THE PAGES SERIES

THE PAGES SERIES

THE PAGES SERIES I started painting on book pages at the end of last year.  I’d used up all my canvases and couldn’t justify buying more.  I was already using old volumes as my sketchbooks, so I tested out the paper of an old 1950s annual I had sitting on the shelf. ...
LIFT THEM UP

LIFT THEM UP

LIFT THEM UP Lift them up.  Not because of what they might do for you.  But because their successes are your successes too. I wrote this in my Instagram stories last week because I had been thinking a lot about how proud I am of so many women, both friends, but also...
REASONS I THOUGHT I WASN’T AN ARTIST

REASONS I THOUGHT I WASN’T AN ARTIST

REASONS I THOUGHT I WASN’T AN ARTIST For most of my life I believed I could never be an artist.  I thought real, proper artists met certain criteria; assumptions and stereotypes I picked up as a kid.  And I didn’t fit the bill.  A few years ago, when I...
THE LIGHTER SIDE OF ART

THE LIGHTER SIDE OF ART

THE LIGHTER SIDE OF ART Before I started thinking seriously about making art my main occupation, I hadn’t considered the meaning of my artwork beyond what it was: colours, brushstrokes, paint on paper, escape.  Yes, it felt deeply personal to me; that was my time, my...
MY KIDS FORCED ME TO PAINT

MY KIDS FORCED ME TO PAINT

MY KIDS FORCED ME TO PAINT I’m a mother and I am an artist.  I am a lot of other things too; but Mummy and Artist are the two identities that shout the loudest.  And I wouldn’t be an artist now if I hadn’t been a mum first. My kids forced me to paint. Of course, this...
CRANE AND PINK MOON

CRANE AND PINK MOON

CRANE AND PINK MOON There is a conflict as an artist between wanting to hold on to work that you love and making it available to sell in order to make a living. The painting above is one of my absolute favourites.  Crane and Pink Moon is such a simple piece but it...
SAM HAINES : ARTIST/MOTHER

SAM HAINES : ARTIST/MOTHER

SAM HAINES : ARTIST/MOTHER I have said often that my first kid, now 4, taught me how to be a mum.  And my second, now almost 3, taught me to be an artist. And I am so grateful for both!  I intend this blog to be a little of the two because I find it impossible to...