At a certain point in her life, the difficulties of a divorce, followed by a second marriage, and the fact that her children had left the nest, led Janine Helton to welcome watercolor as a breath of fresh air. “It was the moment in my life when I knew I was ready for something new,” she says.
Although she had always loved watercolor for its beauty and softness, it was at an art festival watching local artist Jean McMullen when Janine decided to take lessons with her.
A few years later she had the opportunity to attend Carl Purcell’s workshop in St. Louis. The experience left a deep impression on her and led her to spend another two weeks with him in Utah, completely dedicated to drawing and painting. Carl’s was the first of many workshops with important artists, including Janet Rogers, Fealing Lin, Ted Nuttall, and Kathleen Giles.
A profound influence on her style was the workshop with Ted Nuttall and his particular approach to watercolor, “so full of ‘dots’,” says Janine, who has managed to develop her own fresh and vibrant style in which the essence of the subject is revealed in all its complexity, regardless of the technique used.
THE ARTIST’S APPROACH
Janine now lives in St. Charles, Missouri, where she’s a juried artist for the Best of Missouri Hands, and is a signature member of many watercolor societies, including the San Diego Watercolor Society and Women in Watercolor. She works in her studio where she meets monthly with a select group of artists to not only paint but to talk and share about watercolor.
Her work is constantly evolving, as the artist needs to experiment for the sheer pleasure of trying something new.
Initially, her favorite subjects were birds because they’ve always fascinated her. “They all have their own personalities,” Janine says. She even cultivated special plants to attract different species so she can photograph and then paint them. “I call them ‘my bird portraits’,” says the artist.
At present, her favorite subjects are the affectionate faces and expressions of loved ones, which Janine Helton captures with extraordinary freshness.
It’s not uncommon, however, to find portraits in which she incorporates both subjects, people and birds, as if – unconsciously – to emphasize her proud message of rediscovered freedom. In literature and symbolism, the bird is, not surprisingly, the expression of freedom par excellence. And so, just as birds fly and soar where they will, Janine Helton has turned to the art of watercolor painting to give free rein to her creative expression.
From a compositional point of view, Janine’s artistic process begins with the personal creation of the photographs in which she tries to capture the subjects she loves in spontaneous moments of everyday life. Spontaneity is a quality that she considers precious because it can add freshness to the composition.
The fact that the artist likes to paint cheerful and positive pictures led her to choose a light and bright palette of 10 to 12 colors at most. “I prefer something lighter rather than darker,” she says. Janine’s choice of bright colors also has an extremely positive effect on those portraits whose expressions are actually reflective or melancholic. In fact, her use of color is a tribute to the joie de vivre that characterizes not only herself but all the subjects of her paintings.
She considers herself a slow painter because she works in layers, with several paintings going at the same time. “This gives me time to think ‘in between’,” says the artist, often giving this tip to her students. In fact, according to Janine, “students tend to overwork things because they want to make it ‘perfect’ right away.” She also suggests approaching watercolor with a limited number of colors.
Paint along with Kathleen Giles, Geoffrey Allen, Brienne Brown, Antonio Masi, and other top artists from around the world at the next Watercolor Live, January 21-23, 2026!
