C hello! Hello, my name is Sabine Blomqvist, I am a watercolor artist and teacher, I live in beautiful Tuscany, Italy. I moved here many years ago from Finland where I was born and where I graduated in Design and Applied Arts at Aalto University in Helsinki. At first I lived in Florence, but I really missed nature. So, after a few years, I moved from the city to the Chianti hills, between Florence and Siena. I still live here today with my family; my husband, two children and two cats!
I have worked as a fashion designer, mainly for young people and children, but for some years I have also designed and created a small line of unique handmade bags. My love for watercolors was born here in Italy. I received my very first box of watercolors as a gift from my husband, long before we got married.
To tell the truth, it wasn’t exactly love at first sight as I preferred bold and strong paintings, while the watercolors I had seen, and would be able to paint, would not have been like that at all.
But I didn’t give up and continued to paint occasionally until at one point I decided to take lessons, which really helped me improve! I kept experimenting – and often struggling – until I finally developed a much more playful approach to watercolors and a passion was born!
“ Stealing time to paint …”
At first, I painted early in the morning while preparing breakfast and before going to work – or while cooking! It wasn’t easy to find the time, so I said I was stealing the time to paint. When the kids got older, I started teaching watercolor classes and preparing lessons as well. Teaching really taught me a lot! I have also organized exhibitions for my students, but deciding to exhibit my work was the hardest part for me. I mostly kept my paintings to myself.
The first time I submitted a painting to an international exhibition it was a big win for me, much more than my painting actually being accepted to the exhibition! Now I paint almost daily and have participated in several international exhibitions. I also continue to share my passion for art and watercolors by holding courses and residential workshops in Tuscany in the Chianti area and also in the city of Florence .
“ The world is full of beauty – and that’s what I prefer to paint .”
I find my inspiration mostly in nature – on walks in the Chianti hills, while exploring Tuscany and Italy, but also in my own garden. What catches my attention is the light, the details and the seasons. I like to paint many different subjects, from flowers to landscapes – and everything in between – with the intention of expressing my inner vision, not copying exactly what I see.
I paint mainly to express myself and my feelings of the moment. I love the fluidity of watercolors; letting the pigments flow on a wet paper, expressing emotions and atmospheres. I am a prolific and fast painter: I paint intuitively, but observation and life drawing are also very important to me, so I draw regularly from life and join other artists to paint together “en plein air” or in Urban Sketches gatherings in and around Florence. These moments of study and sharing are very stimulating and give a welcome break, as most of my paintings are done in solitude.
I love to take my sketchbook with me wherever I go, and I also enjoy dedicating it to a theme, a place, or for example ‘abstract landscapes’. Sometimes I will limit the materials I use in a sketchbook such as combining watercolors with ink or graphite.
My sketches also serve as inspiration for my paintings – and I also accept commissions to recreate one of my sketches or sell paintings upon request. It will never be identical, of course, and that’s the beauty of it. Each painting is unique and reflects the emotions of that specific moment.
If I’m feeling stuck in my art practice, I’ll take some time out and maybe try a different technique that might bring me joy. There has been a lot of abstract exploration lately and creating artist books with acrylics and mixed media.
I also continue to study and occasionally enjoy taking lessons with other artists – it’s always inspiring to learn something new! I also like to vary my approach to watercolors – sometimes I do more realistic studies, sometimes quite abstract – but usually my style is loose and expressive.
I like to challenge myself and believe that exploring and experimenting is very important to learning and progressing. This also applies to my materials, so I use different brands. I usually choose 100% cotton paper, as it helps any watercolor paint come out beautifully, but I’ve painted a lot on several cheaper papers as well.
While they may not be suitable for all techniques, such as wet-on-wet or layering, they can be used for quick studies and sometimes the rich blooms and smears that occur on these papers will turn into beautiful surprises!
Like any artist I have too many brushes even though I usually use few: a medium round brush with a nice point works for most paintings (right now I like Chinese and Korean brushes) and a smaller one for details. I also like to use a large, soft brush like a nose pad for bigger washes and a rigger brush for fun, loose lines.
I prefer to use watercolor in tubes, because that way I can get rich colors quickly for my larger paintings. In the sketchbook, I often use student colors, while for paintings that might be sold I will choose only lightfast artists’ quality colors.
To keep my flower paintings clear and transparent, I prefer single pigment colors. But for landscapes with soft shades, it’s not so important. I have many different brands on my palette and many colors in my box, but I try to limit the amount of colors in any single painting.
However, for me, the most important material is water – together with a combination of courage, spontaneity… and patience!
If I want to paint big, my favorite brush right now is a flat Herend , natural hair brush about, 2.5-3 inches, because I can do almost any painting with just one brush. Then I also have Herend round brushes No. 16 and calligraphy brushes and mops (natural and synthetic imitations) and smaller synthetic brushes No. 6-8.
I often use Carta Fabrianese E Archi . At the moment my favorite colors are MaimeriBlu, but I also like Winsor & Newton, Schmincke, Daniel Smith and many others. Romano Szmal also has beautiful colors. They only come in pans, but they’re soft and easy to use, so I like to bring them for a limited travel palette.
I believe everyone can enjoy painting with watercolors! It can be fun and entertaining even if you think you can’t draw. It’s also important to be kind to yourself and accept that not all paintings will be successful. But when we choose a playful approach and enjoy the process without focusing too much on the result, we will be surprised how beautiful the results can be! Exploring and experimenting with the various possibilities of watercolors will take us on a beautiful journey where we rarely have moments to get bored!
Thanks for reading my story! I’d love to hear from you – and maybe one day we’ll meet and paint together in Tuscany?!
Sabine Blomqvist
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