Author’s welcome 6, Introduction 8, Igniting the passion 10, The bear necessities 14, Getting started: Simple studies 30, Step-by-step Elephant in monochrome 34, Learning from animals 38, Step-by-step Hedgehog 44, Inspiration from nature 48, For the love of dogs 52, Step-by-step Italian Spinone: Humphrey 64, Feline fine 68, Step-by-step Socks 74, A walk on the wild side 80, Down under 94, Step-by-step Sleepy Koala 96, Under the sea 106, Step-by-step Starfish 108, Step-by-step Octopus 116, A mammoth task 122, Seeing double 132, Be unique: sheep 138, Bugs and butterflies 144, Creative art 152, Magical interpretations 158, Index 160
Prize-winning and inspirational watercolourist Jean Haines is
well-known for her love of her chosen medium and the ability to
instil enthusiasm and motivation in all around her. Having lived
and travelled in many countries, this popular international artist
and teacher has developed her skills while under the influence of
masters from many countries, including Asia, the Middle East and
Europe.
Jean runs hugely popular international watercolour workshops for
artists from around the globe, and her highly sought-after
paintings can similarly be found in homes all over the world. Jean
is a member of the SWA, Society for Women Artists, and has won
numerous awards for her work, including the Anthony J Lester Award
during the SWA Annual Exhibition, and the SAA Professional Artist
of the Year, Experimental and Abstract Award. She regularly writes
for art magazines and exhibits in a number of galleries.
Jean lives in Hampshire, UK. For more information, visit
www.jeanhaines.com.
I’m an enormous fan of Jean’s work and, if her sales are anything
to go by, you probably are too. I’ve always been impressed by the
way her subjects seem to emerge organically from the paper as if
propelled by their own life force. The subtitle of this new volume
is ‘painting with spirit & vitality’ and it seems to me that this
sums that ethos up perfectly. These are not animal portraits in the
conventional sense, but rather the life and soul of those
creatures. Jean has written books about mind and spirituality
expressed through painting and that theme continues here. If you’re
worried that it’s all a bit New Age, don’t be. This is firmly a
book about painting animals that just happens to sidestep simple
representation. A short section on Animal Meanings explains this
clearly and a lot of the book is about getting to know your subject
just as if it were human. If you have pets, you do that anyway,
don’t you? Technically, there’s a lot about colour and washes –
Jean works about as loosely as you can – and that includes how to
retain shape and form so that your results are anything but pure
abstract. Some of these are startling: a cat whose face is the only
delineated part, an elephant done in shades of green, fish that
move in their pond because superseded form creates sinuousness.
What’s really remarkable is that you have to look twice to notice
all this because the book absolutely lives up to that subtitle.
These are real animals. Not just paintings of animals – it’s a heck
of a trick to pull off.
*Artbookreview.net*
Prize-winning watercolourist, Jean Haines runs international
watercolour workshops for artists around the world. Her vibrant and
innovative work can be found in her previous books, Atmospheric
Flowers in Watercolour and Paint Yourself Calm. Here she turns her
attention to animals. From simple monochromatic studies to vivid
paintings full of colour and textural effects, Jean shows you how
to being vitality to all animals, whether they are domestic, such
as dogs and cats, or found in the wild - from giraffes to bugs and
butterflies.
*Leisure Painter*
I suspect that this is a book you're either going to love or hate.
Past sales, however, would suggest that Jean has many fans who'll
make a beeline for anything she writes, and this is unlikely to
disappoint them. The production is top class and the book feels
sumptuous in the hand, promising treats to come. These come as
animal paintings that are full of essence and character, but light
on form. Jean's work seems to coalesce from the page, rather than
sit on it as a static image. As a result, these creatures - from
cats and dogs to koalas, elephants and even an octopus - have life
and spirit, while much of their form is left to the imagination.
Technically, much of the book is about experimentation, with
washes, textures, granulation and colour (one of those elephants is
in shades of green), resulting in a tribute to watercolour's range
of possibilities.
*The Artist*
This beautiful book gives you the tools to create paintings that
capture the inner essence of their subject - the soul of the
animal, if you will. Jean uses a variety of techniques to achieve
this, as well as often using an unconventional mix of colours -
your first instinct on painting an elephant probably isn't to teach
for the greens. This is as much a book about understanding your
subject as it is about representing it, and it's all the better for
that.
*SAA Catalogue*
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