St Cuthberts Mill : Artist Interview: Daniel Lopez on Saunders Waterford® Rolls

Spanish-born artist and Ambassador Daniel Lopez creates expressive, large-scale watercolours that capture the atmosphere and rhythm of contemporary urban life. Working with fluid washes, bold mark-making and the luminous white of the paper, his paintings demonstrate both the expressive freedom and technical precision that watercolour demands.

Now based in Birmingham, UK, Daniel runs painting workshops, as well as retreats in Portugal and the UK. He received First Prize at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists Watercolour Prize (2025) for his watercolour painting 'San Vicente de la Barquera'.

An important part of Daniel's practice is his use of Saunders Waterford® rolls, which allow him to work beyond the limitations of standard sheet sizes. Their flexibility enables him to create custom formats for each series, while the paper's strength, stability, and responsive surface support his ambitious approach to scale and technique.

We spoke to Daniel about his journey with watercolour, what continues to inspire him about the medium, and how Saunders Waterford® rolls have become an essential part of his creative process.

'Act Together for a Cleaner Birmingham' by Daniel Lopez
on Saunders Waterford

What first attracted you to watercolour as your primary medium, and what keeps you excited about it today?

It was partly circumstantial, but also driven by my desire to adapt and challenge myself. I first fell in love with watercolour as a student at art school. In 2009, I was very fortunate to receive a scholarship to attend a workshop with Aurora Charlo, and I was deeply impressed by the freedom and expressive power of the medium. As a young student, I became obsessed with it. I wanted to be able to control and “dominate” water in that way, so I studied it very intensively.

'Red Shed, Wernog Wood' en plein air by Daniel Lopez
on Saunders Waterford

However, I later put watercolour aside while at university, where my projects expanded into other mediums. I continued painting, mainly in oils, but also explored sculpture and installation. Around that time, I was awarded another scholarship to study in Cuba for a year, where I focused on ceramics, another complex discipline that requires a great deal of focus and dedication to master. I’ve always been drawn to technically demanding mediums, as I’m very interested in developing a strong command of my artistic language.

'La Latina (Fragment)' by Daniel Lopez
on Saunders Waterford

When I came to England, initially just to learn English, I didn’t have a proper studio space. Watercolour became the perfect medium because I could work anywhere. I returned to it and quickly fell in love again. Later, when I established my own studio, I naturally continued exploring the medium more deeply, pushing into larger formats. Over time, it simply became my primary medium, as it is today. That said, I still work across different mediums depending on the project - each body of work demands its own language.

'The Infinite of the Ocean, Ilha do Farol' by Daniel Lopez
on Saunders Waterford

What continues to excite me about watercolour is how alert it keeps you. I love its expressiveness and fluidity, and its transparent nature. You’re always working with the light coming from the paper; there’s nowhere to hide. It’s pure, natural, and spontaneous, with infinite possibilities. It teaches you both control and surrender at the same time.

It’s also such a delicate medium, which makes it exciting to push contrasts, transparency versus opacity, watermarks versus bold brushstrokes, the untouched white of the paper versus strong, expressive marks. And I have a particular love for the paper itself - its texture, its whiteness, its presence. I like to expose and celebrate its nature as part of the work.

What qualities of Saunders Waterford® help you achieve the effects you’re looking for in your large-scale urban watercolours?

Saunders Waterford is my favourite watercolour paper for several reasons. It’s incredibly stable, so I often don’t need to fully stretch it. It absorbs a large amount of water and holds humidity exceptionally well, yet it still dries flat, even when only “soft-stretched” using solvent-free craft paper tape. This allows me to preserve the natural deckled edges and white borders when I want to, which helps me further emphasise the beauty of the material itself.

Another quality I really value is its surface. It has a softness to the touch that feels better than any other paper I’ve used, especially when applying dry brush techniques. The way the brush interacts with the surface gives me a level of control and sensitivity that is essential to my work.

Why do you choose Saunders Waterford® rolls instead of individual sheets or blocks for certain projects?

The main reason is scale. I love working in large formats, and the rolls allow me to create works up to 1.5 metres high and even up to 10 metres long. That flexibility is incredibly important for my practice.

I do use full sheets regularly, but rolls give me much more freedom. I can cut the paper to any ratio I need. For example, I often work in square formats, preparing batches like ten 90 x 90 cm sheets for a specific series. That wouldn’t be possible with standard full sheets, so rolls are essential for that level of flexibility.

When preparing a large painting from a paper roll, what steps do you take before applying paint?

It depends on the format I’m aiming for. Usually, I cut batches of paper into large, consistent formats and store them flat on my planner. This allows me to work across different series efficiently.

For larger-scale works, I sometimes mount the paper onto stretcher bars, similar to a canvas. This approach gives the piece a more painterly presence and avoids the practical challenges of framing and transporting works under glass - especially for pieces over 120 cm.

The stretching process itself is also very helpful when working at that scale, as it stabilises the surface while painting. Once the work is complete, I finish it with varnish or wax. This protects the surface from UV light, water damage, and dust, making the piece more durable while maintaining its visual qualities.