Artist of the Month - April 2008 - Jean Dayton

Welcome to our Artist of the Month feature for April, and congratulations to Jean Dayton for being our selected artist.

Hi Jean - can you tell us a little about yourself, and how you got started as an artist?

I have lived in the New Forest area 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 4 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 just over a year 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.

What are you favourite subjects to paint?

Mainly nature and this is reflected in my abstract designs with my own interpretation of what I see. I particularly love the sea and have always had a fascination with it; I paint a lot of abstract yacht seascapes as sailing is a passion of mine.

Do you have any advice for aspiring artists, or for those new to art?

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.

What do you hope people see in your work?

I hope that people feel energized when they see my work, that my work may evoke a positive memory for them and for them to resonate with the colours that I use in my designs, as colour in my work is very important to me.

Who are your favourite artists or photographers, and are there any works in particular which have inspired you?

I love Monet, I was very fortunate recently 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.

What painting, photograph or work of art do you wish you had produced?

Monet's 'Collections of Clouds on the Water-lily Pond' or his 'Agapanthus' floral study.

Apart from your portfolio at artfair365.co.uk, how do you promote your work - are you a member of any societies, and do you have any exhibitions planned?

I have my own website and promote my work from there, I also have a large client base so I regularly send updates of my new work, news & exhibitions in the form of a newsletter; this has proved to be very popular and has produced continued repeat business for me. I also have a blog which people can subscribe to. I am regularly asked to submit work to home interiors magazines which has been great exposure for my work. I am a member of the SAA (The Society for All Artists). I have several exhibitions planned for 2008; all with private art galleries - no dates have been confirmed as yet though

From your own portfolio, which are your favourite 3 artworks?

'Summer Friendship' depicting a beach scene of 3 friends holding hands walking along the beach, 'Fastnet 4' an abstract yacht seascape depicting the Fastnet race and one of my most recent designs 'Celebration' a large floral painting.

Click here to view Jean's portfolio.

Click here to view our Artist of the Month for March - Victoria Stanway.

Click here to view our Artist of the Month for February - Patrick Palmer.

Click here to view our Artist of the Month for January - Caren Thompson.

Click here to view our Artist of the Month for December - Simon Wild.

Click here to view our Artist of the Month for November - Sally Bassett.

Click here to view our Artist of the Month for October - Bill Jackson.

Click here to view our Artist of the Month for September - Maureen Greenwood.

Click here to view our Artist of the Month for August - Cinzia Castellano.

Click here to view our Artist of the Month for July - John Bird.

Click here to view our Artist of the Month for June - Anthony Caruana.

Click here to view our Artist of the Month for May - Clem Spencer.