Jean uses watercolour about as loosely as it's possible to do so and her paintings have an almost iridescent quality that celebrates colour, atmosphere and life. Her flowers shimmer in the light and seem almost to possess movement.
There are demonstrations, but they are not at the heart of the project - this book is about learning to see and how to communicate beauty and vision.
-- The SAA * The SAA Catalogue 19/20 *
'Jean is very good at explaining her working methods, so the lessons and demonstrations are admirably clear.'
'The essence of not just flower, but species is retained and you get the sense of a plant growing in the wild, dancing in the breeze and seen with the lack of distinction brought on by distance. When Jean is painting figures, it's natural to say that she captures character and soul. While that's not such an obvious factor with flowers, it's hard not to make the comparison. This is what flowers are about more than what they are.'
Read the full review here.
-- Henry Malt * Artbookreview.net *
Jean Haines just gets better and better. There have been hints for some time of what's here - subjects that appear as if out of a mist, painted with washes that are so wet they're practically tinctures. If the techniques look like magic, the results certainly are.
Not everyone is going to want to paint like this. These are flowers as you've never seen them - indistinct semi-abstract shapes and colours that tell you nothing about structure, little about form and everything about appearance. Jean is a very spiritual painter (she's written about using painting as an aid to mindfulness) and this is a book about painting your emotional response to a popular subject she understands perfectly. If flowers have soul, Jeans has captured it. Although there are demonstrations here, they are short, because details of technique are not important. What matters is to understand your subject, and Jean does intimately.
-- Henry Malt * The Artist, October 2018 *
Already as a child, the artist loved flowers and studied their coloring, the variety of shapes and the seasonal changes. Through intense observation of nature and, of course, through exercises as often as possible, she was able to achieve masterful expressive power in the course of her career.
Like any good instructional book, it begins by listing the materials she uses, such as paints, brushes, paper, and other useful things. Many tips about working with neat pigments and water help to understand why Jean Haine's watercolours are so vibrant and expressive. Numerous step-by-step instructions follow arranged according to colours and seasons. The extraordinary feature of this book is the lovingly worded accompanying text which reveals the painter's passion for nature that has grown over many decades. In many exercises, you will perfect the art of omission and abstraction, the harmonious use of colour and learn to add excitement to a picture.
Summary:
"Atmospheric Flowers" is at the same time a textbook and a relaxing reading book for all art lovers. Especially for the advanced painter, Jean Haines offers an inexhaustible source of inspiration, useful tips and painting instructions. After a thorough study of text and pictures, you will be able to improve and develop your own style. Novices can enjoy very personal text contributions and the variety of lively, expressive watercolours by Jean Haines.
-- Nina Hartmann * www.kreativereview.blogspot.com *
Jean Haines is an amazing painter. Her watercolours are about as far from representation you can get without venturing into abstraction, yet they capture the essence of her subjects perfectly.
These are not flowers for the botanist - theres almost no detail and they appear as if out of the mist, shimmering, even moving in the light. Jean's interest is in colours and shapes and how these can be manipulated to reveal not just the appearance of her subjects but their spirit. These flowers are not specimens on a page but living entities that suprise and delight. It's impossible not to feel uplifted by them.
To help you achieve this, Jean includes discussions about her subjects, as well as exercises that help you get to grips with her personal way of working. You'll kearn not just to paint, but to see, observe and understand. You may have gathered that I'm a fan. I love how Jean creates not just an image but a way of expressing your inner feelings and soul of your subject.
* SAA Paint *
