Silvia Monge from Costa Rica shared her favorite watercolor palette and techniques.

Here’s a quick Q&A with Silvia:

If you could take only three colors to paint with on a deserted island, which three would you choose?
I would take Ultramarine Blue because I imagine being surrounded by that color in the water and the sky, so it would be essential.  The second would be Quinacridone Gold because it has marvelous transparency – when mixed with other colors you can achieve new tones and beautiful effects. The third would be Green Apatite Genuine because it rounds out the first two colors to mix a great variety of shades found in nature. It also gives me the dark tones I need for contrast in my painting.

What art exhibits have you entered recently?
Next week I will be participating in a non-traditional watercolor show at the Municipal Museum of Cartago in Costa Rica. That inspires me a lot because I would like watercolor artists to be allowed to have more freedom and not so many rules when painting for exhibits.

Where have you taken photos of scenery that might inspire you to paint?
I took some at a local fishing village and have already done several watercolors on the subject – however my interpretation is very different from the reality.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received from another artist?
Alvaro Castagnet once told me that before starting to compose, we have to spend time observing the scene in order to define the predominant color.

What are you excited about working on next?
I want to continue experimenting with new possibilities in watercolor. I would love to give more workshops that motivate my students to let go of their fear of this wonderful medium.

••••••••••

Join us online each week for an Up Close and Personal Conversation with Daniel Smith CEO and Owner, John Cogley and guest artists from around the world. On Thursdays (2:00pm Pacific), John highlights various features of our products and answers your questions. On Fridays (10:30am Pacific), a guest artist follows up to share how they incorporate those features into their art. Click here for the upcoming week’s Zoom links.

Check our Facebook page for news about upcoming guest artists or to watch past replays. Each Zoom meeting is also recorded and shared on our YouTube channel. La traducción al español está disponible – selecciona el canal en español en Zoom.