Watercolours With Life: Spring Fever Strikes Again!

Monday 2 March 2015

Spring Fever Strikes Again!

Double Daffodil Inspiration

Spring Fever has well and truly hit me. I cannot stop painting daffodils!

I am wandering around my garden looking for each new exciting clump of flowers that create magical inspiration for me. Some blooms are all facing forward neatly in a row. One group has flowers facing three different directions which is fascinating to work on as a composition.

I thought it would be fun and interesting for my blog followers to see how I work.

Firstly I obviously choose my subjects and observe colour, shadows and how light plays a part in the effect I would most like to achieve. To get to this point as an artist you really do have to learn to sit still patiently and just look, minus a brush in your hand! We are all far too impatient in life. Learning "to see" is so important and a skill many of us don't realise we need to practise more.

Then I have two options on how to start a painting.

1) I can go straight in with a wash of the colours that I see. I aim to capture a " ghost" of the subject in this initial wash. As I never use a preliminary sketch beforehand or pencil lines to guide me, my imagination is free to add colour where I wish. A whispery hint of the subject is aimed for, minus detail which can be added later in the next stages of the painting process. I try to "breath life" into my work at this stage, and it is such a magical feeling when it actually happens in that you can see the subject long before any definition has been added.

A daffodil " ghost" wash. The subject is mysteriously there minus any detail, But like this, the work is far too abstract to call a complete painting. It needs further brushstrokes.

Or my next option.

2) I can paint one flower quite seriously and use it as a starting point to add " ghost" flowers around it. As in the painting below.

A more detailed flower on my easel. Painted as a starting point with more expressive " ghost" half finished flowers surrounding it.

I am having such a fantastic time. In fact, I am loving working on these floral paintings so much I have almost forgotten I am suffering from a bad head cold!

I now cannot wait until morning to work further on my Spring collection!

Artist tip for the day? Paint in cheerful colours to lift your spirits and brighten your mood. It works!

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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."

"Amazing Ways With Watercolour:" Fastest Selling DVD!

"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.

http://www.townhousefilms.co.uk

How To Paint Colour and Light in Watercolour

"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."