About Janice’s Art
While recovering from my second bout of cancer in my early forties, I looked at a big box of get well cards by my bed and started making small collages inspired by all the flowers that friends sent me. Now I collect cards from all over and create art that captures the quirky beauty of my favorite places and gives new life to the sentiments expressed in the cards.
How I Make my Work
My ideas for a new piece of art usually emerge when I am walking, running or rowing. Sometimes I see an incredible view that I want to capture, like the sun hitting a hillside or the reflection of a bridge on the water. Other times a friend asks, “have you ever thought about doing such-and-such place?” and I start thinking about it and researching it on line.
Every piece starts with a photograph, usually one I have taken myself and then sometimes augmented by images I find online. I begin to sketch out the composition in pencil on paper and then I paint these paper sketches to get a sense of how the shapes look in color.
The next step is to create a sketch and under painting on canvas. Because I am familiar with the subject now, I work very quickly to lay down the basic colors. I take a photo of the painting so I can refer to it to once everything starts to get covered up.
The pieces are created from back to front. I start the background: the sky, hills or faraway buildings. I rifle through bins and bins of cards looking for the family of shades I will use for these areas. My entire studio is filled with cards, arranged by color.
I start cutting and pasting. I try to work quickly and not over-think it. I use a mix of glues to get the right tacky consistency that will hold the pieces down, and several different types of scissors.