Anna Zadorozhnaya
Anna Zadorozhnaya is a freelance artist, author and Schmincke brand ambassador based in Hannover and Moscow at least when she's not exploring the mountainous landscapes. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Editing from MSPU (Moscow) and a Master's degree in Art from Oxford Brookes University, UK. Since 2015, she has been primarily dedicated to watercolour painting, sharing its techniques and secrets as an online and live instructor.
Your enthusiasm for Schmincke - 8 questions to Anna
Which technique do you primarily use?
My passion is watercolour with 95% of my paintings created using pure watercolour on paper without any other medium. Additionally, I use charcoal and water-soluble graphite for studies and quick sketches.
Do you have favourite themes? What inspires you?
My main source of inspiration is the mountains, expressing their power, majesty and beauty through light, fresh and translucent watercolour strokes. I capture the emotions people feel in the mountains – freedom from conventionality, the ability to be yourself, conscious solitude and the unchanging passage of time. Nature, especially bright, sunny light and travel also inspire my artwork. I enjoy painting airplanes as symbols of new places and the freedom of movement.
And where do you prefer to paint?
I prefer working in my studio: I create simple plein air sketches to capture the atmosphere of a location, using them later in the studio for painting.
Do you still remember your first Schmincke colour?
My first Schmincke colour was a 15 ml tube of HORADAM Indigo, purchased during my first trip to Germany.
What are your favourite standard colours?
I use HORADAM watercolours exclusively and my favourite standard colours include:
• 494 Ultramarine Finest
• 228 Cadmium Orange Dark
• 655 Light Ochre
• 482 Delft Blue
• 487 Cobalt Blue Light
• 346 Ruby Red Dark
• 782 Neutral Tint
• 519 Phthalo Green
• 648 Transparent Brown
• 662 Sepia Brown Reddish
• 479 Heliocoelin
• 668 Burnt Umber
And what is special about them?
I appreciate Schmincke for producing clear, vibrant and lively colours that are stable in terms of lightfastness. The fine quality of the pigments allow even colour layers and perfect blends. Some examples: Ultramarine Finest's slight granulation, the beauty of Light Ochre's finely ground pigments shining on paper, and the versatility of Neutral Tint for creating dark areas and tonal contrasts.
I extremely love the effects and painting options of the supergranulating watercolours from the HORADAM range, including Galaxy Violet, Galaxy Pink, Deep Sea Blue, Glacier Green, and Glacier.
What means supergranulating watercolours?
Supergranulating watercolours have a unique property, intensifying granulation by combining at least two granulating HORADAM pigments. The tones use pigments from different colour ranges, resulting in additional colour variations. The texture formation varies depending on the paper texture and water quantity used.
Which supergranulating watercolours are available from Schmincke?
Schmincke offers 50 supergranulating tones in 10 thematic series: Deep Sea, Glacier, Galaxy, Forest, Tundra, Volcano, Shire, Urban, Haze, and Desert. These colours, have 4 and 5-star lightfastness ratings and can be used independently or in combination with all 139 HORADAM watercolours and AKADEMIE watercolours.
The colors are permanently available in half pans, 5 ml and 15 ml tubes.
All super-granulating HORADAM watercolor paints have exclusively
4 and 5 star lightfastness and contain a large proportion of pigments already known from HORADAM.
The opacity of the colors is for the most part semi-glazing / semi-opaque.
All super-granulating color shades can be used on their own and also perfectly
in combination with all 139 HORADAM watercolor shades and all AKADEMIE watercolor shades.
How can we learn from you?
I am teaching through online tutorials, which are available in Russian, English and German on platforms like Art Hustle and Udemy. Additionally, I conduct offline workshops, mainly in Moscow and provide individual instruction and mentoring for students, both in-person and online.
