I work concurrently as a freelance art director and painter in my own office and studio. Trained in a variety of media, I paint primarily in oil and pastels, either en plein air or in the studio from photographs or still-life. My subject matter is usually landscape, figure or still-life and it is about the world I see around me and to which I am deeply, emotionally connected – the sanctuary of my country home and gardens; the limitless landscape opportunities outside my door; my family and my dogs. Photographs taken over many years, fill boxes and projects fill my head. There are not enough hours in the day, years in a lifetime, for all the painterly possibilities in the rich imagery that surrounds me.

I love the atmospherics of the passing seasons in the rural landscape. I am fascinated by the pattern, shape, texture and infinite colour in both big sky scenery and in the perfect details of an exquisitely formed flower or shell. I look for the design a nd the abstraction within an image—working from natural subject matter to capture an image not identical but the equivalence of a scene.

All images © Jane Varda

I become deeply engaged in breaking down the various elements of a scene and then in building it up in 2-dimensional layers of paint or pastel. Working outside, with the light changing value, hue, and chroma I learn to make my statements fast. I make colour decisions to frame an emotional response–an interpretation–of a moment held in time.

Every painting experience is different. Not every painting is a keeper but the tired satisfaction that comes from a good day outside making art and the knowledge that a few finishing touches might lift these marks up to something to be enjoyed for some time, only makes this artist want to go back out again and again and again.