From the lush gardens of Costa Rica to the quiet greens of Vancouver, Paula Barrantes’ watercolour practice is rooted in adaptation, reflection, and identity. 

Through minimal tools and intuitive choices, she explores themes of belonging, change, and the resilience of plants like epiphytes, which thrive without roots in soil—just like her, adapting to new environments with grace.

Most of the time, through colour. I used to paint with a warm colour palette while living in Albania and as soon as I moved to Vancouver I switched to a cool colour palette. 

There is also texture to express roughness or smoothness of the landscape. Planning the composition can help to transmit a lot of emotions as well.

Epiphytes from the rainforest are always on my mind. They are sort of my home/identity plants. I haven't painted these plants in a while but it's the first species I began studying for my botanical paintings. 

Hydrangeas hold a special place in my heart too. There are too many memories that I associate with these flowers. Growing up in Costa Rica, we had many catholic holidays where children would decorate the streets with hydrangea flowers for processions. On Pentecostés, I remember having so much fun decorating and caring for the flowers to create beautiful patterns on the streets. Every year I paint one bouquet or two. 

Rhododendrons are also very special to me. It reminds me of the days when my daughter was a tiny baby and I would take her out for walks so she could nap and I would get to enjoy the peace and beauty of these flowers. 

There is so much to paint and so little time.

With time I have built two sets of watercolor palettes, I keep my warm and cool tone set separately. It makes painting easier for me. I will share the must-have colors for me.

I keep my materials simple.

• 100% cotton paper, like Arches Hot Press or Magnani.
• Good round sable brushes in sizes 00, 2, 4. I like the brushes by da Vinci or a set from Opus
• Professional watercolor paints such as from Daniel Smith

I began with wet on wet, to build smoothness and dimension or to subtract color. I let it dry and applied this technique many times until colour transitions are done. Then I use dry brush technique to bring out details and darkness and this usually makes the painting pop.

Watercolors are really about letting the light come through so creating a good first wet on wet along with starting with the lighter colors is essential to building depth and vibrancy in a painting.

Three colors are so few, but it's doable: A cool red like Permanent Red, a Yellow Ochre and a Ultramarine Blue will go a long way. 

I think watercolour sketching in a park is the best teacher there is, with a 100% cotton paper sketch book, a good set of round brushes with a couple of 00s for details, and a nice white ceramic plate for color mixing you can carry around. 

Painting outside is challenging but you get to learn so much from observation and feeling the place. Water, sunscreen and a hat are a must.

Definitely practicing wet on wet. Until this day. Having the right amount of water on the paper - glazing, and mixing my colours with water before I apply them makes better colour transitions. It can be a little time sensitive so having things ready is great. 

Also, having a cloth or a napkin where to tap the brush makes a big difference.

Starting with dark colours or colours with no transparency. You need the white of the paper to shine through. 

You need lots of patience to let each layer dry so you colours can layer beautifully instead of fighting for space in the paper - I made this mistake myself because I just wanted to keep going. To avoid this problem it helps to have many projects at the same time. Go for a walk, make tea, give yourself a break.

Masking fluid is a material I need to explore further, how to apply it thinly and precisely. 

Another one is watercolour pencil. I want to play with sketching with a watercolour color pencil to see how it can change the mood of my painting. I recently tried it with a sepia color pencil and give a very vintage-italian feel to my painting and I can't wait to try more.

Constantly, there is so much to learn and explore. Life events and location change my palette all the time. 

Lately, I’ve shifted from dry brush techniques to more wet-on-wet approaches, allowing for more fluidity. My glazing has also improved, allowing for the dry-brush stage to have a bigger impact on the final painting. 

As for colour, I’ve moved from cooler tones—greens and blues—toward a palette with more reds. These changes feel intuitive and reflect where I am in life and practice.