Jane Basile is at a junction in her artistic career. Formerly drawn to figurative, closeup views or montage, more recently she has been exploring landscape. Jane says “I have always avoided landscapes and even all shades of green, simply because I cannot come close to doing justice to the beauty they hold in nature”. After a lifetime as an artist, Jane finally decided to tackle landscape. The experience of painting outdoors and noticing all the details of these places she loves significantly adds to the enjoyment of the process. Based in Fort Collins, Colorado, she is currently diving deep into a series of desert-scapes. Jane first experienced the desert southwest in 1984, and was instantly transfixed by the land formations and colors, and how the time of day influenced the mood. The series is illustrative of her love of the Colorado plateau which holds danger and drama, yet envelops this artist as a soulmate. Jane now has opportunity to spend more time forging this new direction with her art. Recently retired from a career in public health, she now has the freedom to throw a canvas in the back of her Jeep, and see what transpires.
As an artist, Jane is mostly self-taught, though she was encouraged to draw by her mother who would have pursued art if WWII had not caused a change in plan. Jane remembers that at the age of six, a neighbor showed her how to closely observe what she was drawing, and so at this young age, Jane learned how to draw not what she thought something should look like, but what it actually looked like, shadows and all. Later she took a few figure drawing, painting, sculpture and printmaking classes at Colorado State University. She describes her art as bold, unrefined, and improvisational. Influences range from Cézanne to Rothko to Marc Bradford. Jane likes the spontaneity of using unexpected colors just for the fun of making it work. In her personal life, Jane is fairly organized, but with her art, she enjoys not having much of a plan except for a general concept. These days, she is never attempting replication of what is in front of her, but rather captures the feeling of the place. Jane enjoys painting large pieces, and brushes are merely adjunct to other tools. Recently, Jane has been experimenting with canvas collage and mixed media, and is excited to see where it will lead her. Jane very much enjoys making commissioned art, and while any piece will be consistent with her style, she enjoys digging a little to find out what is really important to her clients, in order to come up with a piece with significance that will bring long-lasting enjoyment.
Jane is a gallery artist at Old Town Art and Framery, in Fort Collins, Colorado https://oldtownartandframery.com/ and is very excited to have her work displayed there. She encourages you to visit. Marcy, the proprietor, is the most delightful person, and has elevated framing to an art form.
Jane’s short term goals are to “find out what I really can do”, and to spend some time as an Artist in Residence at one of her much-loved National Parks in the desert southwest. Longer term – who knows? Like her paintings, it will be be unplanned, undoubtedly colorful, and powered by many cups of English tea!
This website is devoted to Jane's very recent work and illustrates the direction she is going in.......for the moment. Thank you for visiting!
As an artist, Jane is mostly self-taught, though she was encouraged to draw by her mother who would have pursued art if WWII had not caused a change in plan. Jane remembers that at the age of six, a neighbor showed her how to closely observe what she was drawing, and so at this young age, Jane learned how to draw not what she thought something should look like, but what it actually looked like, shadows and all. Later she took a few figure drawing, painting, sculpture and printmaking classes at Colorado State University. She describes her art as bold, unrefined, and improvisational. Influences range from Cézanne to Rothko to Marc Bradford. Jane likes the spontaneity of using unexpected colors just for the fun of making it work. In her personal life, Jane is fairly organized, but with her art, she enjoys not having much of a plan except for a general concept. These days, she is never attempting replication of what is in front of her, but rather captures the feeling of the place. Jane enjoys painting large pieces, and brushes are merely adjunct to other tools. Recently, Jane has been experimenting with canvas collage and mixed media, and is excited to see where it will lead her. Jane very much enjoys making commissioned art, and while any piece will be consistent with her style, she enjoys digging a little to find out what is really important to her clients, in order to come up with a piece with significance that will bring long-lasting enjoyment.
Jane is a gallery artist at Old Town Art and Framery, in Fort Collins, Colorado https://oldtownartandframery.com/ and is very excited to have her work displayed there. She encourages you to visit. Marcy, the proprietor, is the most delightful person, and has elevated framing to an art form.
Jane’s short term goals are to “find out what I really can do”, and to spend some time as an Artist in Residence at one of her much-loved National Parks in the desert southwest. Longer term – who knows? Like her paintings, it will be be unplanned, undoubtedly colorful, and powered by many cups of English tea!
This website is devoted to Jane's very recent work and illustrates the direction she is going in.......for the moment. Thank you for visiting!
The mind is critical for art. A purple orange is still interpreted as an orange "
Jane Basile
