to paint light, but “what color the shadow needs to be so that the light comes forth,” he says. “The light shines with the correctly defined shadow. That happens due to the interaction of the colors. So even a color that, at first glance, is dark, unpleasant or dirty—a…

When does a single idea grow into something larger? And how do you choose the right materials, palette and symbols to carry it through? My “Gods at Mardi Gras” series started with a few small, unrelated events. Over time, they converged into a cohesive series exploring identity, symbolism and story. The result is a pantheon of portraits—both mythical and modern. A SERENDIPITOUS SPARK The idea for “Gods at Mardi Gras” began with a string of seemingly unrelated events, all within the span of a few weeks. In the fall of 2023, I traveled to Greece for the Watercolor International exhibition, in Thessaloniki. While abroad, I had a special side mission to collect stories and souvenirs for my granddaughter, who was studying Greek mythology in school at the time. Not long…

The sky doesn't have to be the focus of a landscape painting for it to breathe life into a scene. Even when it's quite understated, a well-rendered sky still has the power to both enhance the light and set the mood in a watercolor work. I've found that when I turn my attention to the skies in my paintings—and intentionally work to improve them—it brings an overall refinement to my landscapes. For this reason, I encourage my students to paint skies as often as they can. Isolating skies will allow you to work on skills that require many repetitions to master, such as creating lost and found edges, achieving a full spectrum of values, and avoiding the tendency to overwork a scene. HARD AND SOFT EDGES One of the most…

Canadian artist Lorraine Simonds is the latest watercolorist to bring her expertise to the course schedule for Artists Classroom @ Home, the online educational program at ArtistsNetwork.com. The four-part series takes artists on a transformational journey through the essential techniques of watercolor portraiture, while exploring the profound differences in how we capture faces across the human lifespan. Participants will learn to hone not only the technical skills of water control, luminosity and bold expression, but also how to observe and honor the anatomical shifts that happen with age—from the soft curves of childhood to the character etched in mature faces. “I'll share my methods for weaving story and emotion into every brushstroke,” says Simonds, “as well as what I look for when choosing a moment to paint, and why I…

Frank Eber I think the following actions have helped me and can help all of us grow as artists. First, practice presence while painting, following your intuitive intelligence in the process. Second, change what you paint. Explore subject matter that you've never painted before. Three, avoid social media. I don't find it helpful to bombard myself with what other artists paint. Lastly, don't paint to sell. Instead, paint like nobody will ever see it. Keiko Tanabe I embrace the “beginner's mind” and stay curious about the world. I take every opportunity to paint outdoors, wherever my travels take me. Being outside sharpens my senses and pushes me to be braver, creatively. Facing shifting light, changing weather and unfamiliar settings helps me stay adaptable, present and open to new possibilities. Peggi…

Carmella Tuliszewski has been an artist for as long as she can remember—replicating cartoon characters from cereal boxes as a child and later illustrating cards and collectibles for Hallmark Cards, Inc.—but her interest in watercolor came much later. It was only after moving from commercial work to teaching art at a private school that Tuliszewski, by chance, discovered the medium during a mandatory continuing-education course at a local college. “I completely fell in love with watercolor that first night,” the Pennsylvania-based artist says. Having worked extensively with acrylics and gouache, she found watercolor to be a completely different experience. “I was enchanted with the flow of pigment, the translucent quality of glazing colors to create new colors or add value, and the luminosity achieved by color choice and placement within…

Watercolor wasn't always Joseph Zbukvic's first medium of choice. “In the early 1970s, I was painting in acrylic and oil,” he says. “I was quite successful with sales and awards, and I could have easily continued down that road, but it was watercolor that took over. Why? Watercolor is the only medium that continues to work after it's applied to the surface. It stays alive while it's still wet.” Zbukvic notes that in oil painting, the surface must be covered by the artist's individual brushstrokes. “With watercolor, though, you can pre-wet an area and paint an entire sky in mere seconds,” he says. “That brief time—while the wash is wet, moist or damp—is the battlefield on which an artist learns to become a mere assistant to the paint. “It sounds…

Apainting's expression is strongly influenced by its color palette. I love experimenting with color themes in my cat portraits, as they help me convey the emotion and personality of each subject. For me, choosing the right palette is about telling a story through color: I envision the mood I want to convey, select the hues that capture it and then use watercolor techniques that heighten the emotional impact. By following this approach, each portrait becomes not just a likeness of a cat, but a visual expression and interpretation of its character. On the following pages are four of my favorite palettes—calm, dynamic, dreamlike and earthy—and how I use each to achieve the desired effect. CALM PALETTE Mood/Story: stillness, safety, reflection, nature's quiet beauty Palette: soft, low-saturation hues in blues, greens…

RENOWNED WATERCOLORIST AND painting instructor Irena Roman had the honor of serving as Chair of the Jury of Awards for the American Watercolor Society's (AWS) 158th Annual Exhibition at the Salmagundi Club in New York City last fall. “The AWS awards celebrate the best of the best in watercolor painting,” Roman says. “It was my pleasure—along with co-jurors Lana Privitera and Stephen Quiller—to bestow 40 awards from the 151 paintings chosen by the Jury of Selection, from approximately 1,000 worldwide entries.” The team of jurors was also asked to select works for the traveling exhibition. “To say this was a significant responsibility is an understatement,” Roman continues. “We began by spending ample time individually, taking in each painting and jotting down our impressions. Every watercolor was impactful in its own…

I once taught a group of children who seemed intimidated by drawing; they wanted their efforts to be perfect from the start. I adapted my plan and guided them toward an alternative approach: using templates to build geometric abstractions. Once the students felt free to experiment without the self-imposed pressure of perfection, their creativity flowed. I've kept this experience close to my heart—and have since incorporated the use of geometric abstraction into my own creative process. My work begins with the story and transitions to the composition. Instead of drawing the subject onto paper, I head to my stack of leftover paper scraps and lay out the composition using simple geometric forms. With this method, I'm able to make important decisions—about techniques, colors, layers, painting sequence—before putting brush to paper…

Venice is my muse—my inspiration, my amusement, my source of wonder. It's the place where I feel closest to my true artistic self. Throughout the ages, artists, writers, poets and musicians have been drawn to its charms, and I understand why. Every time I return, I'm reminded that inspiration isn't always something we seek. Sometimes, it seeks us. Venice has sought me, and it has claimed me. FIRST IMPRESSIONS The first time I set foot in Piazza San Marco, I understood why people refer to it as the most beautiful city square in the world. It's not only the impressive scale and exquisite architecture, but the atmosphere. Standing amidst the Basilica's golden mosaics, the imposing Campanile and the refined arcades of the Procuratie, one experiences a remarkable perspective. The piazza…

Step 1 After dampening the front and back of the paper, I painted the light areas of the clouds and began building up the darker areas around them. Step 2 I took my time to finesse the sky and add in the lightest values for the rest of the scene. Artist's Toolkit PAPER Saunders Waterford 140-lb. cold-pressed WATERCOLORS Daniel Smith cobalt blue, cerulean, raw sienna, raw sienna light, raw umber, lavender, burnt sienna, cobalt turquoise, neutral tint, rose madder permanent, cadmium yellow light; Holbein ivory white gouache BRUSHES No. 18 Escoda mop; No. 14 round Dream Catcher; No. 12 Perla; No. 4 rigger Step 3 Once the paper was dry, I painted the middle values of the scene. Then I softened a few of the edges on the mountain so…