Artwork for Jane Keay
Arthur's Stone
Cantref-y-Gwaelod
Contours
Four Stones
The Prescence
The Ravens Tell
The Wait
Window on Change
Details
I cannot remember a time when I have not drawn, whether is was with a pen or pencil, or my nail, pressed into the lines on a petal or leaf, or endless doodling in the margins of college notes... I am self-taught, and as such I have picked up my inspiration from a love of old books, and the artists and illustrators of the time who became my 'Gods', Arthur Rackham and the Robinson brothers & Charles Tunnicliffe.
Drawing and painting is part of my being, my expression of ideas, feelings, emotions... everything I feel, see, touch or sense. It is a communication sensed between myself, the artist, and the onlooker. It is showing ideas, an expression of feelings and emotions, shared.
Jane Keay, Artist
I love to draw, paint and illustrate, especially using inks and watercolours, often building up a single piece with multiple layers to end with a glow of light and colour. In some of my recent works I feel the need to evoke a sense of landscape of the mind and spirit; a sentient landscape. it's not just a linear landscape, but an attempt to capture a sense of awe. It's where the ancient, the past, the present, and even the future, are sensed within the now. Where time is mutable, and hopefully the onlooker becomes involved, and part of the telling of a story.
Alongside working as a freelance artist, my illustrations have been published, and I have worked widely as an art tutor with both individuals and groups.
I have never studied art officially, but have taught art, in some form or another, to all ages, from 3 to 91 years old, from absolute beginners to experienced artisans. Living for the most part of my life, in the borderlands between Wales and England, the wild spirit engendered in much of the stark, magic wilderness has been my inspiration, and the warmth of the people who I have met through living and working here, makes this a rewarding and fulfilling vocation.
Working from a studio at home, I have opened my space to visitors by appointment during events such as h.Art. I like meeting the people that I sell to, but also take part in art fairs: Most recently my work has been included in the Bank House exhibitions during Bishops Castle Art Festival.
I am a Resident Artist at Made in the Marches Gallery, Kington, where a small selection of my work can always be found in the changing, seasonal exhibitions.
In the last two years I have illustrated a children's story book which is due to be published later this year.
Made in the Marches Gallery,
Blue Stone Gallery, Hay-on-Wye
Mistletoe House Cards
Open Studio (by appointment)
