Gabriel Stockton came to us LIVE from the USA on Friday, February 25th to discuss his color palette and watercolor techniques with a demo.

Here’s a quick Q&A with Gabriel:

Why do you paint?  
I must paint, God gave me eyes to see beautiful things and the love for learning about how watercolor plays.

How long have you been painting?  
Not long enough, painting takes a lifetime. My mother was an artist and notice my talent at the early age of 5 years.

Did you have formal art training?  
I did attend college, but the real growth happened on long walks and during paint-outs.

Are you a working artist or do you have another job? 
I am a full-time artist.

Who do you look to for inspiration?  
Any tonalist or impressionist artist, living or past.

Do you mentor emerging artists? 
Yes, I enjoy working with emerging artists, it’s a win/win to teach someone the joy of watercolor.

Do you paint every day? 
Yes, there is so much beauty in the world. I usually paint in the mornings, but I could paint all day. I am also a husband; father and I spend time marketing my work.

Do you paint vertically or flat?  
At a 15-45 degree angle.

Do you begin with a sketch or concept piece? 
Yes, I love the practice of drawing, sketching, composition and values

Do you paint from your memory or photo references? 
Both…and also dreams.

What music do you listen to while painting?  
It would surprise you what I listen to, it changes.

Tubes, pans or sticks? 
15ml tubes are my preference, but then John introduced me to pans and sticks. They are great tools for me to express and encourage others to give art a go.

How many core colors do you use?  
I use 5-12 watercolor sticks and 15-18 colors in my palette for plein air work. For my studio work, my porcelain paint palette has 30 colors. I can paint with four colors… they keep showing up in my paintings.

Do you work on one piece at a time or several?  
Sometimes I will do 85 to 90% of a painting in plein air then finish in the studio, so I might create 2-4 paintings in one 3-hour plein air session.

How long does it take you to finish a piece?  
Generally, 45 minutes to 3 hours, but no more than a week.

When do you know a piece is finished?   
It’s a balance between a check-off list and when my spirit says so with a peaceful calmness.

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.