葛爾達·門滕斯 came to us LIVE from Belgium on Friday, February 11th via Zoom to talk about her watercolor style and favorite palette. Visit our 演示頁面 for the Zoom links to log in, or you can watch the conversation on Facebook 直播.

Here’s a quick Q&A with Gerda:

為什麼創作藝術？
I paint because it gets me out of time, so I can go with the flow. 

你畫畫多久了？
I have been painting with watercolor for 40 years. 

你接受過正規的藝術訓練嗎？ 
I had a professional training in Antwerp, Belgium to be an art professor – I taught there for 30 years. I also had a training in China.

你是職業藝術家還是業餘愛好者？
Now I am a full-time artist with my own art school in Belgium where I teach watercolor and drawing. 

你從誰或什麼事物中汲取靈感？
My inspiration comes from my travels around the world, because I give watercolor classes on cruise ships.  I also like to take pictures in and around Belgian cafés. The artists I like are Rik Wouters and Leon Spilliaert from Belgium, Kees Verwey from Holland and Edward Hopper from USA.   

你畫畫的時候喜歡聽什麼類型的音樂？
Mostly classic music.  

你有沒有過導師？ 
I did have mentors during my training, but now I have mentors in my life, like my good friend Alvaro Castagnet for whom I organize workshops in Belgium. Bob Tomanivic from Holland is also a good friend who has taught me a lot about watercolor. 

你每天都畫畫嗎？
I paint randomly. 

你是一次只畫一幅畫，還是同時畫好幾幅？
Always one at a time so I can stay in the flow of the moment. 

你會先創作概念作品嗎？
My concepts are my photos. I also make a drawing with grays that I work upon. 

你喜歡在畫室畫畫還是在戶外寫生？
Mostly in my studio, but sometimes plein air if there is an opportunity. Also I paint in front of my students during my weekly demos. 

你們使用了多少種核心色？
At the maximum, I use 18 DANIEL SMITH colors. But every painting has its own palette that I choose from these 18 colors. 

管狀、盤狀還是棒狀？
I use tubes because I don’t like to use too much water. I like to paint with contrasts. 

你使用遮蔽液嗎？
Sometimes I use different types of permanent masking that stay on the paper to give some special effects.  

你如何判斷你的作品是否完成？
I always say – when you even think of stopping, it is already too late. 

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每週都來線上加入我們吧！ 近距離私人對話 with Daniel Smith CEO and Owner, John Cogley and guest artists from around the world. On Thursdays (2:00pm Pacific), John highlights various features of our products and answers your questions. On Fridays (10:30am Pacific), a guest artist follows up to share how they incorporate those features into their art. 點這裡 下週的 Zoom 會議連結。.

請查看我們的 Facebook頁面 了解即將到來的客座藝術家資訊或觀看往期回放。每次 Zoom 會議都會被錄製並分享到我們的平台上。 YouTube頻道。. La traducción al español está disponible – 選擇西班牙語和 Zoom 的運河。.