Wistful Wisteria : Wisteria in Watercolour

 Wistful Wisteria

I cannot walk into my cottage without stopping to admire the wisteria which adorns the walls around the front door. I am hooked on painting it.  I have several pieces on the go but the one I am sharing today is my favourite. The above image shows one of the  hanging blooms.

Wistful Wisteria 

Take 2.

On a large blank piece of paper I happily started painting one wisteria, but gradually more blooms  were added as seen in the image above.  And it didn't stop there. Because soon a large painting existed with blooms falling in shade and sunlight. See the image below.

Large composition. 

A work in progress but nearly complete.

The glow in this work, not really easily seen on screen,  is because of the new Daniel Smith shades I am now working with. And I am not afraid of colour. Cadmium Yellow works fantastically in the shadows as well as in the more well lit sections. It adds warmth and a glow to sections that are hidden and lights up those that are not.

I will work on this further and share it when it is finished. Incredibly someone has offered to buy this painting and it is not even complete yet. And it was painted for my own cottage! But f  rnow it stays in my studio to be enjoyed and for more brush work to be added. At leisure, with love and my passion for the medium flowing through it!

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Never Put Off 'Til Tomorrow What you can Paint Today

 Cowslip First Wash

Magical green combinations at the foot of the composition

Finally after my tour and after catching up on so much Admin in my studio I could escape to my garden today. My painting time outside was brief due to the weather. We have heavy winds and occasional rain. But even so there is a fabulous patch of wild cowslips growing in the meadow section of our cottage garden and I just had to capture their colour from life before it was too late, and before their time to flower brightly had passed. This kind of feeling always reminds me of my Stepmother constantly saying " Never out off 'til tomorrow what you can do today".

I have my own version of this saying.

"Never put off 'til tomorrow what you can paint today" 

It's true. There are always many good reasons why we cannot pick up our brushes each day. Other things often become more important. For me today it really was time to contact galleries, reply to invitations for workshops in USA and liaise with my publisher over an exciting new project.

But those cowslip flowers have been calling my name all day and I listened. I knew if I could sit quietly for just a few minutes to take in their glorious gold colour I would feel peaceful, calm and eager to work in the morning.

I am thrilled with the first wash. I have  placed my focus on just applying colour where I wish the bells of each bloom to hang. Then I surrounded these starting points with a variety of green underneath the yellow central section and I added touches of turquoise at the top of the paper.

 I love the main flowers.  Just by playing with water the small petal shapes seem to have come to life.

The definition will be the stems and the background to be added next.

I thought it would be interesting to show why I enjoy working from life more than from photographs. Below you can see a photograph taken from where I was sitting. And the painting I worked on from life in my garden is on the left. If you look at the second older photograph with a darker green background you can see how my wash in my second painting was guided by the colour of the photograph losing all the white paper as the light is missing in the image. Compared to what I was actually seeing when I saw and observed the real flower today. 

These are two very different paintings.

 I gain more light and life by working outside. Seeing real subjects in natural daylight. Working in my studio alone seems to kill energy to a degree. Although I will admit the second wash looks exciting too! Even so, I have fallen into the trap of adding a much darker colour at the base of the painting which I may have wished to avoid had I been outside.

 Maybe I just enjoy being outside more when I paint and maybe I do relish the sunny days when we have them in UK! Below is the image of cowslips from where I was sitting. The image doesn't show the daylight as much as I would like it to. But maybe my painting will!

Cowslips growing in my cottage garden

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Artist Tips

I have started sharing painting tips on the Cottage Flower page on Pinterest. If you would like these tips on compositions from my gardens' inspiration please follow me via the link below. I aim to try to share artist tips daily when I can. Today's photograph addition of clematis talked about "lost and found" edges and "negative" edges. I realised I learn so much from my photography that aids my art so rather than keep my daily finds to myself I thought I would share them on line!

https://uk.pinterest.com/jeanhaines/cottage-flowers-2015/

Summer in My Studio 2014

Sweet Pea in Watercolour on my easel.

Summer seems to have arrived and  flowers are blooming in my garden. Not Sweet Pea as its too early. Luckily though, I was given a beautiful gift of a posy of lilac coloured sweet pea by a friend and I couldn't resist painting them. I find my best ideas come from life in that I would never have thought of painting these flowers all in the same colour. In my garden I grow a variety of  shades each year. As they climb the pea sticks during the summer months, from a distance all I can see is a gorgeous  fusion of  merging colours . 

In the vase these flowers are curving at an angle, which also helped me  paint a different composition. The light through the window where they are sitting really indicated how I could utilise the white of my paper.

Its' incredible how one small act of kindness from a friend can lead to a whole new collection of paintings.  I may take this piece to Patchings as I have my own marquee there this year as well as being invited as a Celebrity Guest Artist for St Cuthbert Mill.

If you would like to see me demonstrating, please visit Patchings . 

You can find more details via this link.

http://www.patchingsartcentre.co.uk/patchingsfestival/patchings_festival.php

I will be happy to sign books. 

I will also have my books, DVDs, cards,brushes and original paintings for sale.

Peony in Watercolour 2014

Peony in Watercolour

Whenever I paint peony flowers I always  think of my time studying Asian brushwork in China. However my style has changed so much from when I was studying Chinese brushwork under a Shanghainese master. Now I depend strongly on colour and water flow to create my subjects.

Today I have glorious bright red peony in a vase in my studio. They were knocked down in my garden by Bailey,  my over enthusiastic Bearded Collie. Even so every negative has a positive. As these flowers were on very short stems I placed them in a small vase and realised they could be wonderful to paint. And what an experience today was. Allowing red shades to merge with water on paper, to create fantastic pattern effects. Then merging a few green shades amongst the reds gave an illusion of  foliage. Sheer bliss!

Peony "water marks" on my easel

My main problem is that I am a complete watercolour addict. I have had such a great time experimenting with these flowers as subjects that I now want to take a huge piece of paper and see what happens on that next!

Life is great when you are in love with watercolour.

And I am!

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Spring Violets at The Frame Gallery in Odiham, Hampshire

Spring Violets

£350

This time next week my new solo exhibition "Watermark" will be open at the Frame Gallery in Odiham, Hampshire.

Among my new collection are two very sweet paintings of violets. I am thrilled with how they look in their frames and will be very sad to part with either . So much so that a part of me is hoping that no one likes them! I probably am not the best artist to show in a gallery as I often wish to keep my favourite paintings however I have limited wall space in my cottage!

Please contact the gallery if you are interested in any of my work

The link to contact Jan the gallery owner is 

http://www.theframe-gallery.co.uk/

Simple Things : Forget-Me_Not

 Forget-Me-Not

Colour Interpretation

Sometimes it is nice to paint just because I feel like it. Not for galleries or exhibitions,  for my book or for any other reason. Painting purely for the sheer joy of seeing colour flow across paper. This morning while I wandered around our cottage garden I noticed the first Forget-Me-Nots starting to flower. I enjoy these little blue flowers so much.  I like the romance in their name. I love that they used to be pressed and given to soldiers, as they left for war, with the loving message they represented. 

"Forget-Me-Not".

Such a simple, insigificant flower carries such a powerful name.  I couldn't resist picking a tiny spray and bringing it into my studio to use as a subject for my daily colour exercises. Initially I played with colour combinations and light brush strokes to not only match the flowers, but also gain a feeling of their delicacy. Lightness of touch was a must!

 Matching Forget-Me-Not to watercolour shades. I have opted for turquoise and violet for the petals, using cerulean Blue and Cadmium Yellow to create a spring green for the leaves.

 I have worked on two studies to being my  experimental work on these sweet flowers. The pleasure in simply watching colour flow over paper and pigment interect cannot be described. I do wish everyone painted in watercolour. The feeling of freedom whilst working this way is so special. It lightens your soul and makes you feel instantly happy!

 Watercolour studies of Forget-Me-Not flowers. Light, interesting with a sense of mystery.

 By standing these little studies up and taking time to study the colour combinations, I can decide where to work further by adding detail. Or choose how to begin new pieces for a series.

The two studies side by side.

My favourite piece at the moment is this one, below.

Favourite Forget-me-Not study. 

(Without Detail)

But by the time I have finished writing this blog post I may just have changed my mind!

Forsythia in Watercolour : Spring 2014

 Forsythia  Study  Collection

 Its' Spring.   We have wonderful sunshine and  gorgeous flowers are appearing in our cottage garden. Near my studio are two wonderful Forsythia. My eyes have kept wandering to their glorious display of colour this week.  They are irresistable!  I always give myself a treat at the end of each working session, to paint something new  whilst exploring the creative possibilities of differing approaches.

So now, I am now enjoying painting wonderful yellow flowers. Falling on my Asian training with my rigger for the brushwork forming branches and using my number ten brush for the yellow petals.

These pieces have a delightful sense of warmth, sunshine, and peace about them and they have certainly lifted my spirits as each has evolved during my experimental creative process.

I think my favourite is this piece.

 Favourite Forsythia Study

 I enjoyed discovering the right yellow to depict these flowers and  matching my shade accurately for the branches as seen in the study below.

Matching colour to my subject.

Each flower has such a short season of life, as artists we need to paint what we see and when we see it. Never missing the golden opporunity to create from life. And how golden this opportunity is!

Poppies Galore!

Poppies on my Easel from a painting session in my garden

The weather is glorious and it is a perfect time of year to take my watercolours into the garden to capture colour in natural sunlight. Near the woodland section of our cottage garden there is a mass of red poppies growing wildly, where they have self seeded. They made a fabulous display of red flower heads softly swaying in what little breeze there was over the weekend.

I literally sat  with a few small pieces of paper and painted what I saw, exploring flower shapes as the breeze forced transparent petals to dance this way and that, changing direction frequently.  Studying from nature and NOT photographs is the best way to improve as an artist as your eyes are constantly searching for true colour and shape interaction. 

If you can, get outsde and paint from life as often as possible. The rewards are endless.

For now this is the end of this blog post as I am going out into my garden to paint again!

Happy Painting!

Pansies and Blog Posts

Pansy Experimental Wash

Sometimes when I am painting "things just seem to happen"! Maybe its' because I have been working in watercolour for so long. Or right now maybe its because I am so passionate about the flowers that are blossoming in my garden. I feel so happy experimenting while I create. I know exactly what I can achieve so I consistently push myself to discover other ways to gain more interesting results when painting familiar subjects.

As the sun is shining I started my day with some gentle gardening. I say gentle because I am still recovering from a broken ankle and standing for too long  is uncomfortable. I love the saying "Where there is a will theres' a way". I have magically found a way to manoeuvre myself around the flower beds in our cottage garden. Leaning on the wheel barrow when necessary and using long handled gardening tools because I can't kneel easily to weed. Most importantly I haven't given up. My life is just a little more interesting right now as I can't just walk to where I want to or work how I would wish.

The positive outcome is that I am bringing these elements and thought processes into my paintings. If I try a new subject I work out a way to get to a pleasant result even if my first attempt wasn't quite what I was aiming for. In my minds eye I see a finished painting and I want to get to that image via my imagination somehow. I have a few experimental washes of a gorgeous purple pansy whose petals seem like soft velvet. I have painted these flowers so many times over the years but I am bored of just working them to life with my brush,pigment and water. So this morning out came the cling film to create leaves and petal patterns. I am already getting excited as to other compositions I can create for the same flower, one which had accidentally fallen off the main clump  in a planter while I weeded.

Life is full of happy accidents.  So are watercolours!  Okay so breaking my ankle probably wasn't the best of accidents but it has taught me so much. Its taught me how much patience I have because I am taking my time, doing everything correctly while it heals. Just like painting, taking your time doing every stage correctly is worth it in the long run.

I have been enjoying the summer months so much that I have been in the garden whenever possible painting or working on my next book. Which has meant my blog has fallen quiet. Thank you so much to everyone who has sent emails asking if I am alright, wishing me a speedy recovery and for letting me know that you find my blog inspirational. I will keep sharing and I will be moving on from flowers when the muse moves me in another direction!

Artists Tip for the day: If you are painting a familiar subject take a few minutes before yu pick up your brush to think about options for painting new compositions. Try not to be repetitive in your work and continually push yourself to discover new ways to achieve unique results!

Cornflowers in Watercolour

Cornflowers from my garden coming to life in watercolour

Every day I have watched a wonderful clump of cornflowers in my garden grow and shine in sunlight with their glorious almost violet colouring. I couldn't resist starting my painting day with a quick study of them. They are soft and delicate, so perfect as a subject to calmly move my way into painting subjects that are a little more lively.

I do find working from life rather than photographs improves my eye with colour matching. And painting something completely new each day keeps my enthusiasm very high!

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Foxgloves 2013

First Stage

Foxglove in watercolour 

I sat in my garden and painted several studies of foxgloves over the weekend while the sun shone. Today its a real treat to enjoy the same paintings in various stages of development. In the collection I have many differing views of each flower. The painting above is, so far, one of my favourites. This lovely foxglove has managed to seed itself near an old, garden shed and is bursting into the light from shadows cast by the building.

I will be working on a series of these flowers this week and enjoying them while they are at their best in my garden.

Painting from life is always far more interesting than working from photographs which I avoid as much as possible. I often wander around exhibitions and its' quite often very easy to  see which artists work from real life or not. Please paint what you see from life as often as you can as it  definitely improves your  ability to not only paint, but see great colour combinations and light effects. 

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Foxgloves 2013

 Foxglove washes on my easel from an hour painting in the garden this afternoon.

It is a glorious Summer day and as I am under orders to rest my foot I have sat quietly painting the first foxgloves that are coming into flower in my garden. The sun has shone on my shoulders and I have enjoyed looking at the tall foxglove plants in various stages of flowering. Some foxgloves are still in tight bud whilst others are already giving a fantastic display.

I did say while I was demonstrating at Patchings yesterday that I had a fantastically vibrant new colour that I have fallen  in love with. It is in all of these paintings and I am hooked! But its' far too nice outside to be sat inside typing on my blog so I am going back out to enjoy painting in sunlight!

Have a fantastic day and I hope you too find new colours that you can't live without!

Early stages of a foxglove painting in watercolour

Here Comes Summer

Studio collection developing on my easel after painting in the garden

I adore days like this. I have been sitting in sunshine and painting the flowers in my garden. I am still fascinated by the Veronica plants. The Hydrangea in the patio pot is beautiful too but now the Iris have come out near my pond. As fast as I paint one thing another catches my eye.  I have bright red peony, pink and purple rhodedendron and vibrant allium. I want to paint them allor at least capture them in quick experimental washes.  I wonder how many I can paint before the sun goes in!

It is a floral day. 

It is a fabulous summers day. 

And my happy mood is reflected in my brushstrokes.

Whatever the weather,enjoy your day and sieze that moment to paint!

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Gorgeous Hydrangea in Watercolour

Hydrangea in Watercolour

When the sun shines how can anyone not race outside to paint? The light is different in Summer. The colours are glowing, fresh and vibrant and an energy abounds that makes you feel so good!

I've been held back so much over the last few weeks as my broken ankle isn't allowing me to move around or as independantly as I would like. Painting in the garden means asking for help to carry my art materails to where I want to sit. But the problem is once I have painted one subject and the light has moved I want to sit somewhere else and paint something new!

Today the weather is glorious and I am making the most of the suns rays. I am allowing them to fall across my paper to bring each new subject to life. I am listening to birds singing and  adoring the warmth on my shoulders as I work. So shades of yellow , no matter how subtle, will be in every painting today!

I love hydrangea and they are my new favourite subject.

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I have several floral paintings currently on show at The Frame Gallery in Odiham,  Hampshire and the Wey Gallery in Godalming, Surrey. Please see my web site for details.

www.jeanhaines.com

Artists Tip of the Day ? :  Enjoy Seasons and paint everything as and when it turns you on. Tomorrow you'll feel like painting something else and you could miss or lose  your enthusiasm of today!

Inspired by Nature

Experimental Wash for Veronica Plants.

Vibrant Wash

I have always believed that nature is the very best inspirational teacher for my art.  I see so much daily that tempts my brushes and as I admired my garden this morning the tall stems of the Veronica plant dancing above its foliage really caught my eye. The darker background from dense planting seems to set off the gorgeous pale blue hues of the petals.

 Veronica Plant

Soft Wash

Veronica Flowers

I have several washes on the go. One is  where I have deliberately worked a negtaive edge around the tiny flower shapes. See the image below.  Another is a beautiful delicate wash, above, where I have immediately  worked around the soft flowers, in places. Sitting in sunshine and just enjoying colour and form is so relaxing and a great way to spend a few hours on a peaceful Sunday

Flowers worked by leaving white paper and using hard edges of a negative shape to create them.

This is a whisper of a first wash

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When you look at flowers it is so easy to choose one to paint that is familiar to you. Maybe one that you have painted many times before and know that you will get a reasonable result. But the most magical of adventures in art is painting something new to you.Something you think you cannot paint because then you often find your observation skills are at their highest and you focus.

Artists Tip for the Day? Try something new, be bold and enjoy studying a fabulous new subjects which in turn will encourage you to try even more new subjects in future!

Lilac Time

Lilacs coming to life in a vibrant floral wash

I desperaely wanted to paint today.  Having taught workshops all week I found my fingers itching to hold brushes and as the day wore on I just couln't resist  playing with colour. I had taken some lilac into my workshops as subjects to paint. Having brought them home for floral arrangements I noticed they were beginning to droop today. So time was running out if I was to capture them in watercolour.

The blossoms were a pale mauve in colour that didn't make me feel energised so instead I painted my favourite variety which is a deep purple. The whole point of the exercise was to free me up from teaching mode and get me back into the zone for writing and working on my next book.  The rich colours definitely did make me feel good and I now  have a million ideas for my next paintings. Maybe a large vase of lilac next or huge sprays on a lilac tree.

We will see!

HAPPY PAINTING.

Canterbury Bells, Campanula in Watercolour

Canterbury Bells

Campanula

Everywhere I travel these delightful little flowers seem to have different names. In Norway they were described to me by the name " Bluebells" and they grew  beautifully alongside quiet roads in the natural, wild countryside when I was teaching watercolour workshops there some years ago. In America I also came across them and was given stunning photographs.

Here in England I see them in many varieties and colours, usually purple or white. I love the tiny variety that I have in my garden but last year became fascinated with the giant form that  grow  quite tall with massive clusters of bells hanging from the stems. No wwe hve these in our cottage garden too. I will confess that as a child I always imagined fairies lived inside each little bell shapes. My Grandfather had told me many stories about fairies and elves and I used to believe every word he uttered!

Following my experiments painting forget-me-nots, yesterday, I moved onto to slightly more purple hues in my palette today and was delighted at the early results in my washes.

Summer is a season where my brushstrokes are always lighter,softly gentle. Almost breathing life into my work as I paint. I cannot wait to start a new painting of Canterbury Bells. And this is the exact feeling I aim to instil in my workshops. That magical enthusiasm of wanting to paint and not feeling satisfied until you have moved your brush at least once a day!

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Spring, Glorious Spring

Daffodils coming to life in watercolour.

I have some wonderful Spring subjects on my easel at the moment. As the sky looked dull and grey this morning I decided that, no matter what, I would work in yellow today to create my own sunshine. The day passed. Stunning elephants and beautiful hare have started to appear in a variety of paintings. But my heart was still screaming at me to work in yellow by this evening. So I took the wash that I had already started of daffodils last week and gently added a few more touches. Now a fabulous effect of the flowers coming to life, and jumping off the paper at me, is occuring. I always feel excited when this happens. And I know this will be a new favourite painting of mine.

I meet so many artists who are always in a rush to finish a complete painting in one go.When often the half finished painting will tell you what it needs, if you take time to enjoy its different creative stages. Each day that passes looking to see what you can add next.

Artists Tip: Don't race your work.Enjoy each brushstroke and listen to what your painting is telling you.Does it need more darks? More Detail? And where?

I never race towards my destination. I love enjoying the journey far too much.

I hope you enjoy yours too!

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Autumnal Abstracts

Inspired by Queen Annes Lace

Hogweed

A full week working on paintings for upcoming exhibitions in Wales, Surrey and Norfolk from September to November 2012. I am inspired by my rural surroundings and finding incredible abstracts in all forms of foliage at present. Hogweed  creates incredible patterns against an evening sky. Standing tall amongst brambles, nestling in hedgerows and bank it always seems to give amazing silhouettes that tempt my brush in so many ways.

My experimental and abstract work is leading my eye with colour and shape taking my work into a completely new direction. Bold in colour and complex in structure at times . Although simplicity is more striking in many compositions.

Yesterday I had a meeting to discuss my 2013 programme and as it will be a very exciting year with new gallery collections my time is going to be very limited  for workshops. The full programme of events will be shared on my web site in mid September with a restricted number of places. Each session is aimed at being highly motivational and inspirational. However putting it together has increased my own enthusiasm to an all time high so my personal  time in my studio to continue evolving and exploring is really important.

My collections are already taking shape in ways that I had not foreseen and my passion for colour and texture is stronger than ever.

I will share full details of my exhibitions on my web site shortly. 

My next show will be at the 

Albany Gallery in Cardiff, South Wales from 14th September - 6th October ,2012