Tag Archives: watercolour

THE NEXT CHAPTER…

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After the Cardiff Bay Project – I went on to have exhibitions at St. David’s Hall Cardiff and the Centre Auguste Brizeux in Brittany.

With the encouragement of the artist Carel Weight I began to use my maiden name again – Janet WEIGHT Reed.

The exhibition in Brittany was made up of oil paintings and watercolour portraits from the USA, Wales, and France.. Portrait painting has always been my first love.

As I travelled around I would carry my watercolours and set up shop wherever….it was both freeing and exciting. Through this I encountered many different people. Over the years I have painted so many watercolour portraits. I like to think I have left a paper trail….. Painting portraits in France.

In 1993 the world was a very different place. For example I brought some large oil paintings back with me. They were taken off stretchers – and rolled into large tubes which I was allowed to take into the cabin of my BA flight… I remember taking them through customs and no-one batted an eye lid. Today it would be different. (I was flying economy:)

Here are just a few of the paintings I brought back with me……

Amish quilt draped over wicker chair. large oil on canvas

The quilt paintings were part of a large series of work – each one signifying the lives of people close to me….like autobiographical still life paintings.

A small quilt painting on the wall of my favourite studio in West Chester pa.

Through the exhibition in Brittany I met people who have since become very close friends……I could write books about each segment of my life – but for this blog I am giving the reader snap shots of life during this period.

When I had the exhibition in Brittany – the EU paid for a driver and truck to transport paintings from UK to France! Good times.

One of the first portraits of my cousin Lyn at Ty Gynn in Crickhowell. This painting was in the exhibition in France.

large oil on cavas – autobiographical self portrait.

I HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH FROM TEACHING…

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Here I am giving a portrait demonstration for SOFAP – The Society of Fulham Artists and Potters in SW London.

I began teaching back in the mid seventies when I was living and working in the USA.

I made the decision then, not to work for an institution, but to hold independent workshops which I knew would give me more freedom. All these years later I am very pleased I made that decision.

I have given workshops in many different countries. I was once asked what I do when I don’t speak the language? My response was to say that painting, like music is a universal language.

A portrait demonstration for a group in Paris. using watercolour and gouache.

Demonstrating has always been a vital part of my workshops/teaching….allowing attendees to be present and focus.

A group of young students at Spearfish High School. S.Dakota. In this instance I am talking to them about watercolour painting and practicing every day which was followed by a demonstration.

My dear friend the artist Bonnie Halsey Dutton was recently with me in London…. You can see from this article why I sometimes get confused. Here I am described as the Welsh artist…but am also often referred to as the American or English artist….take your pick:)

I enjoy working with young, enthusiastic groups like this one in Brittany France. I painted several watercolour portraits using the children as my models and then we painted a mural together which I am told is still at the school.

Working on the mural….

I find that all age groups love to see paint moved around…..

When I first moved to London in 2005 – after living and working in Wales for twelve wonderful years, I connected with a group called Artslink run by Julia Dennis….

Once again life took on an organic quality...with one thing leading into the next. Through Artslink I met Greta and Martin Chafer – who in turn introduced me to The Hurlingham Club (where I taught for several years) and quite a few other venues….The Hurlingham Club lead me to the art school in Portugal .…and so it goes.

With Jayanthi from India and Clare from France at the wonderful ART SCHOOL in olhao, Portugal in one of the courtyards….

Over the years I have worked with many diverse groups..including Amish children...which was a huge privilege and one of the highlights of my career. These young people are so focused – I am hoping that I get the opportunity to work with them again.

Since I began teaching in the early seventies, the art world has changed beyond recognition. Today workshops are advertised in many different forms all over the world. It has become big business and when that happens the fat cats get involved..!

Social media has had a great deal to do with this. People of all ages are now making art….which can only be good. So different from the days when galleries pretty much dictated what would be shown.

Because I have a deep belief that the ‘creative process’ in all its forms is the key to emotional, physical and spiritual wellbeing, In an ideal world workshops/art classes would be available to everyone…..cost would have nothing to do with it

Working with a group of children in Crickhowell, Wales...Many of them grown up with children of their own….hopefully still making art.

As a teacher of art and creative expression, I believe that emotional intelligence, patience along with a deep respect for the developmental needs of students is necessary….

Enthusiasm is key.

The photographs shown here represent a tiny fraction of my teaching over the years..

Don’t forget to PLAY…..

Making art like all creative endeavours is highly therapeutic….never more necessary than today.

I HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH FROM TEACHING…

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Here I am giving a portrait demonstration for SOFAP – The Society of Fulham Artists and Potters in SW London.

I began teaching back in the mid seventies when I was living and working in the USA.

I made the decision then, not to work for an institution, but to hold independent workshops which I knew would give me more freedom. All these years later I am very pleased I made that decision.

I have given workshops in many different countries. I was once asked what I do when I don’t speak the language? My response was to say that painting, like music is a universal language.

A portrait demonstration for a group in Paris. using watercolour and gouache.

Demonstrating has always been a vital part of my workshops/teaching….allowing attendees to be present and focus.

A group of young students at Spearfish High School. S.Dakota. In this instance I am talking to them about watercolour painting and practicing every day which was followed by a demonstration.

My dear friend the artist Bonnie Halsey Dutton was recently with me in London…. You can see from this article why I sometimes get confused. Here I am described as the Welsh artist…but am also often referred to as the American or English artist….take your pick:)

I enjoy working with young, enthusiastic groups like this one in Brittany France. I painted several watercolour portraits using the children as my models and then we painted a mural together which I am told is still at the school.

Working on the mural….

I find that all age groups love to see paint moved around…..

When I first moved to London in 2005 – after living and working in Wales for twelve wonderful years, I connected with a group called Artslink run by Julia Dennis….

Once again life took on an organic quality...with one thing leading into the next. Through Artslink I met Greta and Martin Chafer – who in turn introduced me to The Hurlingham Club (where I taught for several years) and quite a few other venues….The Hurlingham Club lead me to the art school in Portugal .…and so it goes.

With Jayanthi from India and Clare from France at the wonderful ART SCHOOL in olhao, Portugal in one of the courtyards….

Over the years I have worked with many diverse groups..including Amish children...which was a huge privilege and one of the highlights of my career. These young people are so focused – I am hoping that I get the opportunity to work with them again.

Since I began teaching in the early seventies, the art world has changed beyond recognition. Today workshops are advertised in many different forms all over the world. It has become big business and when that happens the fat cats get involved..!

Social media has had a great deal to do with this. People of all ages are now making art….which can only be good. So different from the days when galleries pretty much dictated what would be shown.

Because I have a deep belief that the ‘creative process’ in all its forms is the key to emotional, physical and spiritual wellbeing, In an ideal world workshops/art classes would be available to everyone…..cost would have nothing to do with it

Working with a group of children in Crickhowell, Wales...Many of them grown up with children of their own….hopefully still making art.

As a teacher of art and creative expression, I believe that emotional intelligence, patience along with a deep respect for the developmental needs of students is necessary….

Enthusiasm is key.

The photographs shown here represent a tiny fraction of my teaching over the years..

Don’t forget to PLAY…..

Making art like all creative endeavours is highly therapeutic….never more necessary than today.

A New Decade and New Century…….

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There was such a hoo ha about our moving into the new century. Along with conspiracy theories and a million ways people planned to celebrate. The world was obsessed.

Meanwhile, I was surrounded by the magnificent Welsh landscape..…where time seems to stand still. I continued to work on the Christeve project, paint and write.

My way of bringing in the new year was to paint three self portraits (all dated 3rd January 2000) ….this one an alla prima oil on canvas.

I don’t enjoy crowds and so avoided large new years celebrations, however, I did attend a lovely evening with friends in a private home between Abergavenny and Crickhowell Strangely it was weirdly warm – a sign of what was to come……..!

2nd New Years self portrait. spontaneous watercolour/gouache – full sheet

3rd self portrait – spontaneous watercolour – wearing my favourite walking hat.… full sheet

I was working on the Christeve project because I saw it as a way to make income through licensing images (royalties) Many signs seemed to point me in that direction..

The project was taken on by WRC Media in New York, one of the largest educational publishers worldwide….and so I thought I was on my way to achieving this.

I had also connected with an American woman who wanted to oversee the business end of the project in the States….. It’s important to bear in mind that this was all prior to the explosion of social media. which in hindsight, would have made things a lot easier for me to get the message across.

Sadly it didn’t happen. Another disappointment. It’s a far too long a story to tell here.

Portrait of Christeve the cat with a hummingbird. This was when I first started to paint hummingbirds.

I have been told recently by fellow blogger Brad that my life is very organic....which I take as a compliment.

This brings me to one of the reasons I believe that the Christeve project failed. Instead of allowing things to flow organically which is my normal way of doing things, I tried to take control and for me that simply doesn’t work.

The following words from Graham Greene express this way of being beautifully…

‘The best way to protect yourself is to be fluid and formless as water: Never bet on stability or lasting order – everything changes….’

When I have lived by this ethos, things work out in their own way which is usually so much better than any controlled thinking of mine. Yes, I have to do the work and make necessary plans, but in recognising this I allow the unseen energy that I so deeply believe in to flow…..usually with results that I could most often never have predicted or achieved. .

Theodore the Tiger teaching Christeve the Cat about his home and habitat… watercolour poster

Some of the many children who learned about our environment through Christeve the Cat..

From my book The Apple Exercise….

‘What the Apple exercise will demonstrate is that the apple, along with everything else in life, can be seen in a myriad of different ways.

If we could time travel back to our earliest formative years, from 1 – 3 when the world was a kaleidoscope of colour and shapes,, and our young minds were full of wonder we could regain our natural curiosity and love for colour and form.’

Next time…..My Mother becomes unwell….more changes afoot.

Beginning my career as an artist………1974

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In 1974, I quickly realised that Chester County was the home of the Brandywine School of art...all very new to me.

Other than the Wyeth family who lived in Chadds Ford (seven miles away) I knew nothing about The Brandywine Tradition.

Andrew Wyeth (1917 – 2009} was one of America’s best known 20th century artists.

Smokehouse, Andrew Wyeth, watercolour.

I wrote on an earlier blog about sitting next to Andrew Wyeth’s famous painting, Christina’s World propped up against a wall at the Coe Kerr Gallery in New York! It was my first introduction to the Wyeths and the Brandywine School of Art.

On that occasion I met Nicholas Wyeth (son of Andrew) (Nicholas well known for his model airplanes displayed at the 21 Club in New York}. Little did I know that shortly after this occasion I would be married to Bill Reed and living in Chester County, smack bang in the middle of it all!

I had been invited to the opening at Coe Kerr Gallery because Freddie Woolworth (the owner) was a Wall Street client. As I write this, and search my memory…..I realise just how many sign posts there were and how important It is to observe and keep note of them.

There was another Wyeth incident which could very well have gone unnoticed.

Jarrod and I were staying with friends in Flat Rock North Carolina. This was when I was still working on Wall Street. My host, was the first person to introduce me to hummingbirds – and at the same time she gave me a beautiful book on the works of Andrew Wyeth! It wasn’t until much later that I realised that this incident was one of many that were sign posting me in a certain direction.

My first hummingbird sighting – Flat Rock, North Carolina.

Meeting Anne Buffington and her two daughters at the Westtown School Lake was also important. Anne’s daughter Kendle Buffington and my son Jarrod were only six at the time – eventually to become partners in life.

Anne Buffington introduced me to Chester County artist – Ray DiJohn.….who gave lessons from his studio….I signed up and attended… It was during this time that I fell in love with watercolour.

For those finding their way as artists it’s important to note that I had no interest in being one of the many Brandywine tradition copyists, however Ray taught me watercolour techniques which I still use to this day. Always keep an. open mind.

Anyone who has attended one of my courses will know that I never use black and that Prussian Blue/Burnt Sienna mix is very much part of my box of tricks – something that Ray passed onto me.

Another important person was Dee Stahl... a wonderful woman full of life and interested in everything. She knew someone on the Philadelphia Main Line who had a smart boutique occasionally showing new artists work. I jumped at it.. It gave me a focus.

Given that I had no particular direction at that time, rather just painting anything and everything that interested me…I had turned to one of my great loves…‘animals’ As I would say to students today….they were my ‘jumping off point’.

This leopard in tree…watercolour was typical of the work I was doing at that time.

Then, bingo….I was picked up by Newman Galleries in Philadelphia and invited to have a solo exhibition at The Chester County Arts Association…..where I had hoped to connect with other local artists…..

I will finish this post with a couple of personal photographs from that time.

Bill, Me, Jarrod and two of our dogs, Puppy and Biscuit……before Christie was born…

After Christie was born………….

The most important thing is to practise practise practise and PLAY PLAY PLAY……………..and try to work at the same time each day. Build good habits

and always keep an open mind……

Next post….so many big lessons to be learned…..

Tutorial 3. Warming up using newspaper

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Like athletes and dancers, artists need to stretch and warm up every day.

Often people find it daunting to mark good paper, and so I suggest that newspaper, wrapping paper or inexpensive wallpaper lining be used.

In this one minute video I use watercolour and designer gouache on newspaper. The key is to just doodle until you relax.

Better to do an exercise like this for fifteen minutes a day, than to have painting marathons once a month! Have fun.

A Bientôt