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

Here’s a quick Q&A with Nicole:

Warum machst du Kunst?
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.

Wie lange malen Sie schon?
I have been drawing and painting with different techniques since childhood. I started using watercolors around 2017.

Haben Sie eine formale künstlerische Ausbildung genossen?
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.

Sind Sie ein professioneller Künstler oder ein Hobbykünstler?
I started out as a hobbyist, but transformed art into my full-time job in 2016.

Was inspiriert dich?
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.

Welche Musik hörst du beim Malen?
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.

Malst du jeden Tag?
Yes, I paint at least 2 hours every day; sometimes I even spend the whole night painting.

Malst du ein Bild nach dem anderen oder arbeitest du an mehreren gleichzeitig?
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.

Erstellen Sie zuerst ein Konzept?
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.

Wie viele Kernfarben verwenden Sie?
My core palette consists of about 14 colors, which include six primary colors, cold and warm.

Tuben, Pfannen oder Stäbe?
I have both pans and tubes. I like pans for easy transportation, but for studio painting I prefer tubes.

Verwenden Sie Maskierungsflüssigkeit?
Yes, I use it wherever I want to preserve small details, like little spots on flower petals.

Woran erkennen Sie, dass Ihr Werk fertig ist?
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.