I had the pleasure to be in Andy Evansen's workshop this February in California. While I was there, I did a quick interview with him. Andy is one of my favorite watercolor artists. His works are luminescence, simple, and powerful. In this interview, we are going to discuss some of the common problems students have, Andy's artistic experience, and some other fun questions!. CLICK HERE to watch the entire interview.
Here are some of Andy’s beautiful works:
Here are some of the highlights:
Eric: You've been doing a lot of workshops from China, the US, and Europe. What're the most common questions you get from students?
Andy: They always want to know what colors I use for whatever reasons. But I think one of the main things that pop up is “how do you know when you have enough paint?” As you’ve seen in this workshop, it is very important to have that nice wet wash so you can keep working from a wet edge. And that’s just something that you have to get your brushes wet and get used to it.
Another problem students seem to have is judging the wetness of the paper and how much it’s going to lighten when it’s dry. But once they paint a while, they will figure out for themself. When they are watching me paint, it always amazes them at seeing how dark I put something on, and then how light it is after it dries.
Eric: So, you learn these from experience?
Andy: yup, just practice. And you don’t always have to do a painting, just mixing puddles and playing around with the brush. Seeing what happens and you will learn a lot from doing just that.
Eric: If you can put like a prerequisite class before your workshop, what do you think it’s going to be?
Andy: I let beginners come in here because I hate to discourage anyone. But, if there was a prerequisite, it would be nice to have a drawing class. We are doing lots of drawings in the workshops. And when students are not comfortable with their drawing skills, it hinders them. When you are not comfortable with your drawing skills, it kind of feeds into the painting process too. You are unsure of your drawings, then you are timid when you are painting it too. It doesn’t lend itself to painting fast and confidently. So I think a good drawing class would be a nice prerequisite.
Eric: I’ve got quite a few students told me that they don’t know what subject to paint. And when they found a subject, it’s not really suitable for painting. Like a huge view from the mountain top with clouds roaming in. What suggestions do you have for them?
Andy: Just pick something with fewer, simpler shapes. If you coming in with a photograph that has way too much going on, you are setting yourself up for failure. I call these photos “calendar photos”. They are so over the top pretty with over-saturated colors. These are just a recipe for disaster. And I think part of the reason they bring that in is they are not comfortable painting structures. If you look at my work, even though there’s nature in it, there’s usually a barn, a boat, or something with a structure in it. When all the shapes in your scene are just in purse landscape, they are hard to define. I think people tend to gravitate toward those is because they don’t’ want to draw too much. But again, I don’t think they necessarily make the best paintings as far as I’m concerned.
So pick something with fewer, simpler, and stronger shapes. And zoom in, don’t include so much. Add a crop when you have a good photo. It usually makes a better painting.
Eric: How long have you been doing the fine art business?
Andy: I started painting over 20 years ago. I was doing medical illustration for a long time, and I still do them. I’m working on a knee surgery book right now too. I take projects here and there but not much, I just don’t have time anymore. I started painting watercolor about 20 years ago, and at first, it was just for fun. But about 15 years ago, I started saying that maybe I can make it happen. And that’s the time I started getting into shows and getting asked to teach and all that stuff.
Eric: Do you see a shift in the fine art business today? Because when you started there is no social media and stuff.
Andy: Right, that’s the biggest thing. When I first started, your main source of exposure to the world was with galleries and magazines. You had to hope you could get into one. And the gallery for watercolor artists isn’t that great. Oil is still king and probably always will be. Despite the galleries, I got into a few magazine articles and that raised my profile a little bit. And more and more people started to know who I was. But now, like you said, with social media. That’s the biggest change in the world of art specifically for watercolor. As soon as I was on Instagram and Facebook, I’ve gotten so many friends. So, there are just a lot more opportunities for artists now, which is great. It’s a lot more work to try and keep up. You now not just have to paint but to post something every day. It’s a necessary evil but it’s fun, I embrace it.
Eric: Ok, let’s move on to some of the light questions.
Andy: The heavy work’s over!
Eric: Do you listen to music when you paint?
Andy: Yeah, I usually have music on in the background. I’ve never been a big classical music fan. I grew up in the 70s, so I like 70s rock and stuff like that.
Eric: What’s your favorite food?
Andy: Because I travel all over the world, I’ve had some really good food everywhere. But usually, if we go to a restaurant, I end up getting a nice filet steak. That’s kind of my guilty pleasure.
Eric: What’s your hobby aside from art?
Andy: This is going to sound lazy, but I just love watching movies. If I’m working late at night, after my wife and kids are asleep, I will just sit down with a glass of wine and find a movie to watch. And even as a guilty pleasure, I will sneak away to a movie theater in the middle of the day. If I wasn’t an artist, I’d probably try to find something to do in the movie industry.
Eric: So what’s your favorite movie in terms of visually?
Andy: I would say, Alfred Hitchcock was brilliant at framing his scene, like Rear Window. It’s such a great movie. But there are so many great ones, there are some movies, maybe not the whole movie, but just some certain scenes that stick with you.
Eric: I am a video game artist doing background art and now lighting. So now I study a lot of lightings from the movies. And I find there’s a huge connection between that and what you taught in the workshop. How we do value studies and connecting shapes.
Andy: It’s all art. In fact, there' are a lot of times when I pause the movie and just do a little sketch from it. It’s kind of fun.
Eric: Out of all the places you’ve done workshops in, which one is your favorite.
Andy: Well, I haven’t taught a workshop there yet, but England. Because the British watercolor artists were so influential to me while I developed my style. There’s something about it. I love the drama and the hillside, the misty air of England. So yes, the UK.
Eric: Ok, so if you are in England, be sure to invite Andy over for more workshops!
Andy: Yup, I’ll come anytime!
Eric: Thank you so much!
Andy: Thank you, that was fun!
People always say never meet your hero. But, I’d say that phrase is not accurate for Andy. He is such a great teacher and artist, as well as someone who you can just sit down and have a coffee with. Check out more of his work on his website HERE.