September 11th, 2011

Sharing Thoughts 9/11

Yesterday I did not add to my blog. I watched as tributes took place all over the world in so many ways for the Tenth Anniversary of  9/11.

I was living in Hong Kong at the time and teaching at the American Club there. The security instantly tightened around many Americal schools and centres and I am sure it was the same reaction all over the world. It was a day I doubt many will forget . The pain and sadness for all of the innocent lives lost is a very heavy price to pay for whatever the reasons behind the Twin Tower attacks.

In my world of watercolour I  have peace, I paint beautiful subjects and I am surrounded by many wonderful people who make my life richer. I know love and I am loved. I give freely to as many people as I can in so many ways especially with my art if I can help other artists of all levels reach their dreams or by helping a charity. 

Life isn't about me. It's about the effect I make on someone elses life and it has to be positive.

If smiling at a stranger in a street can create a feeling of warmth especially when the smile is returned my day is a happier one. I am simplistic. I have no place in my soul for negative thinking or unkindness. If this means I have selfishly in the past turned away from  anyone who enjoys creating trouble or heartache so be it. They have no part in my world.

In my time I have met people who enjoy running others down especially on the internet and I have had complete strangers suggest to me that I shouldn't like one of the  people in their circle purely because for some reason they have fallen out with them. This sounds so petty but isn't this how hatred starts?

How can you hate people you don't know? How can the attackers on that fateful day have understood the pain they were causing to so many innocent families who they had never met. People who had no part in their campaign of hatred. A minority who believed  what they are doing was right  sent ripples around the world  to decent people who all knew they were wrong. Very wrong.

There is and can be no jusitification in causing such terror and hurt. There can be no pat on the back for a  job well done to the cowards who  took lives without seeing  another side to a story.A side where people live and love their families without dreaming of hurting a living soul.There can be no religion where any God instructs you to kill for the sake of killing. To believe this makes you a sinner sinning against your God. Because all Gods want the world to live in peace.

I can only be stronger from listening and watching again yesterday. Seeing tears fall down a firefighters exhausted face as he realised he couldn't help any more in such a hopeless situation  was heartwrenching.

Whoever you are whatever your faith and whatever your nationality you can make a huge difference in this world by stamping out the slightest hatred in your life. Turn away from negativity and guide by being kind and positive. Those who cannot live in your world will have to live without you until they learn how to behave in a civilised manner.

I wish 9/11 had never happened. But yesterday was a day when  everyones personality showed.

It wasn't  a  day about "me", what I painted, what I did, who I met or where I went

It was a day to show how much "I"  cared

Which is why my blog was quiet.

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My thoughts and prayers are will all the families who lost loved ones and to those who can no longer be with us.

R.I.P.

Fabulous Friday

Last night I had an incredible dream. I pushed it to one side this morning and enjoyed working on my new book in my studio. Right now there are many wonderful new paintings littering the  work tops and floors so  there will be very tough decisions to make on which  will fit into the next chapters I am writing. I am deeply engrossed in these sections as they are to me the most exciting part of my book. Everything until now has led to these stages and I want them to be as inspirational as they possibly can be.

 I took a coffee break and answered the phone.  At first I couldn't take in the conversation at first because my dream had come true. The call which was completely out of the blue followed with an afternoon meeting here. The outcome will be shared next year I am afraid because until everything is finalised I don't wish to sabotage my amazing day but I am over the moon! 

It was very hard to settle to painting after such a brilliant start to the afternoon but the work I have created today I am thrilled with and I know these new paintings will make all the difference to what I am aiming to share in the pages of my new book.

If that wasn't exciting enough I had two galleries contact me this afternoon asking for work and an incredible email regarding workshops next year.

Luckily I needed to take my  affectionate dog Bailey for a walk which  pulled my feet back firmly to the ground!  

I thought 2011 was pretty exciting but 2012 is going to be really fantastic!

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Autumn Inspiration: Blackberries in Watercolour

Inspired By Nature

"Blackberry Delight"

Autumnal watercolour coming to life in the creative process

Owning a dog is a wonderful excuse to have to go out daily for long walks. For me the morning walk is a time to  consider what I will be painting  during the day whilst my afternoon walk is a time to reflect on what I have already achieved and created. Often I find interesting twigs, fungi, berries or  wildflowers to bring home to my studio to work from  as inspiration. I know painting even the smallest of subjects every day as a warm up exercise will lead me into far better large paintings when I come to create my more serious compositions.

This month every single  walk has been a treat for finding treasure to paint. I have watched colours change with the  season as the light has ranged from sunlit subjects to  those with a more hazy appearance.

 Luscious berries coming to life in a watercolour

In my studio there are now countless numbers of paintings depicting Autumn subjects. Berries such as rosehips and haws have been a delight to work on. Blackberries are so gorgeous in rich deep hues that painting them has become an annual addiction. And the hazelnuts strewn all over the ground have  created fascinating patterns. It has been an artists dream every day walking to new destinations and discovering  even more  fabulous items to  carry home and work from. 

Beautiful berries.

 Whatever your routine, please try to find some time to escape to the country and enjoy what naure has to offer. You will learn far more studying the light and form of real subjects than anything you will come across online.  Make the most of Autumn!

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My 2012 programme of events will be shared soon.It is so full and  so exciting  that I cannot wait to share all the details. The first sessiosn start in February 2012 followed by Spring and Summer sessions but they will close until Autumn as I will be teaching abroad next year. For this reason when my dates are announced please book early!

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Autumn Workshops 2011

 ( Fully Booked )

Can everyone attending my october workshops please make the most of enyoing nature right now. Take photographs,study what is around you so that the colours you see from life will flow into your paintings. This fall we are aiming at paintings that literally sing with life and the sessions are going to be amazing!

New Sailing Gallery on my Web Site.

 "Passing the Storm"

A new gallery has been added to my web site  to include the new paintings from my collection of sailing scenes. You can find the paintings in the existing "Action" Gallery  

of  www.jeanhaines.com

 or via this link

  http://www.jeanhaines.com/gallery?g=26

As a new theme and introduction prices of the  collection start reasonably from £250 - £595.  I will be moving into larger  pieces in this theme shortly.  This is a wonderful opportunity to purchase a piece that represents the beginning of a whole new chapter in my art career. To view the collection please visit the WEY GALLERY in Godalming,Surrey, UK

http://www.theweygallery.com/

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It really has been very exciting moving into a whole new subject area and  as my husband is a keen sailor I manage to get the feel of the sea  regularly. Although my idea of sailing isn't quite as adventurous as his! .

Painting With Friends

Working in my studio casually with friends yesterday.

Holding a flower for inspiration.

Yesterday the weather was terrible as heavy rain settled for the day but  it really didn't make any difference at all to my mood as wonderful friends were coming for the day to paint in my studio. Once we had caught up with each others news we painted  and worked through the morning until lunch which was at a charming nearby local pub.

Returning home we picked a few Japanese Anenomes from my garden and white cosmos and enjoyed the quick challenge of painting them. Its amazing how  everyone can look at the same flower and see a completely unique way to paint it. By the end of the day I felt totally relaxed and so eager to paint this morning.

While I am working on my next book I often feel as though I am slowly disappearing from the world as I gradually become more engrossed in what I am creating.So to have fantastic day like yesterday was a real treat!

And to top it all we made our own sunshine!

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Amazing Ways With Watercolour DVD

Amazing Ways With Watercolour DVD

I have received several emails this week asking how to purchase my DVD

" Amazing Ways With Watercolour"

If you are interested it is available from Townhouse Films via this link and they will send anywhere in the world with free postage and packing.

http://www.townhousefilms.co.uk/

The DVD covers many approaches as to how I work minus a preliminary sketch,  showing techniques  and  how I use them  for a variety of subjects including cockerels,dogs and racehorse.

You can see a clip of my DVD via this link......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7baqbUio18&feature=related

Thank you to everyone who has already bought a copy and sent me such wonderful feedback. I had no idea it would be so popular worldwide and I am absolutely thrilled!

Painting With Friends

 Biscuit,my art critic!

Working in my studio can be quite comical at times due to my over affectionate cat called Biscuit. She will try to walk over my arms while I am  typing  on the keyboard, happily walk through a still wet palette and over paintings placed on surfaces to dry between washes which often adds  unexpected additions of colour to my compositions. If I have been working for far too long she will get impatient for attention so I take small breaks to give her a little fuss.While doing so I often look at my work in progress and decide what is needed in the next stages of a compositions development.

On  my easel I have some fabulous paintings of blackberries, foxgloves and all kinds of flowers from my garden. But I have cleared working space as I have three friends visiting me today and we will be painting together which is a well deserved and welcome break.

Jane is visiting from Italy and has a fabulously soft style and often choose very unusual subjects to paint like keys and door handles..  Lindsay is the  Hon. Secretary for Farnham Arts Society and enjoys painting buildings and landscapes and Helen is fairly new to watercolour. We all met online although I knew Lindsay from years ago so we reunited via the internet.

It is pretty amazing how small the world has become now that we can communicate with friends from all over the world simply by hitting the "send button" to messages on facebook,twitter or email. But how much nicer it is to be sat here knowing I will be seeing these friends in person today and painting in the same room!

Some things just aren't the same shared over a computer screen!

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