Nils Danielsson

Welcome to Nils Danielsson Watercolors!

On this site, I offer a selection of original watercolor paintings for sale. For frequent updates on my work, follow me on social media (links below!).

My Art

A wise person once said that an artist should not pursue a particular style, but rather their personal taste. I have a taste for paintings that have a romantic quality, without becoming sentimental. They should convey a degree of beauty in everyday subjects and scenes, with a balance of life calmness to them.

My choice of subjects often mixes nature and organic shapes with harder-shaped buildings or other objects. I do not paint many pure landscapes. Beautiful as they may be, I find that they often don’t tell a story. I like to include animals, people, or at least man-made objects to contrast the soft shapes and colors of nature.

My style may vary with the mood of the day, but I return to the necessity of simplification – merging shapes of similar value and restraining the urge to get lost in details. Watercolor was made for plain subjects, and I focus on the major shapes of light and shadow. Colors have a secondary role, and I prefer to capture the often-muted palette of reality, with mostly variations of warm and cool hues. I strive to make paintings that look realistic at a distance but that look simple and fresh up close. Nothing beats the sensation you get when you get just enough visual information that you can fill in the details and complete the scene in your mind! 

My inspiration comes from both classic and contemporary watercolor artists, most of whom could be called impressionists. I probably pay as much attention to great oil painters as I do to watercolor painters. Anyone who is able to capture light and mood with a bare minimum of brush stroke and details has my admiration.