Welcome
to this website showcasing some of my paintings. Before you go inside, you should know that my purpose inviting you
is not to try to sell you anything; indeed, many of the paintings shown here are already in private collections, and another
batch of them features our children and grandchildren and are for our walls only. What I encourage you to do is
browse through the several galleries in the site, and if anything strikes you as particularly good--or bad--take a moment
to drop me a note telling me what you thought.
You may be interested to learn that I am not the only one in my family who
has taken pleasure from art. My sister, an accomplished painter and singer, teaches art in the West Virginia public
school system. You can see some of her beautiful work in www.maryannehaines.com.
My Dad, a career US Naval officer, was a wonderful water colorist, and his
father, my grandfather, thought oil painting was so easy that he gave it up at an early age in favor of the intricate
and detailed carving of figures from wood.
At some point, I will add to this site some examples of the talent of these other Haines artists.
Everything
you need to know about me is in the biography section of this site, but I would like to add a few words about why there is
a section here dedicated to sand dollars. My interest in doing some worthwhile miniatures on these shells derives
from my exposure to the garrish and amateurish (in my view, anyway) examples of painted sand dollars always on display
in the gift shops I passed in travels through Florida and other coastal states. I could certainly do
better than that! So, I began collecting sand dollars from the beaches here in Panama and, over the past three
decades or so, I'll bet I have painted and sold more than 500 of them.
One final
word before you go in. This site was created for me by one of the most talented and delightful people I have ever known,
a true friend whose field of expertise is not computers, but international finance. She and I would both welcome your
comments on the site and if you have any suggestions for improving it, please tell us.
OK, go ahead in. Look around.
Enjoy yourself.
John Haines
