Janette qualified from Art School in Manchester in the 1980s with a Degree in Communication Design and has been a practising graphic designer for over 25 years, working for high profile London design agencies before setting up her own design company, Jake Design Studio. She is now a full time artist.

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Her work is influenced by her career as a graphic designer. It is intrinsically woven into her painting style. It affects how she approaches the canvas, how she creates the image parts and how she translates the world she views and lives in. She naturally flattens a scene, breaking it down into individual elements and tackling each with a representation of its contents through pattern, texture, feeling and colour. Her paintings are uplifting, they suggest life is existing in them, she may add a hidden element which takes natural ownership of their given space like a piece in a jig saw. But most of all the devil is in the detail. From a distance what appears to be a simple graphic landscape, close up reveals a patchwork of detail. Each section has its own life, its own identity and space. The viewer is drawn into the picture discovering more, catching their attention, the longer they stay the more they see. 

 

She works in acrylic on canvas, preferring to work in larger formats. She paints to reflect a sense of the subject matter, condensing form into definable graphic shapes, textures, colours and patterns. She explores finishes, overlaying colours, removing sections for depth and interest. With her commercial awareness and understanding of how people perceive images, she believes there is always a story to tell. Originally from the North, her landscapes depict both, her heritage and experiences places visited and images that inspire. 

She now lives and works from her home in Beckenham.

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