My watercolor paintings are very free-flowing, loose and bold with color. I do not start with a preliminary drawing or study. I dive right in to dry, 300lb paper with a loaded brush. It’s important to me that my brushstrokes are minimal and my colors are crisp. I believe that less is more when it comes to a successful watercolor painting.

I love the Quinacridone series because the colors are so vibrant and mix so well with each other. I do not mix colors on a palette – instead I encourage pigments to merge together on the paper, free and spontaneous, not bounded by outlines. With DANIEL SMITH pigments, I like the fact that what you see is what you get, there’s no surprises when the painting dries, it doesn’t dry lighter.

In this painting, Home Grown Tomatoes, I really wanted to showcase the wide spectrum of colors that make up these juicy fruits. Quinacridone Sienna and Quinacridone Coral mix so well to achieve that bright orangey red, so rich in hue. The jewel-like colors really make this still life pop. Quinacridone Gold is my go-to color and it brings so much to a painting! Painted either alone are as a glaze, it lightens up any setting.

When fall is here, one can begin to see Mother Nature’s own beautiful palette of colors. Every day I see a new color or a new shape and I feel a new emotion as the leaves turn color and the gorgeous hues of light spread upon the landscape. The cool, harsh, light of the strong summer sun now gives way to warm, glorious, lush colors.

I found this grove of birches and loved the contrast of the white bark against the changing colors of the foliage. My style of painting is very organic, loose and spontaneous, without the use of preliminary drawings or studies. I want to establish the mood and atmosphere through mingling of pigments on unstretched, dry watercolor paper. I paint intuitively, so it’s very difficult to describe my painting process! This painting was dedicated to the wonderful artist Nicholas Simmons, who encouraged, inspired and guided me along the way.

I need watercolor pigments that I can depend on in terms of transparency, granulation and consistency. DANIEL SMITH watercolors always perform exceptionally!