Red Roses in Glass

Jane Dickins | Gouache on Vintage Paper | 12 x 8.5 inches

Jane is an Australian artist living and working in Kent. She paints fluid silhouettes of animals and people using gestural lines and brushstrokes. Her paintings explore the dynamic interplay between abstraction and representation, using line with an elegant yet expressive intensity.

Each work begins with a series of contour drawings which help Jane understand and connect with her subject. She then refines these spontaneous lines with a calligraphy brush and acrylic paint or ink, using fluid strokes to create striking silhouettes of living things.

Jane began drawing and painting in 2019 and credits Japan with her understanding of mark making. While living in Japan she practiced calligraphy with a Japanese master. It was a formative experience, emphasising economy of line and the potential for meaning to be present in a single brushstroke.

Originally trained as an archaeologist, Jane studied Aboriginal art from the desert homelands before winning a Commonwealth scholarship to study prehistoric design at the University of Cambridge. This background in ancient and indigenous art is now a rich resource for her artistic practice.

Inspired by the immediacy of indigenous and folk-art traditions, Jane is drawn to the challenge of distilling a subject’s essence into just a few lines and a limited palette of colours; “this commitment to simplicity is both a technical and philosophical pursuit in my work” Jane

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