What led you to start painting?

I have not painted in the past, and at school I was told that I had no artistic skill!  However, I have always loved watercolour art and it was something that I wanted to try.  I thought I would have a go when I retired in 2019 and I’ve enjoyed the process of learning. It turned out that I do have some skill.  It just shows that you never know until you try!

Retirement in 2019 was the start of a wonderful new phase in my life where I could dedicate myself to travel, my dogs, my garden, charitable work and, of course, learning to paint.

Before lockdown I started ‘live’ lessons with Michele Webber which got me started on my watercolour journey.  During lockdown I devoured lots of online tutorials which I found really helped my art. I followed several different tutors and have learnt that there really is no ‘right’ way to do things, just several ways that can produce good results.  My favourite online tutors have been Geoff Kersey, Karen Rice and Paul Clark.

I now attend a watercolour group with Eleanor Mann, where she guides us and we help each other.  I have put work into a few local exhibitions but have yet to attend the SEAW ones.

How long have you been a Friend of the SEAW? 

Since 2020

I wanted to be inspired by local watercolourists with more experience than me.  Belonging to the SEAW has also given me the confidence to share my work and seek feedback to help me improve.

What subject matter do you like to paint? 

Landscapes are my favourite but I also paint animals, flowers and other natural subjects.  I’m a country girl and these subjects are ones that I know and love.  I like doing dogs and horses but am not keen on doing commissions as I feel that the added pressure of producing art work for other people takes the fun out of my art.

Do you have a preference for a painting style? If so, can you describe it? 

My style is realistic but I’m trying hard to be a bit looser and ‘interpret’ photos rather than follow them slavishly.

Are you a pure watercolourist? Or do you include other mediums in your paintings?

Generally, I just use just watercolour, although recently I’ve been experimenting with pen and wash and acrylic inks.  I think that trying too many different media before I’ve mastered one will be too confusing for me!

Where do you paint?

On the dining room table.  I’d love to do more plein air painting but I think that I need more practice as my results have been rather variable!

Which artists inspire you and why?

Edward Seago would be the artist I’d most like to emulate as I love his local scenes done in a loose but recognisable manner.  Similarly, I like Edward Wesson’s landscapes.  Of the more traditional painters Constable would be my first choice, not least for his bravery in producing realistic landscapes and country scenes at a time when this just wasn’t the done thing!

I have learned a lot from both Paul Clark and Geoff Kersey’s watercolour landscape tutorials – both artists who produce realistic work and who use a range to techniques to achieve their results.  I’m so grateful for people like this who willingly share their skills with those of us seeking to improve our own.

What galleries do you like to visit? 

Mostly small local ones and local exhibitions.  I love to see the range of subject matter, styles and media use.  I love going on holiday and looking in local galleries to get ideas for local scenes worth trying to paint.  I really struggle to like and understand abstract art so generally give that a miss.

Where would you really like to travel to and paint? What is it about this place that inspires you? 

As well as East Anglia, my favourite places are Greece and India.  I just wish I had the skill to do either justice.  Greece and the Greek islands inspire me for their history, flora and incredible coloured seas.  India is somewhere I always dreamt of going to and managed to realise that dream when I retired in 2019 and went there on a volunteering trip, helping rescued elephants and local communities.  As well as the obvious attractions such as the Taj Mahal and temples, the colours, sounds, scents (not all good) and the wonderfully warm people exceeded my expectations of the place and I can’t wait to return to see more of this amazing and varied place.

What is your favourite colour to paint with? 

I love greens and blues, both to paint with and to wear.  These are the colours of the sky, sea and landscape that I love.  I mix greens from a wide range of blues (e.g. cobalt, ultramarine and cerulean) and yellows (cadmium, lemon and quinacridone gold) to get the huge variations in greens that can be seen in the environment.  I will also use premixed greens, adjusting them with other colours as appropriate.  Some people think greens are difficult, but nature is so varied that whatever colour you make will generally work!

What is your favourite brush?

Any synthetic large round and my small rigger for twigs and fine work.  As an animal lover I don’t see the need to use animal-based products as there are good alternatives.

Do you take part in any of the activities which SEAW offer to Friends? What have you particularly enjoyed?

I belong to the Facebook group for SEAW Members and Friends and regularly post my paintings there.  I try to contribute to the monthly Facebook competition when I can, and I’ve been successful in getting my painting chosen as the monthly winner!

I’ve yet to pluck up the courage to come along to the SEAW monthly painting days at Hawkedon, or to attend the SEAW workshops. I have exhibited my work locally with other groups and I hope to enter the SEAW exhibitions as a Friend soon!

Do you have any artistic successes or achievements that you would like to share with readers?  

I put a painting ‘Playmates’, of young elephants playing, into an international auction in aid of Wildlife SOS India – an elephant rescue centre that I volunteered at whilst visiting India.  It sold to an American buyer for over $500, which exceeded my expectations by far!

Almost all of my other art sales have also been for charity, usually the local Riding for the Disabled group where I volunteer. Horses have been a long-standing passion of mine.

I recall my first exhibition (in our village) where I sold my first painting of some chickens to a local person.  I was so surprised and delighted and it gave me the courage to display my work more widely, mainly on social media.

What is the best piece of advice you were ever given about art? 

Two things –

  • Stand back and look at your work
  • Know when to stop.

I would also like to say that feedback from other artists or potential customers is so useful.  I found it scary at first to share my work, but it was only when I started to do so that I learned to see things that I could do differently next time to improve.

More Jane

on instagram: flyingferret57

on facebook: Jane Burch

Other societies: Lavenham Art Society, Clare Art Society