Watering The Roses!

Adding the Background

( Copyright Jean Haines )

I thought I could answer a few email questions by posting my new painting of roses at this stage. I am adding the background now and it could be a sky, further greenery in the distance or more roses. As I am in a "rose" mood it has to be roses! 

But how to add the background?

I apply water to the space behind my subject and then I simply drop colour into that space and allow it to dry with no help from me , or my brushes. If I disturb this pigment I will lose the soft freshness of colour simply being there. I have soaked the paper well in the white space at the top of my composition. While the paper is still wet, dropping in colour at random completes the painting and  connects harmony with the colour of my subjects. This trick  works beautifully.

There isn't much more to do on this piece. I will allow it to dry completely, then add a little detail to the outer top petals of my gorgeous pink blooms.

I am rather impatient too at times especially when I am having fun. As I never use a hair dryer to dry my work I am starting a new rose wash, to look forward to working on tomorrow.

Painting roses is very addictive!

Heaven Is a Rose

 "Heaven is a Rose"

On my Easel this morning

A surprise email this morning let me know that I will be filming for my new project this week on Thursday. This news created great excitement for me. I had a meeting with my publisher at my cottage last week to go over a few ideas and I mentioned I could be ready "to go" this week. So it is now all systems go as I compile a collection of paintings which will be going in a thrilling special edition. Further information will follow later this year but for now I am thrilled.

The sun shone so brightly this morning that regardless of my work load I just had to paint roses. I am a firm believer in following your heart when painting and mine is set on capturing soft pink roses in sunlight. There is a story behind these rose paintings, isn't  there always!

In our first home, when we were newly weds, I knew very little about gardening but outside the kitchen window there were highly scented pink roses which I adored. I constantly picked endless bouquets to decorate our home and to give away as gifts to friends. The more I picked the more seemed to grow in the removed flowers' places. I have found that similar in life. The more you give away the more comes back to you. I give my tips and techniques away where ever I go and I find artists from all over the world are eager to share their favourite colours or subjects with me too. And, it seems the nicer you are to people the nicer they are back to you too. Its' an endless happy circle.

Where ever we have lived, from Dubai to Hong Kong I have always tried to have roses in my garden but I had made my mind up that the day we settled down I would have pink rose growing outside my kitchen window. And we have finally settled down. And I have done just that. Each year I set up my easel and happily paint the fabulous delicate roses , for hours on end.

Today I am leaping ahead to Summer and painting my favourite subjects yet again. These are one of the most favourite and most asked for of my watercolour demonstrations. Usually I have more than one artist asking if they can buy what I have just painted because the way the roses appear as if by magic always carries such a special memory to myself and those on my workshops.

There is a breath of freshness about this piece above, as it develops. A softness that seems heaven sent. 

Maybe its title should be " Heaven Scent" because to me heaven is a rose in bloom.

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Rose Fever 2013

Roses painted on a scrap of paper

As much as I loved painting the roses in my previous blog post to me they felt too tight. They bordered in places on being slightly botanical . I always aim for a mixture of loose sections and fine detail to complete my watercolours as a mystical combination of styles. I haven't painted roses very much this year so decided to grab a few scraps of paper this morning and work on a few first washes, looking for roses in each. The next stages bring the rose to life with final brushwork.

The above study has a fabulous feel to it as a painting and now I wish I had worked on new paper not scraps! I have several gorgeous rose paintings decorating my studio today now, that would have looked wonderful framed.

For followers of my blog who have asked about my brush sets and want to paint roses in a loose style following my style. I use my number ten sable for the petals and wash. I use my soft sable rigger to "lift" petal edges, very gently to encourage the petal edges appear.  Please note, it has to be a soft sable as the technique at this stage needs to be carried out very gently.  Other brush mixes tend to damage the paper which  can leave obvious marks when dry.  My colours flow and interact, guided by my sable brushes which hardly touch the paper surface due to their design,quality and of course my gentle use of them. I also use my rigger to pick up tiny amounts of pigment which I drop into areas in a wet in wet technique, to add strength in colour where needed. Such as shadows at the base of petals.

My brush sets can be found on my web site. They are ideal for painting roses as they are made of the finest Kolinsky sable. They move easily allowing pigment to flow across paper. If you hold my size 10 sable away from the brush end and allow the point to form curves you can get a great result. Use my size ten brush for the outer soft petal edges and the rigger for detail and pigment dropping.

 Available from 

http://www.jeanhaines.com/kolinskysablebrushes

Happy Mothers Day

From the "Essence of Summer" Collection of Rose Paintings

By Jean Haines

Having lived all over the world I have discovered that the date of Mothers Day varies depending on where you live. For those living in UK today is Mothering Sunday. Lucky Mums  will be woken with cups of tea,  given bunches of flowers along with  pretty cards and taken out for a Mothering Sunday lunch.. It is a special day.

Earlier this week I bought a variety of flowers for my workshop so that  everyone attending had the opportunity to paint from life rather than a photograph.This to me is the very best way to capture exciting and unique results.The florist mentioned that this weekend the price of flowers would be very high. 

Considering the humble beginning of giving gifts to Mothers it seems such a turn of events. Years ago servants would be allowed to visit their Mothers as an annual day off. They would usually go to Church and families united would enjoy simple fayre. Posies given could have been picked from hedgerows. Cakes were often made to be offered as gifts and the whole day was one where everyone could simply treasure the joy of being together.

Love is such a small word that can be expressed in the most  amazing of ways.

I hope this Mothering Sunday the true meaning behind the day exists for many. 

To show Mothers just how much they are loved and appreciated.

Happy Mothers Day!

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