New Collection at The Frame Gallery, Hampshire

 "Snowfall"

 Today I visited the Frame Gallery in Odiham, Hampshire and was delighted to see my new work on display. With so many snowdrops in flower it is a delight to see my above painting entitled "Snowfall"  attractively welcoming visitors. This painting is from my new art greeting card collection for Spring 2015

Greeting cards are also available of Spring Sunshine, below, to brighten any grey days that may still be lurking around the corner from Winter, as it gradually leaves us for yet another year.

I sell original art in established galleries and they often stock my card designs for each new season. Available in galleries that represent me, not for sale on line.

This afternoon I have been working on a new collection of watercolours and I am going to really enjoy sharing them on my blog when they are finished.

Happy painting!

"Spring Sunshine"

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On The Dark Side : Snowdrops 2014

Snowdrops on my easel

I have had a very productive day in my studio. I have several paintings on the go including Spring florals, a gorgeous cat and my beloved roosters. All heading for a Spring solo exhibition this year. I leap from subject to subject throughout the day as my creative mood takes me. My main goal is to enjoy every single brushstroke and I also love variety.  I am experimenting on new ideas for my next book and have a stunning watercolour of snowdrops evolving on my eaasel, as seen in the above image.

I've been reading quite a few emails from artists who are achieving "mud" in their results. I know that on a workshop last year we all laughed when I attempted to show how to avoid creating mud by attempting to do just that as pat of my demonstration. Unfortunately each time I tried to create muddy watercolours my colours simply sang all the more. Hence the laughter in the room at the time.  Maybe the sceret is to aim at making dull muddy effects and then they won't happen!

I was reminded of this memorable session when I looked at some snowdrops in my garden this week. They are hidden from view and seem to have pushed their way through some fallen twigs on the ground. This area of earth could be a brilliant section to practise aiming for dull muddy effects which will ensure the white of the snowdrops in my painting sing beautifully ; highlighted by the dull carpet of uninteresting woodland underneath them. To gain a more realistic colour combination I placed my half finished painting on my wooden easel and literally painted the lower half of the paper in dull brown shades matching the wood I could see. This  earthy section, I covered with cling wrap whilst the wash was still damp. Initially I worked around white negative shapes of the snowdrops and gradually built up the surrounding background with layers achieving depth of colour using violet and turquoise. There is a terrific splash of Cadium Yellow as an underwash colour in the middle section on the right that acted as warmth under the final blue layer addition.

I am really excited at how dark this painting is. How dramatic and how effective for an attractive snow scene. As always, a section within my painting makes a fabulous composition when cropped. Which means I have a choice as to work further on the background or use this crop as the finished piece.

Cropped section. A painting within a painting.

But I am enjoying myself far too much to stop!

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Snowdrop in Watercolour: Reflections

Detail added to my earlier blog post of a snowdrop

I thought it might be helpful to share how I feel when painting exercises which often lead to further large paintings.

Earlier today I shared a small study on a scrap of paper with a little colour  on it, painted around the negative shape of a snowdrop. If you study the image below, no detail has been added to the flower and you may notice that the  pigment around the shape is still wet.

Snowdrop in its first stgae, a negative painting with no detail on the flower.

When I returned to this piece a beautiful watermark had formed in the lower corner of the painted section. All I had to do next was add the  touches of green to the top "cap" above the petals and the lines to the lower "inner skirt" of the centrre.

Detail added and the pigment is dry in this image.

Now, in this study, I feel the cold of Winter. I can feel the greyness of an English January and also I am reminded of days full of rain.  To work on a new piece I can ask myself is this the effect that I want? It is quite pleasing in some ways. I can imagine this in a white or silver frame so my mind is already jumping ahead to the real composition to follow.

But I could move to more exciting colour combinations.

Most importantly though, I am painting. Not sat wondering what to do today,wasting valuable creation time. Often I think it is easy to spend far too long worrying about what will happen or what to do rather than actually just moving our brushes and getting on with the most wonderful feeling of all. Which is hodling your brush and allowing colour to flow across paper!

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I am having a wonderful time writing  my new book which will be filled with inspirational tips. If you haven't already purchased "Atmospheric Watercolours" , my latest book, please consider working through it now so that you are ready for the next wonderful challenges and fun exercises to come in the future. There are many!

Only ten left in stock on Amazon UK!

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jean-Haines-Atmospheric-Watercolours-Expression/dp/1844486745

Snowdrops 2013

Snowdrops coming to life  as a work in progress

Not a year goes by where I don't feel compelled to paint snowdrops. I adore these little flowers. Considering they face the bad weather to bloom, bringing hints of  warmer days to come  each Springtime.

In the past I have usually painted them with  blue ,violet or turquoise backdrops using a variety of texture effects. For some reason those colour  combinaions were not my first choice as I painted in my studio today. I opted for pinks and yellows to brighten up what could have been a very cool wash. There is a wonderful sense of movement appearing at this stage as I love how the delicate heads  of the real flowers nod in the slightest of breezes.

It is incredible how much we think about when painting the simplest of subjects. I can't wait to finish this piece and start a new one too to see where the snowdrop journey of 2013 will lead me!

Artist Tip: Look at a subject you painted last year and see if you paint it differently this year. Use different colour combinations or change your usual composition. Aim for the unique and have confidence in your choices!