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About the Artist
Inspired by nature and fueled by a creative spirit Jane Lufkin creates vibrant impressionistic oil paintings filled with expressive impasto brushstrokes. After a lifetime of other creative pursuits she found her passion as an oil painter of landscapes when she moved to Truckee California in 2006 and made the mountains and lakes in the High Sierra her home.
Jane began painting as a young girl taking classes and studying drawing with her father. Her father, Tom McDonnell was a multitalented artist, musician and horticulturist. He was forever involving the family in creative pursuits. She followed in her fathers’ footsteps and completed her Bachelors Degree in Landscape Architecture from California Polytechnic State University in 1980. She felt at the time that it was the perfect combination of drawing, creativity, horticulture and outdoor life. Janes’ greatest desire was to create beauty for people to enjoy. She was the principal of her own professional Landscape Architectural practice in Santa Rosa, California for 20 years.
Life can throw you curveballs and opportunities. In 2004 Jane had her second set of twins. What!!! Yes, two sets of twins. So juggling teens and 2 year olds she moved to Truckee settling in a log home and focused on family. It wasn’t long before she couldn’t sit still and had to release her creative spirit. The big skies, dramatic mountains and turquoise blue of the lakes called her to create and so she did. Painting became her passion and her mission. She became part of the North Tahoe Arts Scene for the next 16 years. Then another curveball came her way. The ‘Glass Fire’ of 2020 in Sonoma County destroyed her home and much of her families property in Santa Rosa. She felt it necessary to rebuild and restore the land so she returned to Sonoma County in 2022 and is now an artist in residence there.
Jane is represented by the Jessel Gallery in Napa, California just over the hill from her home studio. The mountains still call to her heart so she continues to spend time in the Sierra when the opportunity presents itself and continues to be represented by Mountain Arts Collective in Truckee, California.
She is often found hiking, biking or skiing on the lookout for creative inspiration for her work. Traveling to places, always sketchbook in hand ready to capture the essence of the landscape for future works of art.
“Color is the key to happy paintings,” Jane says. "That’s what my clients love. It is my goal to bring beauty and happiness into peoples lives. To take the ordinary and make it extraordinary! I bring landscapes to life in oil on the canvas, capturing the light, movement and the magic of nature.”
Jane began painting as a young girl taking classes and studying drawing with her father. Her father, Tom McDonnell was a multitalented artist, musician and horticulturist. He was forever involving the family in creative pursuits. She followed in her fathers’ footsteps and completed her Bachelors Degree in Landscape Architecture from California Polytechnic State University in 1980. She felt at the time that it was the perfect combination of drawing, creativity, horticulture and outdoor life. Janes’ greatest desire was to create beauty for people to enjoy. She was the principal of her own professional Landscape Architectural practice in Santa Rosa, California for 20 years.
Life can throw you curveballs and opportunities. In 2004 Jane had her second set of twins. What!!! Yes, two sets of twins. So juggling teens and 2 year olds she moved to Truckee settling in a log home and focused on family. It wasn’t long before she couldn’t sit still and had to release her creative spirit. The big skies, dramatic mountains and turquoise blue of the lakes called her to create and so she did. Painting became her passion and her mission. She became part of the North Tahoe Arts Scene for the next 16 years. Then another curveball came her way. The ‘Glass Fire’ of 2020 in Sonoma County destroyed her home and much of her families property in Santa Rosa. She felt it necessary to rebuild and restore the land so she returned to Sonoma County in 2022 and is now an artist in residence there.
Jane is represented by the Jessel Gallery in Napa, California just over the hill from her home studio. The mountains still call to her heart so she continues to spend time in the Sierra when the opportunity presents itself and continues to be represented by Mountain Arts Collective in Truckee, California.
She is often found hiking, biking or skiing on the lookout for creative inspiration for her work. Traveling to places, always sketchbook in hand ready to capture the essence of the landscape for future works of art.
“Color is the key to happy paintings,” Jane says. "That’s what my clients love. It is my goal to bring beauty and happiness into peoples lives. To take the ordinary and make it extraordinary! I bring landscapes to life in oil on the canvas, capturing the light, movement and the magic of nature.”
My Artistic Process
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Step 1 ‘The sketch’. I work out ideas in my sketchbook from life or photos than I come up with an ideal composition. Then this idea is drawn on canvas with a pastel pencil that will disappear when painted over or black ink that will show up here and there in the final painting. Step 2. I get rid of the white canvas by painting over it in a thin acrylic wash or thinned oil color to create a background of vibrant color that will peak out between the brushstrokes of the final painting. Step 3 I paint with heavy brushstrokes of oil paint creating movement, depth and interest. I lay one color stroke next to another and allow that underpainting to show through here and there. |
‘Lavender Sunset’
Oil on Canvas Original: 12 x 24 |
Artistic Expression
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Impasto Technique: I apply oil paint thickly on to the canvas creating texture with the strokes. Swirling Brushwork: I use directional lines with the brushwork to imply movement. Vibrant , Expressive Color: I choose bold and natural colors to convey emotion and energy. Complementary Contrasts: The underpainting is usually the complement of the colors chosen in the artwork. The sparks of color shinning through shimmer and give vibration to the artwork. Bold Outlines: In some paintings I use a black ink sketch that gives the edges definition and pop them off the canvas. This is called Cloisonnism and its use was begun in1888 as a medieval decorative art where metal wires formed compartments to separate enamel glass. |
‘Aspen Love'
Oil on Canvas Original: 30 x 48 |