Nicole López Espinoza shared with us how she creates her beautiful watercolor art.

Here’s a quick Q&A with Nicole:

Why do you make art?
After finishing university, art became a way to escape the stress and anxiety caused by my day job. In time, I realized that art allows me to express myself freely, without being concerned with other people’s expectations. It lets me live my life at my own pace. This is when I decided to pursue painting as my main job.

How long have you been painting?
I have been drawing and painting with different techniques since childhood. I started using watercolors around 2017.

Did you have formal art training?
No I am self-taught, but studying architecture at university taught me a lot about how to interpret objects and landscapes around me – I enjoyed the artistic aspects of the curriculum.

Are you a working artist or a hobbyist?
I started out as a hobbyist, but transformed art into my full-time job in 2016.

What inspires you?
Nature in general – specifically the exploration of the feminine and ephemeral aspects of flowers. Bringing the magic of flowers’ emotion, fragrance and visual delight on to paper is a metaphysical refuge in an otherwise fast-paced world. Also I admire Luisa Rivera, who inspires me every day with her dreamlike works.

What kind of music do you listen to while painting?
It depends on my state of mind and the type of assignment I am working on. Classical music or movie soundtracks are my favorites. Indie and pop music are my go-to genres for when I need a dose of extra motivation.

Do you paint every day?
Yes, I paint at least 2 hours every day; sometimes I even spend the whole night painting.

Do you paint one piece at a time or work on several at the same time?
Usually I am working on several pieces at the same time, such as one personal painting plus a few paintings I use for teaching classes.

Do you create a concept piece first?
Normally I do not work with a concept piece. However I often do color studies to define my palette for a painting.

Do you prefer painting in a studio or plein air?
I prefer painting in the quietness of my studio.

How many core colors do you use?
My core palette consists of about 14 colors, which include six primary colors, cold and warm.

Tubes, pans or sticks?
I have both pans and tubes. I like pans for easy transportation, but for studio painting I prefer tubes.

Do you use masking fluid?
Yes, I use it wherever I want to preserve small details, like little spots on flower petals.

When do you know that your piece is finished?
I consider a piece finished once I feel confident with having achieved the level of realism, three-dimensional volume and aesthetic expression that I am looking for.