Janet P. Wright

P. O. Box 482
Claremont, CA 91711 909-625-4128

BIO SHEET

ART EDUCATION

  • Chris Van Winkle, Citrus college, Spring 1998 to present
  • Tom Fong, Mt. San Antonio College, Fall, 1999 to present
  • Three to five day workshops with Zoltan Szabo, Milford Zornes, Skip Lawrence, Christopher Schink, Henry Fukuhara, George James, and Don Andrews
  • Various other workshops and weekend courses
  • Oregon State University, three terms of oil painting, 1961-62



EXHIBITIONS

  • Citrus College "Taste of Autumn" - Student Show, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003
  • "Made in California" Juried Show, Brea, 2000
  • Pomona Valley Art Assn. Open Juried Show, Fall, 2000; 2001; Da Vinci Award, 2002. 1st Place "Floral Fantasy" Show, 2002; Honorable Mention, "Mini" Show, 2002; Honorable Mention, "Landscape" Show, 2003
  • Mid-Valley Arts League, Open Members Show, Honorable Mention, Landscape, 2001; 3rd Animal and Honorable Mention, Landscape, 2003
  • Associated Artists Assn. Juried Show, 2nd place, Landscape 2001; Honorable Mention, Floral, 2002; Honorable Mention, Landscape, 2003
  • Redlands Art Assn. Juried Mini Show, 2002; Excellence Award, 2003
  • Pasadena Presbyterian Juried Show, 2002
  • Japanese American National Museum "Manzinar/Alabama Hills Art Exhibit", 2002
  • Watercolor West, American Artists Magazine Award, 2002
  • La Habra Art Association Juried Show, 2002
  • Thousand Oaks Art Assn. Juried Multi-Media Show, 2003
  • Citrus College "Canada Colors " Tour Show, February, 2003
  • San Gabriel Art Assn. Spring Open Exhibit, 1st Floral and Best Watercolor, 2003
  • Ontario Museum Juried Show, 2003
  • East San Gabriel Valley Art Assn. Spring Open, 2003, 2nd Floral; Honorable Mention, Landscape
  • Mt. San Antonio Emeritus Show, June, 2003
  • Vincent Price Gallery, East Los Angeles College, "Manzinar/Alabama Hills" Show, July 2003
  • Fine Arts Institute 38th Open Annual National Juried Show, September 2003
  • National Watercolor Society, Member Show, 2004
  • Fine Artists Factory, Canyon de Chelly/Monument Valley Show, 2004; Alabama Hills/ Manzinar Show 2004
  • Work on display in the Soho Gallery, Pomona and at San Gabriel Valley Medical Center in San Gabriel.

ASSOCIATIONS

Member of numerous art associations including California Watercolor Assn., San Diego Watercolor Assn., juried member of Watercolor West, 2002-2004 historian and 2005 secretary of Mid-Valley Arts League and 2004 Exhibition Director for the National Watercolor Society.

PERSONAL STATEMENT

Although I loved to draw as a child, the rural schools I attended offered no opportunities for art instruction. By the time I reached college, my interests had expanded into other fields and not until I had earned a B.A. and was taking coursework to qualify for a teaching credential did I actually take a single art class. Nearly forty years later, lacking all the basic art training and professional experience which characterizes many of my contemporaries, I decided to see if I could learn to paint watercolor portraits. I bought a 'how to" book and struggled on my own for a year until I was fortunate to find local instructors with national reputations.

Learning the basics was magic. Interest in horticulture resulted in painting landscape and floral subject matter although I still plan to move on to figure and portrait painting eventually. During the last five years I have worked hard to master basic techniques and to expand my skills. I am so grateful to all the wonderful artists I've met in various classes and art associations who have been so willing to encourage and support a newcomer. I began entering juried competitions in the fall of 1999. Competition and sale of my work provides the sort of feedback that can't be obtained in a classroom setting. I believe that if I am to excel, I need to be willing to have my work evaluated by a wide variety of professionals as well as the general public.



Painting has taught me to see. It is a God-given gift that too many of us take for granted. Wonderful shapes and colors are everywhere and the challenge of trying to capture the light of a summer evening or the vibrant hue of a bougainvillea against a stucco wall makes every day an adventure. As a professional educator, I have always believed that learning must be a life-long investment. As an artist, I know that even had I started painting as a child, I could never learn it all. Every painting is an opportunity to learn something new. I am so fortunate to have found this opportunity to grow.

Painting Africa in 2004 has been my greatest challenge to date. The myriad sights and sounds of other cultures always fan the flame of artistic endeavor. But in no other place in the world is there such a convergence of color, wildlife, exotic settings and textural contrasts. The goal in "African Reflections: Two Views" at La Habra Art Assn. Gallery during September is to take the viewer to the heart of those sensations and share the thrill of visiting a land beyond time.

8-26-04



Images from top to bottom:
CONVERSATION IN KARATU
TREE FEVER ~ NFS
MANZANAR PEAR ~ $200