For this episode of our subcultalks series, we had the absolute joy of chatting with the wonderfully talented British painter Daniel Fermor-Smith, who calls the sun-kissed city of Granada, Spain his home.
Daniel isn't just an incredible artist - he's also the inspiring host of the Alhambra Painting Experience, a magical 5-day art retreat that invites you to slow down, pick up a brush, and let the beauty of Andalusia flow onto your canvas.
You can request this retreat all year round — just make sure to reach out at least a month in advance. (We need a cozy group of at least 4 creative souls to bring it to life.)
"At home in my studio"
1. What is the art you make?
The simplest answer is anything that I’m inspired to want to paint, draw or print. So, if you look at my website, you’ll see examples of human figurative work – some of which is to do with social commentary and others that have more of an aesthetic focus.
As well as this you’ll see landscapes, portraits, what I call more decorative art (see "A La Mucha" below as an example of this), and then even a little bit of abstraction.
In 2023, I caught the printing bug too, and that now competes with painting for my time. As for mediums, I started out using acrylic but now I paint predominantly in oil and watercolor, but I like pastel, and pen and ink, too – in fact I’ll try anything, which is of course one of the wonderful things about the world of art – the possibilities of subject and media are infinite!
“Hall of the Ambassadors (Alhambra)”, intaglio fine point print
2. How did you find your way to your art?
My interest in art dates back to my first year at university in London thirty years ago, when one morning - I cannot for the life of me now remember what prompted it, other than perhaps some visits to the National Gallery - I went to an art supply shop on the Tottenham Court Road and bought oil painting materials, which I subsequently used and put on an exhibition for my close friends in the student hall of residence I was staying in. From then on, I dabbled in painting on and off, until later in 2002-2003, while working as a newspaper reporter in Devon, England, I got the painting fever badly.
3. What is the reason you continue to practice your art?
The simple answer is: It is who I am.
I can say that now with confidence after twenty-two years of waking up in the morning and it being the one thing I most want to do. Long ago I realized the biggest gift is not some innate talent for something, but rather the will to do it, and do it consistently. That is something you can’t manufacture or fake; and true artists have it, and have a lot of it.
4. What is your personal highlight during your entire time as an artist?
An artist’s journey is made up of a lot of little personal highlights that mark their progress, and of course a particular picture may represent a highlight. For a professional career artist, I imagine these moments coincide with art shows and public recognition.
My journey over the past 22 years has not been one of the professional artist, indeed for much of this time I have tried to divorce myself from commercial concerns, for good and for bad I may add. This has meant "the sharing my work with the public" highlights have been few and far between. However, that said, there is one exhibition highlight that stands out for me, one that strangely enough came very early on after only two years in Málaga (in 2005), and which gave me a lot of satisfaction at the time.
I had worked feverishly painting mainly social commentary pictures in acrylic since arriving in Málaga in September 2003 and was rewarded with a good exhibition co-sponsored by the Association of Málaga Artists and the "Diputación de Cultura de Málaga" in August of 2005. "Lunchtime", acrylic on canvas, 80 x 100 cm, was one of the paintings that featured in the exhibition, and is one of those paintings that marked a personal highlight of achievement for me.
"Me standing next to “Lunchtime”, acrylic on canvas, 2003, a painting that featured in the 2005 Malaga exhibition that I refer to above."
5. When do you feel most productive?
I usually work most mornings. I am lucky in that I work fairly constantly; I usually have a list of things I would like to do, the issue is there simply not being enough time.
6. What or who inspires you?
Having an idea or aesthetic vision that I want to express inspires me. This idea or vision may literally come from anywhere. I’m often affected by social themes, but can equally be inspired by an aesthetic vision. Other painters, whether contemporary or past masters, can also inspire me by seeing their work and what is possible.
Although my list of favorite painters is quite long, to give you an idea of the well-known painters that I particularly love, at the top of my list would be painters such as Sargent, Waterhouse, Seago and Mucha.
""A La Mucha", a painting inspired by Czech painter Alfons Mucha, oil on canvas, 2022."
7. In which "small" things do you find the most joy?
In the realm of art, just simply achieving an aesthetic effect I like, no matter how simple – in fact very often the simpler the better!
Another thing would be sharing an appreciation of creativity with like-minded people; it brings you together and gives you some real faith in humanity. That, combined with a really nice coffee or glass of wine, makes for a great moment.
Walking about Granada and taking in the amazing views of the Sierra Nevada, and the Alhambra of course, would be another pleasure I’m fortunate enough to have constant access to.
Two more things that occur to me: The English countryside and the spectacle of sport.
"Photo of me with the Alhambra 2025"
8. Do you have a vision or goal you are working towards?
In general, simply to paint and print better. It’s always about the next picture and trying to produce something really special. The Holy Grail of art for me is to produce something that is not just good, but something really special. It’s as difficult and as simple as that.
Another goal would be to get The Alhambra Painting Experience off the ground. This is a week-long painting holiday I have created whereby people come to Granada to paint the Alhambra with me.
I think this project has tremendous potential to bring a lot of people together and create a lot of great pictures and happy memories. It’s something I’m working on now with subcultours as a valued partner.
9. What is a life well-lived for you?
For me it would be a creative life that I can share with other people, and one in which I can "give something back" to society/humanity in earnest gratitude for having been so fortunate to be able to spend so much time doing something I love so much. I don’t know how I’m going to do this in all honesty, I’m just hoping something will occur to me one day.
10. What do you do when you feel "stuck"?
If I’m really "stuck" over a technical issue I’ll walk away and leave the picture. Perhaps I’ll consult other painters or a particular painting. But generally I just muddle through. That’s all part of the journey, the fun of the fair!
"Photo of me in my studio 2025"
11. What is true freedom for you?
Being free from financial considerations and having the time to paint what I want, when I want, without any distractions. That, and keeping life as simple as possible – as impossible as that may be.
12. What is your favorite feeling?
One of the best feelings in life for me is going down to my studio in the morning and looking at a picture I’m working on and just liking it. It’s hard to explain, but I suppose it’s a mixture of excitement, fullfilment and hope.
There’s also that feeling of seeing any piece of artistic work that’s really good; it could be a painting, a piece of music – in fact anything that is beautiful and expressive – which elevates my spirits and gives me a feeling of joy.
"Oil painting of the Alcazaba of the Alhambra"
13. What is your least favorite feeling?
Guilt. That I’m being self-indulgent. That I’ve spent so much time painting and to what end?
14. What are you most afraid of?
This relates to the last question 😊.
That I’ve literally wasted thousands of hours and euros producing work that has little merit and I won’t be able to find a good home for.
15. What is your favorite movie?
For a while I couldn’t answer this question, there are just so many good films. So I’m going to ride with nostalgia now and give you a film I like and saw again recently. I’ve already mentioned that I went to London University in the early nineties and then worked there, so I’m going to choose "Notting Hill", a film that is very much of that decade; it’s light-hearted, it’s well-made, has some good music, is set in London – a city I love, and is from a time when the world seemed a lot less mad than is does right now.
16. What is a book you highly recommend (the first one that comes to your mind)?
That’s a very tough one as well. In my early twenties, long before I really got the painting bug, I thought I might want to be a writer. One of the main drivers for this was the author Ernest Hemingway. Essentially, he made me want to write. So I’m going to recommend one of his masterpieces, "For Whom the Bell Tolls", a book I first read when I lived in Madrid for a year and a half in the mid-nineties.
Set in Spain during the Spanish Civil War, it makes poignant observations about human nature by way of the most unique and powerful prose.
17. If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
It’s an impossible question really, there’s so much music I love. But, off the top of my head, something calm and positive and beautiful, perhaps Bob Marley’s "Three Little Birds".
18. Your favorite guilty pleasure?
Art of course. But on a lighter note, I have a sweet tooth, so let’s say chocolate, though I try and eat chocolate with a very high cacao content so assuage my guilt.
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Thank you, Daniel,
for taking the time to answer our questions with such heart and thoughtfulness. Your words truly inspired us.
To all of you out there who’d love to meet, create, and learn from Daniel in person - you can book a spot for one of his upcoming Art Retreats in beautiful Granada, Spain. If you need tips on where to stay, we’re more than happy to help with recommendations!
Until next time - stay curious, stay creative, and keep making beautiful things.
With love,
Katja 
Katja Krämer (founder and owner of subcultours.com)