Konstantin Sterkhov from Russia shares his favorite palette and watercolor techniques:

Here’s a fun Q&A with Konstantin:

If you could only take three colors with you to paint on an island vacation, which three would you take?
I would take Neutral Tint, Yellow Ochre and Verditer Blue. First, if I am limited in colors, I have to be sure there is one that I can use for the tonal version of anything that I paint. I can use either Neutral Tint or a mixture of it with Ochre that makes it warmer and closer to Umber or Sepia. Also taking in consideration that it is an island, the landscape is mainly sea, sky and coast line. My three colors will give me a chance to paint seascapes even with warm/cool color relationships.

Describe a recent art show you participated in that was particularly inspiring.
Right now one of my works is showing in Thessaloniki, Greece at the International Watercolour 6 show, organized by George Politis. And just a few days ago I enjoyed a great international artists’ meeting at the 4th Watercolor Festival in Finike, Turkey. We had a lot of workshops, plein air painting and an exhibition.

Where were the last few photos you took that might inspire you to paint?
We have been traveling for almost 2 years. First it was Turkey, then Georgia. Now I have been granted the UK Global Talent visa as an artist, so I am exploring a new country – England. In every place, I have been taking a lot of photos that I use for my online and in-person teaching.

What is the best piece of advice another artist has given you?
“Paint color in full strength of tone.” – Vladimir Starov, Art Academy professor
“When you draw an eye, look at the ear for proportion.” – Rem Tagirov, Udmurt University professor
“You have to make the least amount of brush strokes.” – Watercolor artists everywhere

What are you excited about working on next?
Since the Covid lockdown, I’ve been mainly teaching. Since the beginning of the war, my location kept changing and I had no possibility to work in a studio, so I am overloaded with ideas that have to be released on paper. I am excited to start working on all these ideas and collected material here in the UK.

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