妮可·洛佩兹·埃斯皮诺萨 shared with us how she creates her beautiful watercolor art.

Here’s a quick Q&A with Nicole:

你为什么创作艺术？
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.

你画画多久了？
I have been drawing and painting with different techniques since childhood. I started using watercolors around 2017.

你接受过正规的艺术训练吗？
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.

你是职业艺术家还是业余爱好者？
I started out as a hobbyist, but transformed art into my full-time job in 2016.

什么能激励你？
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.

你画画的时候喜欢听什么类型的音乐？
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.

你每天都画画吗？
Yes, I paint at least 2 hours every day; sometimes I even spend the whole night painting.

你是一次只画一幅画，还是同时画好几幅？
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.

你会先创作概念作品吗？
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.

你们使用了多少种核心颜色？
My core palette consists of about 14 colors, which include six primary colors, cold and warm.

管状、盘状还是棒状？
I have both pans and tubes. I like pans for easy transportation, but for studio painting I prefer tubes.

你使用遮蔽液吗？
Yes, I use it wherever I want to preserve small details, like little spots on flower petals.

你如何判断你的作品是否完成？
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.