Francesco Fontana came to us LIVE from Italy on Friday, April 1st at 10:30am Pacific vía Zoom para compartir sus técnicas de acuarela y su paleta de colores favorita.
Here’s a quick Q&A with Francesco:
¿Por qué haces arte?
I wish I knew! I may say to express myself, to send a message to the world, to free my mind – many reasons, it’s a mystery to lots of artists.
How long have you been painting? Did you have formal art training?
I have been drawing since I can remember. I went to art school in Palermo, Sicily then I entered Architecture, but quit soon. I took several painting workshops with class instructors in Italy and abroad. I have been painting regularly for about 25 years.
¿Eres artista profesional o aficionado?
I am a full-time painter.
¿Qué te inspira?
Inspiration come from everyday life and travels. For a long time it has been landscape, now I am also focusing on figurative art in the context. It allows me to tell more stories.
¿Qué tipo de música escuchas mientras pintas?
I listen to my favorite programs on the radio. But for music, my playlist includes great singers and composers, such as Sia and Amy Winehouse.
¿Has tenido algún mentor?
I’ve had many good teachers, but my mentor actually was my shrink! I owe him – he helped me to embraced being an artist for good. You know, motivation, self-confidence and direction can be a struggle.
¿Pintas todos los días?
Yes I commit to painting every day, even little things – but with obligations, classes, marketing, interviews… I succeed about 4 out of 7 days.
¿Pintas una pieza a la vez o trabajas en varias simultáneamente?
One at the time, but I’m getting organized to do more simultaneously.
¿Primero creas un boceto conceptual?
For my recent larger studio works, I do make plenty of studies and reflect a lot before hitting the canvas (paper).
¿Prefieres pintar en estudio o al aire libre?
It goes with the season. In the spring and summer, I enjoy plein air, but I keep studio projects too.
¿Cuántos colores básicos utilizas?
About six in a single painting, sometimes even less.
¿Tubos, sartenes o palitos?
Definitely tubes
¿Cuándo sabes que tu obra está terminada?
When dinner is ready! Well, now I work on pieces that take days or weeks, so jokes aside, I struggle. When I feel it’s almost done, I leave it facing the wall for a few days then I check on it and see if he needs anything else. Usually just the signature!
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Únete a nosotros en línea cada semana para una conversación cercana y personal con John Cogley, CEO y propietario de Daniel Smith, y artistas invitados de todo el mundo. Los jueves (14:00, hora del Pacífico), John destaca las características de nuestros productos y responde a tus preguntas. Los viernes (10:30, hora del Pacífico), un artista invitado comparte cómo incorpora esas características en su obra. haga clic aquí para los enlaces de Zoom de la próxima semana.
Consulte nuestra Facebook página para noticias sobre próximos artistas invitados o para ver repeticiones pasadas. Cada reunión de Zoom también se graba y se comparte en nuestra canal de YouTube. La traducción al español está disponible – selecciona el canal en español en Zoom.
