5 Watercolor Artists Whose Work Will Inspire You

Be inspired by the work of these contemporary watercolor artists

Few are lucky enough to grow up in a house whose walls are plastered in art. So, when it comes to launching your own creative career, you’ll need to seek out your own inspiration. Isabela Quintes (@isabelaquintes) –an illustrator and painter specializing in botanical watercolor painting–did exactly this. Quickly she found that one artist led her to another, and so on, and soon she had built a network of influential references. Today she shares five of her favorite watercolor artists with the Domestika community.

Ana Victoria Calderón (@anavictoriana)

Mexican artist Ana Victoria Calderón inspired Quintes to first experiment with watercolors. Calderón uses a diverse color palette that expertly mixes darker and lighter tones. She also shows off her technical versatility mixing in acrylics and employing tricks using salt.

Thierry Duvalaqua (@thierryduvalaqua)

Thierry Duvalaqua is a French watercolor artist with a radical style. His work is meticulous and incredibly detailed, requiring hours of patience. On Instagram, he regularly shares videos that are a window to his creative process.

Lisa Congdon (@lisacongdon)

Quintes is drawn to Lisa Congdon for her work and the person she is. Neither Congdon nor Quintes had worked as professional illustrators prior to starting out with watercolors–it’s a passion that both women discovered much later in life. Their paintings are very personal and showcase their very recognizable styles. Lisa always uses six or seven colors in her work.

Priscila Barbosa (@priii_barbosa)

Priscila Barbosa is a Brazilian artist who uses both watercolors and acrylics, and also paints murals. The main theme in her work is femininity, through which she channels her activism. Quintes loves her color palette, which often features green, brown, and pink as its dominant colors.

Oana Befort (@oanabefort)

Quintes’ fifth reference is Romanian artist Oana Befort, whose work is often classed as “pop art”. Her paintings are full of color and details, filling the entire page.

Feel inspired by Isabela Quintes references? Learn about working with watercolors in her course, Botanical Watercolor for Patterns.

English version by @eloiseedgington.

You may also like:

–Illustration Tutorial: How to Color with Watercolor
–Three Ways to Mix Watercolors
–Tips for Digitizing Your Sketches