Charlie Cisneros and his passion for watercolor

Grateful for life because he has fun creating commercials and painting. This is how Charlie Cisneros feels, who says he doesn’t have a job because he loves what he does. This 59-year-old from Guayaquil is a publicist and has had his own agency for thirteen years: Luz Verde.

Although he studied at the School of Fine Arts many years ago, it was only after the operation in 2005 that he started painting watercolors, wanting to replicate the work of his favorite artist: Kev Walker. “I had to stay in bed for a long time, I saw watercolors and started painting,” recalls the artist, who estimates that he has painted around 200 works so far.

Then, on a trip to New York, he bought top-quality materials so that the result would be of high quality. “In the courses I teach, I explain to my students that the best things will come out when you start painting with the best. If you use low-quality materials, the result is not very good,” says Charlie, who uses English, French and Italian cardboard. Brushes (Escoda, Isabey, Da Vinci) can cost up to $200 each, he adds.

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He has been painting professionally since 2015, and his recent project is the BASC (Business Alliance for Secure) institutional calendar, with thirteen watercolors related to transport, containers and international trade.

“Many people see watercolor as a difficult medium, but in reality it is not like that. You just have to have a good teacher who teaches you and tells you, like everywhere else, the secrets you need to know to get an excellent result. When you don’t know how to deal with the amount of water and pigment or paint, the painting is damaged and you have no way to repair it, unlike oil paint, which can be repaired when it dries,” emphasizes Cisneros.

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His favorite are urban landscapes, but he also shoots portraits at the request of clients. Apart from Ecuador, some of the buyers are from New York, Miami, Mexico and Peru.

International recognition

Watercolor art It is a French magazine that is published four times a year, and in the last four issues it competed with an Ecuadorian magazine. “All the watercolorists of the world send their works and choose what to publish themselves. So far, the best position I have had is the fourth place with the so-called watercolor Paris”, Charlie Cisneros concludes.