Saturday 12 April 2014

Jean Haines Workshop and Trip to London

What an exciting few days I've had!! I set off on Tuesday morning to catch the train to Euston then the tube to meet my friend Helen with whom I was staying for a couple of nights as we had booked on a Jean Haines workshop.

We visited the RI watercolour exhibition at the Mall galleries in the afternoon which I have to say was not at all what I was expecting and maybe least said about it the better!! Helen and her husband very kindly took me out for dinner and we had a very pleasant walk back to their flat in what was a beautiful balmy evening.

After an early night we set off at the ungodly hour of 7.00 am to catch the the train from Waterloo to Winchfield in Hampshire for a 10.00 am start. Jean was already there when we arrived... I don't know what she's on but I could do with some, she is so full of energy and enthusiasm and the room was quickly filled with laughter and flowers!!

Jean began her session by showing us how she starts her day and as the workshop title was Spring fever,, challenged us to produce some little washes using Spring colours... greens, blues, yellows etc as our first short exercise and then went on to demonstrate a couple of florals and a sheep constantly sharing tips, hints and techniques, in fact it is difficult to remember everything she shares and I did notice some people taking notes which I should certainly have done, and will do next time!!

I had taken a reference I have attempted numerous times with little success, an image of a Lupin and I was hoping with a little of Jean's magic I could finally be pointed in the right direction!! I painted a wash  which both Jean and I were quite happy with (phew!!) and then I was a bit stuck for where to go next. Jean gave me some guidance and I am tempted to say I have almost cracked it.... I have overworked it this afternoon (well did it a bit at the workshop) but will certainly have another go.

A workshop with Jean is an experience and while good work may not be achieved on the day is full of learning and tuition and the learning experience continues for weeks and months after. As I found on the first workshop with her she has an enviable eye for subtle detail, she is a mistress of colour and how to make it sing across a painting.

Even though I have seen Jean demonstrate a few times now, I never tire of seeing her paint and this was no more evident than in her "cool down" piece which she did at the end of day. She was initially going to demonstrate how to paint the eye of a hare... again sharing quite a few tips of the trade, however as she was waiting for the eye to dry continued to paint the rest of the head..... this was just magical as the head started to appear, a delicate variety of brush strokes caressing the paper, beautiful colours, softly creating the form of the head, a lovely fresh painting which literally appeared from nowhere!! I was hypnotised and mesmerised by this final painting and although Jean said she wasn't too happy with it as her reference image had strangely small ears for a hare and a little artistic licence was needed, it was for me an unexpected highlight.... I wondered whether I would get used to seeing Jean paint having been lucky enough to have attended a few sessions now but having seen this demo I know I need not fear!!

When the workshop finished, Lindsay Berry joined us, someone I have known online for a while now but never met and she took us to the Frame gallery where an exhibition of Jean's work had just started. Lovely to see a collection of her work with a few red stickers already!! We then had supper at a really nice gastro pub with Esther, another new friend who stole the show at the workshop with 2 amazing paintings.

Helen and I then made our way back to London and got home just before 11.00pm tired but happy after our fun packed day!! I arrived back in Manchester the following day having nearly had a disaster when the train I was happily settled on was cancelled and we all had to catch the next train which was platforms away... not easy when you are carrying not only luggage but painting gear too!! We were only delayed 20 minutes in the end so not too bad. So a lovely few days ... a big thank you to Helen for putting me up and to Lindsay for chauffeuring us about in Hampshire, am really grateful as without their help I would struggle to get to a workshop like this. The last one I went to was the start of a short "road trip" where we stayed overnight then went on to see friends in London for the weekend. Otherwise it is a 2 night stay B&B somewhere local or a one night stay and a very long journey back in rush hour traffic on the dreaded M6!!

11 comments:

  1. What a wonderful trip. I loved the Jean Haines workshop I went on. She really knows her stuff and is so enthusiastic about watercolours. So inspiring.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agree Vandy. Apart from Jean's obvious skill and love of watercolour her main strength is her overwhelming enthusiasm... you can't help get carried along by it!!

      Delete
  2. What a full on but thoroughly wonderful time Judith. I am booked in for a two day workshop with Jean when she comes to Adelaide in November, I feel very lucky

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh that's brilliant Lorraine... you will be inspired!! I remember the first time I saw her demonstrate I just couldn't wait to get home and try everything out... I've done 2 workshops since and seen her demonstrate on 2 other occasions and she still manages to motivate and inspire me!! You will love her!!

      Delete
  3. Sounds like a hectic but fun day. I have been feeling the urge to try my watercolours again recently after concentrating on getting to grips with acrylics for a while. I love the Jean Haines book I have, it must be so amazing to watch in real life.

    By the way, I'm intrigued about the exhibition now!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Carmen, we did have a really good day and you are right seeing Jean paint is special. As for the watercolours,someone (I can't remember who) was writing about starting painting and under no circumstances to start with watercolour which of course most people do. I think the idea is they will give up because they are too tricky!!! So, you are at the ideal moment to come back to them!! Watercolour does things no other medium gets close to (imho of course, but I know I'm right lol) and now you have experience of acrylic it may be time for you to give it another go... the resources are out there with books and DVD's and honestly all it takes is practice!!

      Jean's exhibition was beautiful, don't know how far you are from there but I think she also has a permanent showing at the Wey Gallery. The collection looked so cohesive and so obviously Jean Haines... no mistaking her work.... all beautifully framed and some float mounting as well which was lovely.

      Delete
  4. I think my trouble was probably inferior paper, not waiting for layers to dry (impatience) and so usually ended up with a muddy mess with bobbly bits of paper stuck to it :P Now that I have been learning glazes (and so, patience) with my acrylics I think I might have more patience with the watercolours. Do you recommend a particular brand to start? All I have is one of those Winsor & Newton Cotman half pans sets. I wonder whether to try tubes. And I'm getting into a good practise of, well, practise now ;)

    I will have to google how near I am to that gallery - it sounds lovely!



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I use tubes Carmen and artists quality (mainly W&N) though cotman are fine. Spray them before you start to use them and they will "activate" better for you and you won't have as much trouble getting good strong colour. Yes good paper is the most important thing to start with in my opinion... good brushes make a difference but nothing will work if you don't have the right paper. it is so important to wait for the paper to dry, as you say.... just what gives you mud!! I usually have several paintings on the go so I don't have to wait for them to dry.

      Delete
  5. I'm in need of finding workshops like this. It sounds like you took a lot from Jean's workshop and what a good opportunity to check out another city. I haven't travelled much, but I think I will now, especially if I can find an artist's workshop :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agree Michelle, I have learned more from other artists in workshops than I ever did at art classes... find someone whose work you like and check out if they have any workshops near enough for you to attend.

      Delete

Would like to thank you all for taking the time to visit my blog, why not leave me a message then I know you've popped by!! If you have any enquiries please send me an e-mail to

judesfarnworth@hotmail.com