Watercolours With Life: May Blossom 2019 : Its All About the Colour

Friday, 14 June 2019

May Blossom 2019 : Its All About the Colour

May Blossom 2019

Section from a larger composition

What a great day to be alive. I now walk our two Australian Labradoodles daily before heading for my studio. Each day I see some new treasure I wish to paint and this routine has been a part of my life for so long. When I didn't have dogs for the period since losing our beloved Bailey I just couldn't face walking in my favourite spots. It didn't feel right without him. But now my soul is lifted by these two exuberant four legged little beings , new to our family, who are seeing adventure in every daily walk and its' wonderful. Seeing their joy certainly adds to my own.

Their first walks saw the hedgerow smothered in tiny May blossoms. Now gone but not in my mind. Hence today's blog post. You may think did I use masking fluid? No, not at all. I find masking fluid use leaves hard edges that are sometimes far too stiff to soften to add the necessary life needed in a piece.

I started my painting with a vibrant colourful wash for my background leaving some sections pale where the white flowers would latere be placed.

I then worked negative work around clumps of the tiny blossoms before picking out one or two individual small flowers to be my main focal points. As seen in the close up below. There is now a variety of white in the petals as some are pale blue giving a feeling of depth and shadow in my painting

Negative work around each blossom brings each flower to life.

I want depth in this piece so I have used Daniel Smith Watercolor Ground , Mars Black, under some flowers and this works fantastically as a technique.

The full painting can be seen below. I still have a lot of work to do on this painting but it is coming to life so well , so far.

May Blossom, full painting as a work in progress

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Thank you!

I have received some wonderful messages from friends and followers who have missed me whilst I have been poorly. I am back! Feeling great and getting better by the day. Working from home for a while which is doing me the world of good and as you can see I am experimenting and sharing again.

Let the good times roll!

Happy painting

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The Artist Magazine : Book Review

Jean Haines' Atmospheric Watercolours

"The book is nothing less than a paean to the wet in wet technique. If that's your thing, prepare to be amazed. Jean Haines credits Jean Louis Morelle, and in many ways this book is the sequel to Morelle's remarkable, but very technical work, showing the wealth of creative possibilities the technique offers. A lot of the images are barely recognisable and yet you instinctively know what they are. I wish I knew how, because this is impressionism taken to its logical conclusion and reminiscent of some of the later work by JMW Turner. You will have to take it from me that "First signs of a face appearing magically from a first wash of watercolour" is pure alchemy. This is an extraordinary book."

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"Amazing Ways With Watercolour" from Town House Films is the fastest selling DVD with the company to date! Record breaking pre-orders for this much awaited film saw requests for copies flooding in from all over the world. A wonderful introduction into working with watercolour minus the use of a preliminary sketch this DVD removes the fear, stress or pressure from worry about how to use watercolour. Instead the focus is on having fun, enjoying vibrant colour combinations and allowing the medium to create the subjects with just a little help from the artist. A really exciting new DVD to own. Whilst the DVD sold out in the first few months since its' release due to popularity it is now in stock and available directly from Town House Films.

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"How to Paint Colour and Light in Watercolour" Jeans first book was launched at the Mall Galleries in 2010 at the SWA Society for Women Artists Annual Exhibition. Many copies have been sold world wide. It is available on Amazon.com, Search Press, SAA Society for All Artists and Ken Bromley.

"This book is a wonderful introduction into Jeans' way of working and gives an insight into her way of thinking and approach to a large variety of subjects. All painted minus the use of a preliminary sketch."