Maria Delton Paints with Watercolor as though it were Oil! During a Recent Wayne Art League Demo, She Shared Her Tips for Successful Results

"Alley Nocturne" 12" x 16" Private collection...Scroll down to see more of Maria's work.

Maria Delton's ARTIST STATEMENT is quite revealing. Here's her take on what makes her creativity tick...

"I paint what makes me stop and stare, usually while on my way to something else. Unexpected, unplanned and often overlooked, the tension between a boring subject that is perfectly lit or composed is irresistible to me and I paint to share the surprise with others.

The intersection of the mundane and the extraordinary is fleeting and requires a rapid capture. The immediacy of watercolor is perfect for this. When the paper is wet, the painting is literally alive, letting you merely suggest what the water might do. You have little time and only one shot to get it right, especially when painting plein air. I am exhilarated by the challenge and am constantly working to refine my shorthand for suggesting shapes and light."

Armed with a BA in painting and printmaking from Northwestern University, this watercolorist stretches the boundaries of the medium teasing out light, shadows, and intense color to maximum performance.

Painting plein air resonates deeply with her along with urban sketching for improving her skills to paint what she sees and go beyond what's in front of her. Additionally, she's learned that if she doesn't paint daily, she can tell the difference in herself immediately. Her personal goal is to make sure she never goes stale when it comes to practicing and continually perfecting upon her artistry.

Taking online courses has also challenged her watercolor expertise and helped her grow even more. Here's the link to her favorite online instructor -- a Siberian-based artist who teaches in Italian which Maria can speak fluently. https://ekaterinamaltseva.com/it

At a recent demo to the Wayne Art League in Wayne, IL, Maria created a painting of a relaxing beachside scene inspired by her fall trip to Bali. Painting while she spoke, she explained her choice of brushes, along with illustrating specific techniques and tricks to a rapt audience.

Although that 3-week trip netted her 3,000 photos, she encouraged everyone not to let reference photos become a trap.

"Instead, use the photo as a reference only and paint from your (preliminary) sketch," she suggested. Indeed, her fascinating sketchbook was as attractive as her larger, finished pieces showing the intense thought that goes behind each and every piece she creates.

Awards come her way regularly. This past summer she received the "Favorite Local Artist Award" from the Evanston Plein Air Competition and Honorable Mentions in both 2022 and 2023. And she was awarded an Honorable Mention in 2022 from Schaumburg's Prairie Plein Air Competition.

She shared that her favorite compliment is when art patrons stop by her booth at a fair and exclaim, "That's watercolor?!" For Maria, it's all about loving to break the watercolor stereotype -- something she has so artfully accomplished. ###

Maria presents to the Wayne Art League at one of their weekly meetings at a church in Wayne, IL on January 20, 2025.

Below is a list of the many tips she offered as she painted a sunny scene from Bali...

• Remember that watercolor offers the viewer a "suggestion" so paint what you feel and not what you see.

• She uses ARCHES rough finish watercolor paper. She also likes Baohong paper. Using "rough" paper allows the artist to also use a palette knife in addition to a broad selection of brushes.

• Wet the back of your paper to keep it "alive" longer.

• Be careful when mixing colors. For instance, a cobalt blue may already have many colors in it to create that particular shade adding even more can make "mud".

• Value studies are important -- sketch in black-and-white first which helps give you a plan or a map to work from in planning a palette.

• Don't touch your paper until you're ready.

• Brushes are your key to good results. Use the right tool for the job by letting the brush do the work for you. Hers originate from various countries such as South Korea (Herend) or Russia where brushes might be made of chinchilla. She even uses a cactus root brush and Korean calligraphy brushes. Angled brushes work well for windows or bricks.

• Don't touch one area of the paper more than three times!

• For better color saturation, don't use watercolor cakes.

• Mist paper first to avoid brush lines.

• Paint in the light colors first and add shadows at the end. Also, do the shadows quickly for color consistency. Remember all shadows contain blue.

• Paint "loose" -- make the minimum number of marks for the maximum amount of meaning.

• The secret to intense colors is to use them directly from the tube.

• Practice, study, experiment. Don't overwork or get too fussy.

Maria's professional life has been as an ad agency art director. She enjoys painting and drawing with the Chicago Urban Sketchers and the Plein Air Painters of Chicago crediting both groups for being welcoming and encouraging to artists.

Learn more about Maria's art here: mariadeltonart.com

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