Paint Yourself Calm || Jean Haines

It’s hard to convey just how much I hate all that new-agey stuff. Most of it’s just an excuse for a load of self-obsessed navel gazing. And it’s never cheap, either. Do please feel free to disagree with me, but please read the rest of this before you write in!

It would be a shame to dismiss this on the basis I’ve outlined, or even to regard it as having nothing to do with practical art. It has everything to do with the practice of painting and, above all, of getting yourself into the state of mind where you can put down on paper what you feel in your head and see with your mind’s eye. If you want a book that explains the creative process in a way that’s completely relevant and comprehensible, this is it. It may or may not be Jean’s prime purpose, but, for the artist at least, it’s the result she’s produced.

The thing about painting is that it’s so much more than a mechanical process. Sure, there are things you have to do, such as prepare grounds, mix colours and lay washes, but these can take on Zen-like properties if you let them. A lot of people say that routine helps set them in the right frame of mind for what comes next, which is pretty much the same thing.

A lot of the content of this genuinely intriguing book is what might be called pure watercolour. This isn’t a step-by-step how-to manual at all, not one that tells you how to paint specific subjects. Rather, it’s about the use and application of colour to create a state of mind. Jean’s intention, I think, is that this should be within yourself, but the thing is that paintings have an audience: other people will see them and that state can be induced in them as well. Art, as Edgar Degas said, is not what you see but what you make others see. It’s not exactly abstraction – most of the illustrations are entirely recognisable – but the form is definitely more important than the function.

If you know how to paint, but want to understand why, and why that why is important, read this book. It’s beautiful, rewarding and full of insights.

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