Personally speaking, much before I knew anything about Watercolors or the Watercolor artists, except Milind Mulick, I knew one young Watercolorist named Namchai Saensupha, who would always fascinate me with his works uploaded in facebook.

I somehow came across his works in Social media & started following him.

An exceptional landscape Watercolorist, who loved to paint the rural life, paddy fields being his signature subject, he is perhaps one of the most humble artist I have ever interacted with.

Although I have never directly told him, but his work is one among the major factors that made me take Watercolors as my primary/main medium in Art. Now once I have tasted the versatility of the medium, this is without a doubt my favourite.

I always had a few questions in my mind regarding Watercolors which I thought of asking him, but little did I know that the first interview for my blog would be with him. When I approached him, he was kind enough to agree & quick enough to reply to my questionnaire within 2days.

Below are what I asked & what he answered(some super-awesome words to boost your motivation):

The Watercolor Story(TWS): WHY WATERCOLOR? WHAT INTERESTS YOU MOST ABOUT THIS MEDIA?

Namchai: Its simple yet complicate nature; the interaction between paints, water and paper which demands certain ways of handling that we watercolor artists need to understand.

TWS: TELL US ABOUT YOUR INSPIRATIONS

Namchai: The funny thing about people like me who can’t always paint, is we always have the urge to paint.

TWS: YOUR FAVOURITE SUBJECT IN WATERCOLOR PAINTING

Namchai: Weather and time, with people working in them.

TWS: TELL US ABOUT YOUR PAINTING KIT

Namchai:

Brushes:

Squirrel hair mob brush size 8

Kolinski hair round brush size 14

Synthetic pointed oval brush size 16

Paper:

Arches 300gram Cold Pressed

Palette:

Mijello’s 24-hole ‘ Artelier Airtight PEEL-OFF Paint Palette’ for acrylic

Other items:

2-compartment water bucket; one for mixing, one for cleaning brushes

Small spray bottle

Natural sponge for pre-wetting the paper

Towel for taking off excess mix from brush

24mm wide tape, 4B pencil, eraser

Also Read: WATERCOLOR BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO BUYING ART SUPPLIES

TWS: HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN THE MOTIVATION LEVEL TO PAINT?

Namchai: Travel when I can, even if it’s near and short; seeing a different place, meeting different people, breathing different air and experiencing different light.

Another thing I often do to fuel my motivation is discuss watercolor with other artist friends.

TWS: ONE SUGGESTION/TIP FOR ANYONE WHO IS STARTING WATERCOLORS

Namchai: Learn the basics; wet on dry, wet on wet, dry on wet, and so on. It’s easy and boring, but you don’t get anywhere in watercolor without them. Of course you want to paint like a master in your first painting but there is no shortcut.

TWS: WATERCOLOR ARTISTS THAT YOU FOLLOW OR GET INSPIRED FROM

Namchai: Trevor Chamberlain, Edward Seago, Edward Wesson and of course John Singer Sargent.

TWS: HOW IMPORTANT IS DRAWING IF YOU WANT TO EXCEL IN WATERCOLORS?

Namchai: It is as important as the back bone to Homo sapiens.

TWS: TELL US ONE IMPORTANT LESSON, THAT YOU HAVE LEARNT FROM YOUR EXPERIENCE IN WATERCOLORS

Namchai: Be willing to fail. With that, you are able to explore possibilities and discover more.

TWS: WHAT COLORS DOES YOUR PALETTE CONTAIN & WHICH BRAND?

Namchai: I mostly use the brand Royal Talens’s Rembrandt except few. My palette consists mainly the colors as mentioned below:

Indigo

Prussian Blue

French Ultramarine

Cobalt Blue

Cerulean

Verditer Blue (Holbein)

Lavender (Holbein)

White Gouache (Winsor & Newton)

Cadmium Yellow Lemon

Cadmium Yellow

Aureolin

Quinacridone Gold (Winsor & Newton)

Yellow Ochre

Raw Sienna (Winsor & Newton)

Burnt Sienna (Winsor & Newton)

Cadmium Orange

Vermillion

Cadmium Scarlet (Winsor & Newton)

Alizarin Crimson

Mauve

Ultramarine Violet

TWS: ARE YOU SELF TAUGHT OR AN ART GRADUATE?

Namchai: I am not an Art graduate, but I did have many watercolor teachers though.

TWS: HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO EXHIBIT YOUR WORKS? DO YOU THINK IT REALLY MATTERS?

Namchai: Apart from sharing it online, a well curated exhibition is important because it is very different to see the series of actual paintings from seeing them in small screen, the impact of the scale and the space where they are accommodated. Exhibitions are also the means to assess myself, by sharing my works which generate conversations, draws feedback. I learn from that. And a deadline once in a while keep me alert and active, too!

TWS: WHY IS PLEIN AIR IMPORTANT & WHAT BENEFIT HAVE YOU GOT FROM IT?

Namchai: Because it’s full of Adrenalin and fun, and I get to know the subject because I was there.

I get to observe the delicate nature of light which all lost in photograph.

The uncontrollable condition forces me to simplify and only capture the essential.

Also read: 10 REASONS TO KEEP A WATERCOLOR SKETCHBOOK

TWS: HOW OFTEN DO YOU PRACTICE?

Namchai: Not as often as I want it to be. But I always see the scenes in front of me and interpret them in terms of watercolor, how I’m going to re arrange the composition and lay out the execution plan like I am virtually painting them in my head.

TWS: WHO IS YOUR INSPIRATION?

Namchai:Thongsuk Sawatnatee, Myint Naing and Worawit Kaewsrinoum for their dedication to Watercolor and Art.

TWS: WHAT DO YOU THINK IS YOUR BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT IN WATERCOLORS?

Namchai: That I’m still eager to learn and explore watercolor, the knowledge is endless.

TWS: YOUR PROFESSION APART FROM ART(IF ANY)

Namchai: I am a full time landscape architect.

TWS: YOUR WEBSITE(IF ANY)

https://www.facebook.com/Namchaiwatercolor/

https://www.instagram.com/namchai_watercolor/

**Dear Readers, I hope you are as motivated as I am, after reading the awesome interview with Namchai. Maintaining motivation in this media is one of the most challenging issues artists face unless you are a full time Watercolorist.

To help you stay motivated, I have written another article. Please read: WATERCOLOR PAINTING FOR BEGINNERS-7 TIPS FOR MOTIVATION