about the artist

bio

Creating my art is as much a part of me as breathing. My inspiration comes from the small, even insignificant, things that surround us in everyday life. I earned my B.F.A. and M.A. degrees in painting from Northern Illinois University. My work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and is included in private and corporate collections in the United States, Sweden, France, Luxembourg, Germany, Australia and Great Britain. My paintings were selected for the American Embassy Residences in Rangoon, Burma and Niger, Africa, under the Art in Embassies program initiated by President John F. Kennedy. I am listed in Who’s Who in American Art and Who’s Who in America, receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award. I co-authored the book, “Now What? This Art Business.” My work is included in the books, “The Best of Silk Painting,” and “The Fine Art of Painting on Silk”. I am represented by Abel Contemporary Gallery, Stoughton, WI, 317 Art Collective, Rockford, IL, and JR Finally Art, Rockton, IL and am a member of artists’ organizations including WAOW, TWSA, NWS, SPIN and the Art Guild of Rockford.

about the artist

statement

My work is an exploration of color, value and form with representational subject matter.

I use the juxtaposition of positive and negative shapes along with color and value contrasts to form a composition based loosely on the tenets developed by the early Baroque painters in Holland known as the Dutch Little Masters.

My father said, "Art is okay for a hobby, but don't take it too seriously."
My uncle said, "Jeanie, I knew you painted but I really didn't think you'd be any good."
My friend said, "Doesn't it make you feel good to know that your art will survive you?"
That I might be taking the wrong road, that I might not be good enough, those things I had thought of, but that third one, that took me by surprise. For that third possibility, every piece I do is my best effort.