Featured Artist Jane Houghton

Featured artist Jane Houghton creates delightfully whimsical mixed media images. Enjoy her work and visit her website for more from this artist.

 

 

Jane is a Massachusetts artist who has been known in her community for teaching private art lessons to children for eleven years. Her students inspired her to return to her creative roots and begin to make her own art again. Jane is a graduate of Skidmore College with a degree in Studio Art. “The children’s spirit of making art reminded me of why I have loved being creative since I was a small child . . . they make art to please themselves and if someone else sees something special – well, then that is a bonus.” She started showing her work in 2006 and has not looked back since.

 

 

The images in Jane’s work often come from subconscious places. The gum-drop shaped hills she is most well known for are reminiscent of the ancient Celtic hill forts of Wales, where Jane did part of her undergraduate studies. Circles, dots and letters have all played parts in her imagination and continue to pop up sometimes in unexpected places in her compositions.  She invites the viewer to take a closer look for details as a way to bring them in and make them feel a deeper connection to the piece beyond the initial glance.

 

 

Her technique of layering altered tissue paper on top of acrylic is influenced by her fascination with the encaustic painting technique (painting with a pigment and melted wax mixture.) “I love the layered effects that the wax can lend itself to.” Instead of the translucent beeswax she layers thin layers of tissue paper that she has drawn on with oil stick, colored pencil, ink and or acrylic paint to achieve a similar result. Jane prefers to work on square wood panels.

 

 

Jane is currently working on a new series, titled, “Nurture” This series of mixed media paintings features large seed pods in various stages of development. From the meditative and dormant seed to the bursting open of the blossom, the series seeks to address the tension that is inherent as we grow in the roles in our lives (friend, spouse, parent, community member) while maintaining a sense of our core self.

The seed pods and bursting plants are metaphors for our souls bursting open and becoming. The majority of these new pieces are larger squares forcing the viewer to be confronted by the delicate process. Recently, the blossoming images have become quite popular and the demand for smaller, more affordable pieces has allowed Jane to develop this theme in a variety of compositions and color relationships.

 

 

Jane has an active commission practice creating individualized pieces for children and families. “Commissioned works are a welcome challenge of creating something that a patron’s family will feel connected to and cherish for generations. It is an honor to craft an original piece of art, originating from a parents’ vision, wanting to celebrate their family and child in a tangible and meaningful way.” Jane has developed a multiple panel concept that holds a plan for the changes a family faces when children grow and leave the nest.

 

 

These multi-paneled pieces can stand as a group or individually. The center panel depicts the family as a whole and may include imagery that speaks to the family unit and include quotes about the families’ shared experiences or values. The additional side panels represent individual children. The idea is that while the children are living at home the painting remains a unit, but when a child leaves the home their individual panel can be displayed in their new home as an independent piece.