I believe that it is one of the most important interviews I have at my blog so far. Robert Wade doesn`t need to be introduced to the International Watercolor World. Here is the interview... What does give you the most inspiration? Are you looking or waiting for it? If we wait for inspiration it will never come! I just keep on working and occasionally something special happens while I am painting. That’s when I see it and seize the opportunity to come up with a personal reaction to the subject. Robert Wade. Have Nun Will Travel. 14x12` What makes a painting an Art work – technical skills or something else? If a painting only displays the technical skills of the painter, then it is just a big BORE!. Emotion and feeling are the most important elements in my work and I look for them in the work of my students and other artists. Robert Wade. Barrow Boys.14x11` What is the part of imagination in your work? HUGE ! Imagination begins with the first urge to paint a particular subject and continues until the last brushstroke. If we paint everything just as it is then why bother? Might as well just take a photo. Imagination is the vital component without which a painting cannot live. Robert Wade. Golf Scotland Study. 8x10' Did you find watercolor or that media found you? I guess it found me when I was just 6 years old. Once it had me in its clutches it has never let me go....thank goodness. I still love it as much as I ever have. Robert Wade. Marocco Gossip In TheSouk. 19x29" Many of your figurative painting are made on location. Do you use your memory or sketches to paint groups of people that are constantly moving? On location I just invent the figures from my mind. (Here’s IMAGINATION at work!) People are never just sitting or standing right where you want them to be so it’s essential to do what the camera cannot do, put them in just the right places in the composition. Robert Wade. Marocco. Light In The Souk.19x29" I have noticed that you indulge to use opaque white sometimes. Do you have your own attitude to this matter or you are just relaxed about using white when it is necessary? A little white gouache can often just bring out and strengthen a highlight that may have been lost when painting. I’m a traditionalist, but as J. M. W. Turner used everything at his means to produce any effects that were important to the success of his painting, why not?. Isn’t that the most important thing? We shouldn’t ask “HOW ?” rather we should ask “WHY”? Robert Wade. Grey Morning Staithes NthYorkshire.14x19" Do you plan your work when you start a painting or you are just enjoying the process? By failing to plan we are planning to fail ! Would an airline pilot ever take off without having created a flight plan? If he did then I wouldn’t want to be a passenger on that plane! If I have a pretty good idea of what my painting is all about my chances of success will be much brighter and I’ll enjoy the painting so much more. Robert Wade. The Ship`s Painters. 19x29" 1980 Do you have some “must” colours in your palette? I couldn’t paint without Cobalt Blue and Raw Sienna. Robert Wade. Gungha Din.12x9" What is most important for successful watercolor painting: paper, colors or brush? Do you have some favorite brands? Waterford Rough is my current choice of paper and it allows me to have some degree of control over textures and brushstrokes. Of course the choice of colors on our pallet is critical, mine has evolved over a lifetime in watercolour. However I am not locked in to these hues, if something new comes on the market I will always try it, just in case it contains MAGIC! Brushes are personal, just find some that seem to belong in your hand. The synthetic white nylon brushes are available at a fraction of the price of Kolinsky Sable and are really the only brushes that I use these days. Robert Wade. Singapore. The Sweeper.19x29" Have there been some changes in watercolor world for the last 60 years? Have there been any changes for you personally? Unbelievable changes in communication and teaching. Video and DVD for instance. Today we can sit in our studio and watch Charles Reid, John Yardley, David Curtis and practically every fine watercolorist in the world at work. Wouldn’t it have been incredible to see John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer, John Sell Cotman and all of the old “greats” showing us just how they worked? Robert Wade. Jerusalem. On The Via Dolorosa. 19x29" There is a very impressive statement on your FB page: “Self employed for 60 years” that sounds like a dream for many artists. Do you have any advice for those artists who just want to be full time artists? First and foremost “GET A PAYING JOB!!!” if possible in the Graphics. A regular income enables us to eat, feed and educate our family and enjoy the security of knowing there is money in the bank. Currently the Art World is at its lowest financial ebb for many years.... and I have been around in that world for a very long time now. In painting, apart from a chosen few, it’s a hand to mouth existence. The Financial rewards are few, but the personal rewards are great and beyond monetary estimation. Robert Wade. Morning Lght On The Charles Bridge. 14x19" In which countries in your opinion is the watercolor media the most developed and appreciated? Nowadays watercolor is bigger than it has ever been. It’s still miles behind in the acceptance of Major Galleries and that is a battle we’ll probably never win. However there are more wonderful watercolorists spread around in so many countries of the world and constantly increasing in number. Almost every day I discover yet another talented wielder of the brush and to me it’s so exciting to have been part of the spread of knowledge to the eager students of this most wonderful medium of all. America, United Kingdom and Australia have been to the forefront for many years but now China, Japan, India and many Asian countries have come into the Western style and with their traditional influences are right up there and raising the bar! Collectors and the art public are not slow to recognize quality work and the exhibitions of the leading aquarellists are very well attended in every country where the medium is practised. RobertWade. China 1992. Washday. Guilin. 19x14" When you teach watercolor painting what are the most important tips you give first of all? First and foremost understand VALUES, without which a painting cannot exist. Drawing is also so important, the better you can draw then the better you will paint. In conclusion, PAINT, PAINT, PAINT! Constant playing with the medium will bring you confidence, touch and a better appreciation of the magical qualities of our beloved WATERCOLOR. Best wishes and washes, Robert Wade http://members.ozemail.com.au/~rawade/