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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Wey Gallery Demonstration March 23rd ,2013

Snowdrop in First Wash

Demonstration from Saturday at the Wey Gallery

On Saturday I woke to find our cottage garden covered in a blanket of deep snow. Normally I  would have been delighted, loving the chance to play with Bailey in it.  But this was the Saturday I had been booked to demonstrate at the Wey Gallery in Godalming during my solo exhibition "Essence of an Artist" which had opened the night before.

My husband is happy to drive in snow, but even he thought I should phone ahead to see if the gallery was going to open. But I made my way there and was so glad I did. The scenery on the drive to the gallery was so different to earlier in the week. Now the rural countryside was covered in snow.

It was a fabulous experience painting surrounded by finished paintings on the wall. As so many people had commented on my snowdrops in watercolour at the Preview, I decided to develop an unsual wash to show how my paintings evolve. I don't always choose my subject before I start painting. Often my mood will effect which colours I select. And I will often  opt for a colour combination that may be the complete opposite of what others may choose, for a similar subject. Which is why bright orange and purple became the background for this snow drop painting which I will complete later in the week.

For those who were watching the demo, I have left that green corner in the foreground so far. If you remember, at first I wasn't impressed with this section but then later fell in love with the pattern that formed. And the contrast between the cold , dull area here compared to the warmer , more striking section at the top  of the composition.

I love demonstrating! I always go for the unexpected and have fun, taking risks and telling the audience I may not have worked with that colour way before. It worked beautifully here!

Please don't forget I will be demonstrating at Patchings Art Festival in June every day this year so  come along and enjoy  "exploring"  with watercolour.  I will have more to share by then!

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A huge thank you to everyone who braved the bitterly cold  weather and snow to see me on Saturday!

Snowdrops 2013

Snowdrops 

Work in Progress

Snowdrops from my garden are strongly on my mind as I start to paint each day.The small exercise I recently shared on my blog has instilled my passion for bringing these delicate little flowers to life. I am still drawn to the mixtures of violet and blues as my background with hints of green appearing now and then. My favourite small bud shapes which I usually depict in my snowdrop paintings have opened into the pretty shapes of the flowers in full bloom.

 Small snowdrop study from an earlier blog post this week

My studies each day grow in size from small pieces of paper to large as my imagination takes over. I now have so many wonderful options to choose from for new compositions and I am ready to start a new series of working with this beautiful sign of Spring.

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Artist Tips for the week.

1) Get to really know and understand your subject before attempting to paint it.

2) Take your time experimenting on scraps of paper before setting out to paint a finished masterpiece.

3) Decide what you love and what you hate from your results when practising painting a subject

4) Plan ahead to quality quiet time after the exercises to work on your real painting

5) Most importantly enjoy every part of the creative process.

6) Never put pressure on yourself to get brilliant results each time you paint, you learn far more from disasters than successes!

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

Artist Tips 2013 : Take Your Time

 Snowdrop Paintings are now  coming to life for my new 2013 collections. While I work I can't help but think about how I have changed as an artist over the years. I think, when we first start painting we are so happy if our work shows recognisable subjects when our paintings are complete.  This is many artists goal and with this end comes a sense of achievement. We go through stages of disappointment when we first start out desperately trying to get good results which often can lead us to racing through each painting. Having to paint everything in one go to the point that if things don't go as planned we can feel let down. All new artists go through this stage.

Compare painting to going on a journey. Imagine you are drving from A to B because if you do, one really can see how taking breaks  or making stops can lead us to successful outcomes. I am married to someone who is fantastic but if we set out on a trip  his mission is to just get there.  We go from A to B and reach our destination. When I drive alone I am often tempted to stop and admire a building or  beautiful sight along the way.  I don't mind how long it takes me to get there as i want to enjoy the journey. Recently I persuaded my husband to stop and  visit a rodeo in Texas when we had left one destination and were making our way to Dallas by road. It was a fantastic day which we both enjoyed. Totally unexpected we saw a live rodeo, as we had made no plans other than just getting to where we were headed. That stop enriched our trip and allowed us both to see something we had genuinely longed to see.

So when you are painting, take breaks. Don't be in a constant race to get to the finish line and enjoy every stage of your work. If you study a half finished painting it will often tell you what you need to know and what is needed in the next brushstrokes. If you race to finish a piece  you may lose sight of the beauty that was there all the time in front of your eyes.

That lovely expression "take time to stop and smell the roses" is so true. Don't miss out by your determination to get somewhere. Enjoy the journey, where ever it leads you and  really indulge in those wonderful spur of the moment suprises which can enrich your life and you art.

Snowdrop Glow

 Snowdrop Glow

 It is a wonderful Sunday. The light today has been incredible. I had promised myself a break,  intending to stay out of my studio, to enjoy the  unexpected sunshine. I just couldn't resist dropping into my haven to see whats on my easel and possibly paint primroses which are playing on my mind. I can't wat for the first of the Spring flowers to bloom this year. After writing "Atmospheric Watercolours" and "How to Paint Colour and Light in Watercolour", my own chapters previously written are strongly playing on my mind. I keep thinking of why I paint floral subjects in the way that I do and how my style has evolevd over the years. I want to experimant further and aim, as always, to paint flowers in a way that breathes life into the  completed compositions. That is my way and now, how I am known as an artist.

Walking into my studio I was faced with the painting of  snowdrops that I started, and reluctantly left to complete. Th epainting looks beautiful as it has a soft glow reminding me of the sunshine outside and all the colours yet to come this year.

This is a terrific way to start 2013, looking forward to exhibitions, writing my next book and  knowing I will be meeting so many new friends when I take watercolour workshops in UK, Australia, Hong Kong, Texas and New York this year.

For now I just want to paint quietly and enjoy the freedom of doing so on a peaceful glorious Sunday!

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!

SAA, Society For All Artists, Snowdrop Challenge

Snowdrops appearing in an atmospheric wash

I recently wrote a feature for the SAA, Society for All Artists " Paint " magazine. The demonstration was on how to paint a simple snowdrop minus the use of a preliminary sketch whilst aiming to bring the subject to life. In the article was an invitation for members of the SAA and readers of the magazine to send in their interpretations of the demonstration.

I have just recieved by email the first  entries to the challenge. Yesterday our postman knocked on the door to give me a very large package with the remaining entires that had been sent to the SAA directly.  I am so thrilled by the comments and results. Now I have the task of selecting paintings to be included in my next feature and will be explaining how I feel about each one. I love them all so this will be very interesting.

When you write  you often have no idea  on whether your idea has come across or not until you recieve feedback. As I am now in the process of writing my second book receiving these submissions  has been really valuable to my creative writing journey so I am very  grateful to everyone who took participated.

My new feature with members snowdrop paintings will be in the next issue of "Paint" magazine.

Thank you to everyone who followed the demonstration and forwarded their results to the SAA. I am  so thrilled with the response. I hope when these Spring  flowers start to come into bloom this Spring there will be many more paintings to follow.

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