Artist Spotlight: Danny Folkman
A Conversation About Gouache, Plein Air Painting, and Learning to See
For this Artist Spotlight, I sat down with artist Danny Folkman to talk about more than his biography. I wanted to explore his philosophy of painting, his relationship with gouache, and the way he approaches the challenges of working outdoors. What followed was an enjoyable conversation about artistic beginnings, the streets of Los Angeles, the value of simplifying a painting, and why sometimes the best way to learn is to pick up a big brush and leave the details behind.
Discovering the Artist Within
Rich Brimer, Carmel Visual Arts Director: Danny, I want to go a little beyond the biography we have on the Carmel Visual Arts website and talk about your philosophy and approach to gouache. But let’s start with your artistic journey. You mentioned that you’ve been drawing since you were very young. How did you make the transition from drawing to painting?
Danny Folkman: I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. As a teenager, I started doing these really tight black-and-white pen-and-ink drawings—architectural drawings, street scenes, things like that. I was using little Micron pens, and everything was black and white.
Then, in my junior year of high school, I had AP Studio Art. My teacher assigned us a still life that he wanted us to paint in acrylics. I really didn’t want to paint it. I was afraid to use color, honestly. I told him I was good at drawing and that I would just sit at my desk and draw the plants in black and white.
He wasn’t having it. He said, “This is my class, and that’s the assignment. You’re going to paint it.”
I was pretty stubborn and went back and forth with him for a couple of weeks. Eventually, I gave in and painted it. I wasn’t even used to working upright on an easel. I had always drawn flat on a table, which, looking back, was a pretty uncomfortable way to work.
But the painting went really well. My teacher told me it was the best painting in the class, and that was it for me. I was sold. I painted in acrylics for the next couple of years and eventually found gouache. I’ve pretty much stuck with it ever since.
Rich: That’s interesting because drawing is such a valuable way to train your eye and your hand. You also describe yourself as largely self-taught, although I know you’ve learned from other artists and workshops. How do you feel about that term?
Danny: I actually hesitate to call myself self-taught. That’s the term people generally use, but I definitely learned a lot from other people. I didn’t go to art school. I did a year of community college, and then COVID happened and I never went back. I also really dislike online classes. I don’t enjoy sitting through them, and I don’t want to teach them either.
I’ve learned through workshops, books, online resources, and by looking at other artists’ work. There are a lot of things you learn much faster by being around other painters.
And as many art books as I have, there’s nothing like going to a museum and seeing the actual paintings. You have to get up close and look at them. It’s a completely different experience.
Rich: Absolutely. You can study a reproduction in a book, but standing in front of an original painting is something else entirely. You see the paint, the surface, the decisions the artist made. It’s a kind of education you can’t get from a photograph.
Finding Beauty in Los Angeles
Rich: You’re based in Los Angeles, which is a place many people might not immediately think of as a beautiful painting destination. But looking at your work, I see a real affection for the city. What are some of your favorite places to paint there?
Danny: I’m really drawn to the simple street scenes around the city. When I’m driving around, my phone pretty much sits on the dashboard, and I’m constantly taking pictures.
There are a lot of famous landmarks in my work because they’re fun to paint and people enjoy seeing them. But what I’m most drawn to are the ordinary street scenes—the older neighborhoods, the bungalow houses, palm trees, parked cars, and telephone wires.
I love Old Hollywood and the neighborhoods along Franklin Avenue. There are some great areas tucked up against the hills that still feel like old Los Angeles. I also like parts of Silver Lake and East LA.
My favorite thing about Los Angeles is that, outside of downtown, most of the buildings are only two or three stories tall. So when you’re driving around, you have this wide-open sky, towering palm trees, and glimpses of the hills and mountains. I’m originally from New Jersey, and we just don’t have that kind of landscape back East. It still amazes me.
Rich: Did you do much painting in New Jersey?
Danny: I was painting pictures of Los Angeles in New Jersey!
When I was 15, my family took a trip to California. Growing up on the East Coast, we usually went to Florida for vacation every year. That time, my parents decided we were old enough to appreciate California. We flew into Oakland, spent a couple of days in San Francisco, and then drove down to Los Angeles and Disneyland.
I remember falling in love with Los Angeles. San Francisco was great, too, but there was something about LA that really appealed to me. There’s nowhere else that looks quite like it. You could take a random photograph on almost any street in Los Angeles, and you would know immediately where it was taken.
Rich: I know exactly what you mean. I grew up in the Carson area, and Los Angeles has always been one of my favorite places. There’s a lot of history and character there if you take the time to look. I also recognize so many places in movies. I’ll be watching something and think, “Oh, I’ve driven down that street a thousand times.”
Now, when you come to Carmel, are you planning to do some street scenes with the class?
Danny: Absolutely. Most students expect at least one street scene from me and at least one car in a demonstration. That’s kind of my thing. Usually we’ll find a cool parked car somewhere and paint it.
Rich: Carmel has some interesting cars. Maybe I can arrange for somebody to drop off a particularly good one in a nice location.
Danny: That would be ideal! That’s what we did in Point Reyes a couple of months ago. I’m also a sucker for telephone wires. Carmel may not have many, but Monterey certainly does. Gouache lends itself naturally to structured subjects like buildings, cars, and architecture because it has those inherent hard edges.
Why Gouache?
Rich: Let’s talk about gouache. That’s your primary medium. How did you initially get interested in it?
Danny: I didn’t always think I would be a painter. I was interested in Disney Imagineering, architecture, and the animation industry. I thought I might end up doing concept artwork or something along those lines.
When I started painting and following artists online, I discovered a lot of artists working in gouache, particularly people in animation. I really loved their style, and I think that’s what initially got me interested.
There are a lot of animation artists in Los Angeles. Most of that industry has moved to digital work, but gouache is still taught in some of the schools, and many of those artists continue to paint outdoors with it.
I also love how easy it is to travel with. I love traveling, and I don’t like being tied down to a lot of equipment. You can have a small kit with five or eight colors, some brushes, a bottle of water, and a tripod. It all fits in a backpack. You can leave it in your car and be ready to paint whenever something catches your eye.
Rich: That’s one of the things I love about it, too. I’ve been using gouache for probably 15 years, although not exclusively. When I first started, I treated it too much like watercolor. I’d use a lot of water, and the dark colors would dry much lighter than I expected. I’d think, “Wait a minute—that was supposed to be 80 percent dark!”
I eventually started using much more paint and less water. Is that something you see beginners struggling with?
Danny: Definitely. That’s probably one of the biggest adjustments people have to make. It’s very easy to overestimate how much water you need on the brush.
The more water you use, the more the color changes as it dries. If you mix a really dark color and it’s very wet, it’s going to dry considerably lighter. If you’re painting with the paint more opaque, closer to how it comes out of the tube, it doesn’t change nearly as much. It may dry a little lighter, but the shift is much less dramatic.
Getting that balance right is probably one of the toughest things to learn with gouache.
Rich: So for someone coming from oils or acrylics, gouache is an interesting medium to explore. It has some of the qualities of oil painting, but it’s portable and dries quickly.
Danny: Exactly. Gouache is a very specific medium, though, and the technique is different. If you’re coming to a gouache workshop, I would recommend focusing on gouache rather than trying to work in another medium. There’s a lot to learn about how the paint behaves.
The Art of Simplification
Rich: One of the things I admire about your paintings is how you simplify a subject without losing what makes it interesting. When you’re standing outdoors looking at all the information around you, how do you decide what’s essential and what can be left out?
Danny: I think the first thing is identifying your focal point. Once you establish that, you can develop that area more completely. The farther away you get from it, the less information you need. Otherwise, those details can become distracting and pull the viewer’s eye away from the focal point.
The thing that helped me understand how to apply that in a painting was using a big brush on a small canvas. I’ve heard that advice from several artists over the years.
I rarely use anything smaller than a three-quarter-inch brush when I’m painting gouache. Even if I’m working on a five-by-seven or six-by-eight canvas, I’ll use a three-quarter-inch or one-inch brush for most of the painting.
You literally can’t get lost in all those little details. You have to figure out how to suggest things rather than paint every little thing you see. It forces you to become efficient with your mark-making.
Rich: That’s a great exercise. Do you use that approach when you’re teaching?
Danny: Yes. On the second day of my workshops, I have everyone do a series of five-by-seven, 60-minute studies. The rule is that they can’t use anything smaller than a three-quarter-inch brush.
It’s a really helpful exercise because it forces you to simplify. You can’t fuss over details, so you have to make decisions about what’s important.
Rich: I’ve been trying to carry that idea over into my oil painting, too. I use a big brush as long as I can. I like a long number 12 flat bristle because you can really load it with paint.
Danny: That’s interesting. The long flats are great.
Painting Outdoors and in the Studio
Rich: How do you balance your studio painting with your plein air work? Does one inform the other?
Danny: Definitely. I’d say it’s probably about 50/50 for me. Both inform each other.
I actually started painting in the studio. I think it’s important to become comfortable with a medium before taking it outdoors. Learning a new medium outside can be difficult because you’re dealing with so many other circumstances at the same time.
Once you’re comfortable with it, painting outdoors opens up a whole different experience. You’re looking at natural light, and a photograph will never capture that completely. You see things in person that you simply won’t see in a photograph, especially in the shadows and on the unlit sides of objects.
I find that plein air paintings have a certain life to them that’s really hard to replicate in the studio. They’re usually a little looser than my studio work, and there’s an expression that comes through when you’re painting outdoors.
Over time, you can take the things you discover outside and bring them into your studio paintings. The two approaches really complement each other.
Rich: That’s a good way to look at it, especially for people who may be intimidated by painting outdoors. Some people have spent years painting still lifes or working in a studio, and then they get outside and suddenly they’re looking at 360 degrees of information. It can be overwhelming. How do you help students get started?
Danny: I love using a viewfinder. I have one of those little cardboard sliding viewfinders, and I use it all the time. If I don’t have time to pull it out, I’ll use my phone to help frame the composition.
The other thing I always tell students is that we’re not looking for finished paintings when we’re painting plein air, especially in a workshop. It’s a different story if you’re doing a plein air competition, but that’s not what we’re there for.
We’re there to practice and try to capture the accurate light we’re seeing. The painting doesn’t need to be complete. In theory, we’re painting outdoors to inform our finished studio work later. You rarely have enough time to finish a full painting on location as well as you could in the studio. Even if you do finish it outside, there are often little things you want to touch up at home.
Rich: I think that’s an important point. The goal isn’t necessarily to produce a finished painting every time you go outside. It’s about learning to see, understanding the light, and making decisions. Those experiences become part of your work later.
Looking Ahead
Rich: Before we wrap up, let me ask you one more question. If you could paint anywhere in the world, where would you go? Do you have a bucket-list destination?
Danny: Russia is at the top of my list right now. I’ve recently become really interested in the Russian Impressionists and Realists, and I’d love to go there and paint.
There are still so many places in this country I want to paint, too. I love Maine, and I love the Southwest. I’ve been lucky enough to visit both a couple of times.
But honestly, my favorite place to paint is Los Angeles. That’s why I moved here. There’s just nothing like it. I don’t know that I’ll ever get tired of it. I drive the same streets every day, and I still see something new every time.
Rich: Well, keep painting my hometown, man.
Danny: I will!
Paint with Danny Folkman in Carmel
If Danny’s approach to gouache has sparked your interest, there’s no better way to explore the medium than by painting alongside him. Join Danny Folkman on the Monterey Peninsula May 10–12, 2027, for three days of painting, learning, and creative discovery.
His workshop is designed to help artists become more confident with gouache, simplify complex subjects, and make stronger, more decisive brushstrokes. Through demonstrations, guided exercises, and individual instruction, Danny shares the techniques he has developed through years of painting both in the studio and outdoors.
Whether you’re new to gouache or looking to take your existing skills further, you’ll come away with a better understanding of the medium—and, perhaps more importantly, a fresh way of looking at the world around you.
Explore upcoming workshops with Danny Folkman at Carmel Visual Arts and join us for a few days of painting, learning, and creative discovery on the beautiful Monterey Peninsula. Click below to find out more…
