First Friday Artist Jane Yelliot

In-Town Gallery is pleased to present Jane Yelliott as the Featured Artist for the month of August. Her whimsical watercolors portray beloved family members and their animal pets in a collection of new paintings that she calls “Family Zoo”. Visitors to the gallery may meet the artist at an opening reception on the First
Friday, August 1, 2008, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

A member of In-Town Gallery for 24 years, this versatile artist has displayed her expertise in many mediums over the years. She is equally ‘at home’ with watercolors or oils, and has more recently discovered the joys of direct expression with pastels. “Several years ago I fell in love with pastels when I took my first workshop with Margaret Dyer, and a whole new world opened up. I had no idea what depth could be obtained with pastels until then, and how much fun they could be!”

Jane is an accomplished portrait painter, so that this new series is very much in her ‘comfort zone’. Family members are often her subjects, including an assortment of beloved pets, from her own cats to her children’s dogs and farm animals. Especially appealing are young children, caught in their natural activities. She explains her preferences, “Trees, flowers, mountains and lakes are all beautiful things to paint, but animals, and children in particular, are just incredible creatures to paint. A sunlit flower or tree can be a vibrant subject, but the expression of a child … or an animal, is beyond compare.”

Best Buddies

Painting seriously for 30 years, Jane concentrated primarily on watercolors. Early instruction began with still lifes which she did not enjoy, as she preferred real life subjects. In the 90s Jane was introduced to glazing on tiles, and received several commercial commissions for large installations. In Chattanooga, the floor of the Aquarium is covered with her turtle tiles – brightly colored figures on black porcelain tiles of various dimensions. Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, NC , best known for its Culinary program, commissioned Jane to do a series of large tile murals depicting the evolution of food throughout history, from a caveman roasting a haunch of beef over a fire  to a French pastry shop. She created a series of “Cookapelli” tiles, changing traditional Southwest Indian kokopelli figures into chefs.

“I go from one medium to another when the mood strikes me, or if I seem to have a mental block with what I am trying to achieve. Each medium requires its own particular techniques which produce totally different results in the end.” Never at a loss for trying something new, Jane continues to produce an appealing variety of original artwork.