My New Book Update

The best "secrets"hidden within pages.

My heart is litreally skipping beats this week. I am going to share how I am feeling while I am so emotional this morning because I feel it is a vital part of this new books journey and my time as an author.

I leap from one  thrilling moment to the next as the final chapters of my next book are falling into place. I have locked myself in my studio typing and painting for the last few months. However this week the tesnion and excitement has built up more than ever. Now I am working from the "contact sheets" for the many demonstrations in my new publication. These contain all the mages from the photography session arranged by my publishers the week before last. The very last paintings will leave my studio on Thursday morning and after that time there is  no more chance to add more or change the contents artwise.

"The dream team"

We work so well together that everything falls into place naturally.

I love these very special visits to the photography studio.

It takes a wonderful team to get the exact sequence of photographs together to make a successful demonstration come to life in a book. It is a skill which is hard to understand unless you have witnessed the photography session tak eplace as so much is involved. I am now used to standing to the side moving my arm so the exact shot can be given while I am working. The idea of a successful art book is to give every single step in a paintings progress clearly so that it is easy to follow.  I planned well in advance how to use these days and knew what I wanted to demonstrate. There are many gorgeous  and intriguing step by steps in this  new book!

The fun part of the shoot was taking hundreds of photographs. And painting of course!

Image Selection

Since the contact sheets arrived at my home studio I am going very carefully through every single image. I need to choose which one portrays what I am trying to demonstrate and get the reader to that point with me.  It isn't always a case of  how great the painting looks as much as the position o fmy brush in each if I am  talking about brushwork or colour additions for example. So it is very time consuming but has to be 100% accurate.

Text Decisions

Each of these images needs text to explain what is happening in each shot. And directions for readers to follow my every step. This  is wonderful as i feel as though I am on my own workshop and I am gaining as much as a reader would which I feel is such a fabulous position to be in. My own techniques are improving due to my thinking so much about what I am trying to say in each demonstration.

Chapters Building Up Excitement.

Next came the inrtoduction chapters to each  demonstration and the explanation as to why they are taking place. The book reads like a beautiful piece of music which started just like an orchestral overture. The  first chapters lead you into  a faster tempo page by page and at the final section my brush is moving as if sparks will from it at any moment!. So much so I can't put my brush down recently.Maybe that is a worry,maybe I should find a way to  include a "stop swtich" to take breaks from time to time as this is so addictive as a "read"!

Growing Enthusiasm and Adrenalin Rushes

I am now in the most exciting part of the  conclusive chapters and I have never felt my adrenalin racing as much as it has this week. The strange thing is,when I wrote my first book I felt I improved as an artist. But I look back at my first edition and only now understand how much I needed to improve and how that very first leap into writing has changed my way of thinking. I thought I was already excited about painting in watercolour but my new book is taking me to far higher and exciting levels as an artist. My knowledge has grown which has increased my enthusiasm greatly and I thought that was impossible.

Injections Of Positivity?

Within the pages of this new book is I feel an injection of positivity. A huge boost of confidence and the permission to believe you can not only paint but you are amazing at doing so.

Hit by the "Jean Haines" Bug!

I need to leave my computer right now and get back to working on my book because writing it and reading it are really making me feel wonderfully positive!

I hope it has that effect on you too when you read it next year!

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