Interview with the Artist

I was recently asked to do an interview and here it is, gives some insight into how I work, where I've come from, my journey and how I see my work evolving.......

Interview December 2008

Jean, I know that you are a full time artist now but could you tell us a little about your artistic journey?

I have lived in the New Forest area of Hampshire for nearly 20 years now and love being surrounded by nature. I've always loved to paint or draw, however I started to get serious about painting as a career about 5 years ago when I painted a floral painting for our newly decorated home. Friends and family commented on how they admired the painting so I decided to paint more and since then I haven't looked back. I'd juggled a part-time office job together with my art career until 2 years ago when I made the decision to go full-time with my art and since then I have been constantly busy with commissions and sales.

You have a wide range of art in your portfolio – what’s your favourite style and why?

At the moment I feel happy and fulfilled painting abstracts, I love to experiment with colours, shapes and flow and I feel that my work will develop in these areas to create more dramatic and inspiring pieces.

How do you get your inspiration?

My main inspiration for my art is from nature. Colour plays an enormously important part in my art process and I am particularly drawn to different colour combinations, sometimes colours we wouldn’t normally put together look great on a canvas.

Your profile on-line says that people have found your paintings have healing qualities – could you tell us a little more about this please?

I strongly believe that colour is mood enhancing, so whether it be to calm and relax or to generate a positive energy, I endeavour to impress a particular feeling or emotion within my paintings. As an artist this is a great belief to have, as by putting different colours together to produce a piece of artwork and to achieve a positive response from the observer is hugely rewarding.

Who are your influences?

I love Monet, I was very fortunate this year whereby I visited the Museum of Modern Art in New York where there are several of Claude Monet's paintings, one of which blew me away 'Collections of Clouds on the Water-lily Pond' which is a huge painting of 3 panels in total measuring 6 feet x 41 feet - the colours are amazing, ranging from blue & subtle violet to delicate pink & white - I found this painting particularly inspiring.

Finally, what advice would you give to budding artists who would like to become full-time?

Believe in yourself. The more you believe in your work the more others will too. Be passionate about what you do and others will pick up on that through your work.

copyright Jean G Dayton 2008

Winter Wonder - Christmas Gift Ideas

Winter Wonder

Stuck for a Christmas Gift Idea??

Our thoughts are turning to Christmas and the winter months ahead. I love this time of year as it has something truly magical to offer... The leaves on the trees have nearly all fallen now leaving a beautiful soft golden carpet for us to tread. There is an excited expectancy of what is around the corner and a gathering of our thoughts as we venture into the winter realms of nature.

If you are thinking of buying a special gift for someone this Christmas then now could be the time to take a look at my new collection of landscape paintings - I took my inspiration from snowy Alpine mountains and Tuscan valleys. Paintings such as ‘Snow Trek’ or ‘The Ski’ will appeal to the ski enthusiasts. I am also busy working on my new abstract collection which will be ready towards the end of November - a collection of vibrant abstracts with an emphasis on capturing the flow within nature.

'The Tree' 14x10" oil on gallery wrapped canvas......click on the image to be taken to my website to view full details..

all images are copyrighted to the artist Jean G Dayton

November Newsletter

My latest newsletter can be viewed here:

http://www.jeangdayton.com/novembernewsletter.html

Detailing all my news, new work and any new ventures.

Floral Delight

I have also been working on some new Florals...........

'Petal Rose' - painted on 3 canvasses (oil on canvas) - click on the image to view full details

'Bloom' - painted on 3 x canvases (oil on canvas) Just click on the image to view full details

New Collection Now Ready

New Landscape Collection

I have, today, unveiled my new collection of abstract landscape designs - all can be viewed on my website at http://www.jeangdayton.com/landscapes.html

I have always always had a fascination with snow and would dearly love to experience a little more, however where i live, in the South of England, we tend not to get much....I think we had a few days last Winter when I was able to get out for lovely crisp walks in the forest with the crispness of the snow under my feet. My son Ben and I built a snowman and we even managed a snowball fight with the family next door - great fun!! So all of my winter landscapes are painted with a great deal of pleasure as I am painting them, so I hope you too feel the energy I have put into them.

Another addition to my Landscape Collection is my Scenes of Tuscany, a few are show below, however all can be viewed on my website at www.jeangdayton.com/landscapes.html - Again, Italy holds a special place in my heart, having visited Italy a few times, I would love to one day own a villa in the countryside - I guess it's every artist's dream, to gain great inspiration looking out over the tuscan valleys, seeing the beautiful mix of colours ranging from terracotta to yellow ochre, a pure delight.

All the Landscapes are oil on canvas with a starting price of £149.00

Snow Snow and more Snow

I am working on my new collection and here is a selection of some of the snowy mountainous landscape scenes I have been producing - snow is something that i love and I can only paint what i have a passion about, snow being one of these passions of mine............

copyright of all images remain with the artist Jean G Dayton

Resume

Jean’s portfolio of work is an eclectic mix of contemporary abstract paintings ranging from vibrant abstracts to roller-coaster yacht seascapes. Her work has a strong emphasis on the interaction of colour & flow and is largely influenced by nature with a firm interest in the sea. Often taking her Forest location, or the seashore at Lepe as inspiration for her work Jean loves the solitude of walking on the beach and derives great inspiration from the sea and shore.

“Being within nature is extremely important to me. I have realised that to enable me to really get into the depth and feeling of a painting, I need to experience how I feel when I’m within nature. I very often go for long walks on my own along the coast where I receive great inspiration from the intensity of the sea. I love observing how the sun plays with the sea creating a blanket of diamonds on the surface and how the wind whips up the waves as they crash to the shore, I just stand there taking it all in, the power and energy of the sea. I seem to be able to capture this essence and transpose this onto the canvas.”

Jean was recently commissioned by a UK design company to paint two large abstract yacht seascapes, featuring yachts in full sail, for the foyer at the Royal Yacht Hotel in St Helier, Jersey as part of a full refurbishment. Jean regularly exhibits her work in her home county of Hampshire and her work can be found in both private and corporate UK & International collections.

copyright © remains with the artist Jean G Dayton

To Ponder - this is ME

A little pondering.......


I have been pondering more on my work and how I work...It got me thinking.....does the observer of art understand and feel the meaning behind the artists work? I can only answer this one from the artists viewpoint; as an artist I bare my soul through my work, art to me is an expression of who I am and where I am in my life made up of my life experiences to that point, so as time progresses I grow and so does my art, so art for me is forever evolving and growing. I paint mainly through how I feel about visual images that I see and I then interpret that in my own unique way through colour and shape on the canvas. I thought I would share that one with you as a little insight into my way of painting.....


This is one of my favourite paintings in my collection, 'Pachamama' meaning Quechan for Mother Earth......

The McNeill Gallery, Radlett, Herts

I am hugely excited about this.........My yacht seascapes are now in exhibition for sale at the McNeill Gallery in Radlett, Hertfordshire.

www.mcneillgallery.com

"The McNeill Gallery is one of Hertfordshire’s leading contemporary art galleries, founded in 1996. We have created a friendly environment for both artists and collectors and have acquired a reputation for excellence in presentation and selection. We are dedicated to promoting artists both from the UK and overseas who produce original art of great quality, to the benefit of established and emerging collectors. On our website (www.mcneillgallery.com) you can view the work of some 80 artists of considerable merit. "

The McNeill Gallery exhibits work from many aclaimed artists including Alex Rennie who exhibited at BP Portrait Awards National Portrait Gallery London 2005/2006 (amazing work by the way)..

New Banner

Woah! My new banner..........