This is a sample of my custom portraits from photos. They are hand painted in acrylic on canvas. More information is at my website, www.janjenningsart.com
Jan Jennings has been exhibiting and selling her drawings, paintings, and illustrations since 1973 in Topeka, Kansas; Rapid City, South Dakota; Houston, and Dallas, Texas. She studied art as a child at Oklahoma University, Kansas University, and Washburn University. She graduated with a BA in Communication Arts and an AA in Computer Science from Washburn University in Topeka. She took a detour into the digital domain during the mid 80's, into the 90's, and worked as a computer animator in Dallas, Texas; Tallahassee, Florida; and Topeka, Kansas. But she has since returned to her first love, art.
A painting starts when I see something that is visually intriguing. The whole world is a canvas of images; the sunlight streaming through a window and dancing on the opposite wall; the shadow patterns the clouds make as they drift over the rolling Flint Hills; the pink hibiscus perfectly framing the yellow and white wild flowers in the distant field. The camera is my tool to capture the awe of these moments.
In the studio, I recall the emotion, the colors and the mood of the experience. Using the captured images, I sketch the basic shapes in dark neutral colors. I then add color in layers of glazing. I have used both oils and acrylics from the beginning. Acrylics are versatile and allow me to work quickly in the layering of paint without waiting for each layer to dry.
A completed painting often appears within my Mind's Eye. The dreamlike imagery that comes is symbolic, expressing deep visual tones within myself. Painting engages me in a oneness with the image. I enter a state of awareness in which the visuals are fully expressed and communicated.
