Meet Guest Juror, Janet Rawlings

sarahsoward
May 19
2 min read

Updated: 14 hours ago

Artist Statement

I consider it a gift to be able to view the world through the eyes of an artist. In my paintings, I want to tell a story to draw the viewer into experiencing the peacefulness that I felt while painting it. My preferred medium of Soft Pastels enable me to express vivid color and creative mark-making. I enjoy the tactile application that they require, which provides a direct connection to the movement and shapes I create. My painting style is soft, impressionistic realism with a variety of subjects, including landscapes, wildlife, architecture and more. I’ve been told my paintings always have a sense of serenity.

The beauty and wonder of our physical world speaks particularly to my soul. It has also served as great therapy (while facing a lifetime of medical challenges).

My subject is the outdoor Montana world we live in. Most of my reference photos are my own, therefore making the emotions of my paintings far more personal than using someone else’s capture.

Artist Bio

Janet Rawlings is a professional, self-taught, award-winning fine artist who has had a love for creating art throughout her life. Her artistic interests grew into a career as a Technical Designer / Drafter for ten years, which ended prematurely in her early forties due to health issues. It was then that Janet dove solely into fine art, and has done so for more than 25 years. Soft Pastels are her primary medium and she enjoys timed figure drawing in Charcoal (a great brain-to-hand exercise). She has been commissioned by both Commercial and private collectors to create the visions they desired.

She has studied under numerous renowned pastel artists such as: Liz Haywood-Sullivan, Jill Soukup, Clive Tyler, Richard McKinley, Ilene Geiger-Stanfield, Christine Debrowsky, Barbara Jaenicke, Christine Ivers, Alain Picard, Dennis O’Hagan, Marla Baggetta and others.

She has also taken numerous college level art classes, both in person and online.

Professional Affiliations