Victoria Florentina is an illustrator from Munich. She prefers to be inspired by nature and shares her knowledge of natural motifs in her watercolour workshops. Last time we met at Creativeworld 2023 and are happy to share with you the Q&A with Victoria Florentina a lovely and inspiring artist.
When did you start painting?
Quite early as a child. My grandfather was an artist and we often painted together at the kitchen table after school. My mum and aunt were also creative with me at an early age. Everything was there, from glass paints to pastels. During my studies, I continued to try out different techniques and materials, and I am currently passionate about watercolours.
Do you have a special method for finding a motif?
When something catches my eye, I usually have an immediate feeling about whether it could be a suitable motif. Inspiration is therefore strongly connected with my gut feeling. I love to stick newspaper clippings with inspiring photos in a book and open them occasionally. An analogue memory of ideas, so to speak. What also helps me is to form groups of motifs and determine a certain theme and colour palette. This way, the motifs usually come together quite quickly.
On your artist’s profile, you say that you prefer to paint natural motifs. Where does your connection to nature come from?
Ever since I was a child, I have been drawn to the outdoors – I put on my muddy trousers and off I go. From my journey through the Canadian wilderness to long rides in the forest and now the fulfilled dream of living in the country, nature’s satisfaction runs like a thread through my life. The path onto paper came about quite naturally. Whenever I painted something, it was nature-related motifs in natural colour palettes.
Have you ever tried painting techniques other than watercolour?
Absolutely! My creative cupboard is packed full of oil, acrylic, pencil, and crayons! I highly recommend anyone who works creatively to try out other techniques. You can learn something specific from all areas and incorporate it into your painting practice. This is how you develop your style over time. Therefore, my tip is to attend completely new courses now and then and let yourself be inspired by them.
What inspired you to offer workshops? Have you enjoyed passing on your knowledge before?
Creative work relaxes us from the daily grind and also gives us a good sense of self-worth if we take time for ourselves and our creativity. I would like to contribute to this. Because I often hear “That looks so great, but I couldn’t do that”. With my courses, I would like to show that painting is not witchcraft, but that you can create your motifs and discover the fun of painting with the right guidance. The joy of the participants when they can look at their motif at the end of the course with a proud smile is my highlight and incentive.
You offer both online and face-to-face workshops. What are the differences between online and offline courses? Do you have a preference?
Online courses have the advantage that people from all over Germany and other countries can participate. I once had a participant who came from Florida. Really cool! However, it’s a bit more difficult to give personal feedback because it’s harder to see how you’re holding your brushes. Of course, it’s easier with face-to-face workshops, and getting together on a cozy afternoon is special! On the other hand, I find offline workshops more time-consuming to prepare for, with location searches, etc. So, both have advantages and disadvantages.
Which Hahnemühle paper do you prefer to use? And what do you look for most in a particular paper?
The Hahnemühle Britannia watercolour blocks are my favourite all-rounders and I also use them in workshops. Depending on the motif, I now pay more attention to which surface structure I choose. For rustic motifs like huts or mountains, I like to use a rougher texture. I can recommend the Watercolour Selection blocks to try out different papers and grammage. Otherwise, it’s important to me that the surfaces don’t get damaged so quickly when erasing or removing the masking tape.
You are publishing a book soon. What can we and our readers look forward to?
Cinnamon buns, reindeer, and Swedish houses! The book will be called “Hej. Skandi Watercolor” and is all about Scandinavian motifs. I’m really looking forward to it when it comes out in autumn. In addition to a detailed basics section, there are 20 step-by-step tutorials on “Midsummer”, “Outdoor” or “Fika” motifs in my book. I have also included four focus topics on perspective or texture painting. Everyone should find the right creative project, from watercolour beginners to brush experts.
We are curious. Are there any upcoming projects?
The list of ideas and projects is of course always full to bursting and I am faced with the choice of which project should get attention now. This year I would like to expand my Etsy shop and there are some workshop collaborations planned. So, it will still not be boring.
