Jonathan Kwegyir Aggrey from Ghana shares his favorite watercolor tips and techniques:

Here’s a Q&A with Jonathan:

Why do you make art?
I make art to continue God’s good works on earth.

How long have you been painting?
I have been painting all my life, but professionally for 20 years now.

Did you have formal art training?
Yes – I had formal art training at the University of Education, Winneba and also informal art training at Freehand Studios, all in Ghana.

Are you a working artist or a hobbyist?
I am a working artist.

What inspires you?
Sometimes inspiration comes to me naturally or through meditation. Observing, walking around, sketching, talking, listening to conversations or music, looking through photos – all these activities inspire my creativity.

What kind of music do you listen to while painting?
I mostly listen to African music from Ghana, Mali, Senegal, and Cameroon.

Have you had a mentor?
Yes – I have had several mentors over the year, including Richard Acquaah-Harrison and Enoch Yaw Mensah from Ghana, Nancy Howe from Vermont USA, Master Guan Weixing from China, Ong Kim Seng from Singapore, and Ann Thibaudeau from Canada.

Do you paint every day?
No.

Do you paint one piece at a time or work on several at the same time? Do you create a concept piece
first?
In the studio, I like to work on several artworks at the same time. Sometimes I work out the concept first before making the final pieces. For outdoors, I work on the goal after finding a spot that catches my attention.

Do you prefer painting in studio or en plein air?
In studio.

How many core colors do you use?
I work with the basic primary colours of red, yellow and blue.

Tubes, pans or sticks?
Tubes.

Do you use masking fluid?
Sometimes – when I’m doing figurative paintings.

When do you know that your piece is finished?
When I start adding small small details.

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Join us online each week via Zoom or Facebook for an Up Close and Personal Conversation with John Cogley (Daniel Smith Owner and CEO) along with guest artists from around the world. On Thursdays (2:00pm Pacific), John and some of our Brand Ambassadors highlight a group of colors and answer your questions. On Fridays (10:30am Pacific), a guest artist shares a demo with their favorite tips and techniques. Click here for the upcoming week’s Zoom links.

If you prefer, you can visit our Facebook page at showtime to watch live. Replays can be watched on Facebook or YouTube. La traducción al español está disponible – selecciona el canal en español en Zoom.