Hello watercolorists! It's time for another installment of AquaTalk! As you know, each month, we will choose a member of #watercolorists to interview. You will gain insight to their general artistic goals, their watercolor technique, and little of their personality as well.
This month we interviewed Moonshen. What I really like about his work is that he doesn't take the easy way out, his backgrounds are very elaborate and he often chooses the most complicated perspective! We could all learn from his bravery. I had a blast selecting his artwork for this feature, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
abasss
First of all, please tell us a bit about yourself.Myself.. I've grown looking fighting series and videogames, time ago those were the things inspired my art, until I left the last school year.
Now my art have very different feelings, damn tv... and damn school too D:
I started from 0 again building myself and my art with all I consider GOOD.
I have good friends but majority of time I prefer to be alone.
I'm a never angry person, never depresive, not alcoholic, not smoker.
Interested in UFOs, astronomy, metaphysics, and of course, Art.
Don't know why but I like transparent things, specially blue (¿?)
When did you start painting with watercolors? Why do you use watercolors to create art?I started when school finished, 3 years ago. I'm using watercolors because after I saw "Chihiro" and "Mononoke Princess", my dad told me that those backgrounds and landscapes were made with watercolors, now I know it wasn't D: but then, I pushed myself to achieve
something similar to my idol's works.
Note: The painting used for Ghibli movies is poster paint. Check this Kazuo Oga video, is pretty cool. www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw6hta…
Who is your favorite watercolorist? Do you have a favorite on deviantArt?Difficult question! I think all are valuable, but if there are some that exploits more its value, from my list and perception these are:
: She can harmonize abstract richness with the formal concepts of her pictures, ALL have strong richness in color and a magical stroke.
: Awesome composition, lightly, fresh and intelligent use of colors, very live and expresive.
: Very unique style, specially in his landscapes: love those blue strokes.A hug for you masters! Many great artist are missing in this list, specially Vietnameses
What inspires you to create? If you're uninspired can you paint the same?Inspiration its a damn mystery D: ! I would like to see a scientist discovering its origin. I have many theories but what is sure,
is that the world feeds my inspiration with nature; water, animals, plants, trees, and the clean eyes of childhood living and reflecting that splendor.
I haven't done a totally uninspired work yet, I can always have fun discovering and giving beauty. If I'm uninspired I'm not painting.
What do you want to communicate with your art? And how does watercolor help you accomplish this?Feelings I like; harmony, joy, peace, unconditional love, even I would say "nature" and their colors are emotions. Watercolor suits my purposses because of its freshness
and transparency. I love other mediums like oils, but watercolor its like a breeze of the feelings I like, and I need certain speed from a work to another.
What is a watercolor technique you use a lot? Craziest technique you have done to achieve a certain effect?My style depends explicitly of strong shadows and strong lights, the shadows get in the light sometimes in degradation, others
strongly edged. I use many little strokes playing with this to do textures in trunks or rocks, usually I put shadows in the shadows reaching more
deep.
Craziest technique, making a landscape from an abstract picture made with the canvas completly wet with random strokes.
Then when dried, I use dry strokes that reveal the paper texture making the complexity of entagled grass and vegetation. You need to
imagine what it looks like this abstract picture, then give coherence with calculated shadows. I have only 2 pieces made with this and works great.
What's your favourite color? Do you "abuse" of that color in your paintings?Lots of ivory black, sienna, prussian blue, sap green and ochre, but if I abuse of them it isn't a good signal, it means my language is reduced...
How do you know when a piece is finished?When keeping the construction results destructive, sometimes its an instant feel and other its a DIFFICULT evaluation. See if your language
can offer more richness, if it doesn't, and you feel your piece needs something, its time to take a risk and decide to expand your language.
I ruined lots of paintings with this but learned too much from them.
Expanding your language also means that your vision needs to catch more realistic details and effects to add your picture richness, and be satisfied with it.
Any watercolors story/anecdote you would like to share?If you are starting with watercolors, this can help you
:Watercolor looks like a risky medium; water can suddenly go from being your friend to becoming your enemy, of course we want to be its friend; so first try to learn the possibilities you have with watercolors, then, when you need to compose your picture, visualize it FROM the watercolor's language.Don't try to do a masterpiece at your first try, just do many sketches to learn this language.
Have order, and contemplate the world that have so much to teach us about color, not just the TV or other artists.
Best advice you've been given"Beauty its everywhere, but we haven't learned to see it" (Useful to an artist's progress)
"Nothing that isn't based in love will have future" (Of course if you don't like what u are doing, u will get tired soon; KNOW WHAT YOU WANT
Any other thoughts you want to share?I'm glad to have done this interview, thank you very much!
I consider most important is to know what you want, nothing can stop those who follow their dreams, because your wishes are like a rope to climb this difficult mountain.
Tubes or pans?
Tubes
Watercolored pencils y/n?
I left them.
Masking fluid y/n?
No.
hot press or cold press?
Cold pressed.
studio or outdoor?
Studio.
left-handed or right-handed?
Right.
morning person or night owl?
I'm in the middle, sometimes night owl.
sports or couch potato?
I think both.
half full or half empty?
Full.
Batman or Superman?
Batman. Superman wants to catch attention, colorful clothes and he is not masked...
dog or cat?
Both.
Thanks a lot ChencoIlufi !!!!!
