Carrie Waller came to us LIVE from Japan on Friday, February 4th via Zoom to talk about her watercolor style and favorite palette.

Here’s a quick Q&A with Carrie:

Depuis combien de temps peignez-vous ?
I taught myself how to paint in watercolor 20 years ago, but didn’t seriously start pursuing a professional career until a decade later. 

Avez-vous suivi une formation artistique formelle ?
I have a degree in Interior Design from Southern Illinois University and I also studied Graphic Design at University of Illinois in Chicago. 

 Êtes-vous un artiste professionnel ou avez-vous un autre emploi ? 
Painting and teaching are my main job, as well as raising my two sons. 

Pourquoi peins-tu ?
Being creative is just in my blood. I grew up with both my parents being creative. My Dad is a photographer and he would be thinking in compositions all the time, so I grew up seeing him think of the world in photos. I am always looking at the world as a composition and trying to capture the best-looking photos, which I use in my work. I just have this desire to share the beauty I see in objects or my travels. 

Qui vous inspire ?
When I got really serious about painting, I researched professional watercolor artists and reached out to several. Carol Carter was so inspirational and helpful, I still run things by her from time to time. I’m also part of an artists’ group called Women Artists Masters, which includes Debra Keirce and Maria Bennett Hock. We meet and demo regularly and exhibit together all over the world.  I also paint virtually each week with Helen K. Beacham, as well as Kim Minichiello before she passed away. 

Vous peignez tous les jours ?
I do try – some days I paint for 8-10 hours and other days I can only get in an hour or two. I love painting late at night when the house is quiet and no other daily tasks are pulling me away. 

Do you prefer plein air or in studio?
Je peins dans mon atelier. 

Do you listen to music while you paint?
No, I can’t get out of my head when music is playing. I really have to not be thinking about my painting while I’m doing it. I typically listen to podcasts or movies. 

Do you paint one piece at a time or do you have several going at once?
I do one at a time. 

Peignez-vous de mémoire ou à partir de photos de référence ?
I paint from photos that I take and manipulate in Photoshop. 

Do you do a concept piece or complete sketches first?
I spend a lot of time in the design stage of my composition and then setting up the still life to photograph. Then I spend a large amount of time in Photoshop manipulating, sometimes merging ideas from more than one photo reference.  I have things almost 100% planned out and painted in my mind before I start. 

What kind of palette do you use?
I don’t use a palette.  I do all of my mixing on the paper so I get fresh, unmuddied colors. 

Pan, tube or stick?
I make my own pans. 

Combien de couleurs principales utilisez-vous ?
I have my favorite colors that are pretty much in every painting, such as Quinacridone Gold, Payne’s Blue Gray, Bismuth Vandate Yellow, Pyrrol Orange and Red, Opera Pink, Pthalo Blue, Cobalt Teal Blue, Pthalo Green, Sap Green, Undersea Green, Wisteria, Lavender, Indigo and Sepia.  As you can tell, I am not a limited palette girl. 

Utilisez-vous du liquide de masquage ?
I couldn’t live without it! The more I paint, the more I use liquide de masquage. I use a ruling pen to apply it, which is a game-changer. 

How long does it take you to complete a piece? 
40-60 hours for larger pieces. I have become pretty good at finishing 11 x 14″ works in 9 – 12 hours since I started teaching virtual workshops. 

When do you consider a piece to be finished?
I actually paint cellularly, one section at a time from right to left, almost like a printer printing out a picture. So by the time I am done, I don’t have very much retouching to do. I did this to avoid that adolescent phase that a painting can go through when you are doing layers all over the the painting. I learned from my students that it’s a difficult stage and easy to abandon your painting, so I adapted to this process which establishes values immediately and helps me get a finished product one section at a time. 

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