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About Jane Stewart Adams
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I can't really believe the way my life has turned out, nobody really
knows what is going to happen to them over the years.
I started off as a Junior Teacher in the 1970s, having studied Sculpture at a Teacher Training College in Herts, and found myself teaching Art, amongst other things, in a boarding school in S. India from 1978-1981. My time in India was full of new sights, sounds, and smells, and I was very fortunate to have been able to spend some time travelling the country and visiting Nepal, once for an entire month. As I love mountains wherever they are and am always inspired to capture their towering splendour and awesome beauty, I was in Painter's Heaven when I saw The Himalayas, and especially Mount Everest, for the first time. Although unfortunately, at that precise moment, when the bus stopped for us to admire the view, the bed-roll I had borrowed was thrown from the top of the bus, where it had been nestled-up against a large black goat, to an accomplice waiting below, and that was the last I ever saw of it. I have always had a sneaking suspicion that when I reported the theft to the police in Kathmandu, they rather admired the audacity of the thieves, and did nothing but laugh! I tried to do a few paintings while I was in India but really didn't have the time as I was teaching Art for most of the day and had duties to do in the evenings and weekends, so it wasn't until I returned home in 1981 that I really took up painting seriously. I eventually gave up the Teaching profession, after a few sojourns doing other things too boring to mention here, in 1990 because I no longer enjoyed being in the classroom. Fortunately, as I adore the English language, my experience was not wasted and was put to good use later on when I became a Proof-reader and Copy-editor, something I'm still involved in, but on a much smaller scale. I suppose I have been daubing for about 30 years now, although I actually began drawing at the age of 8, starting with birds and animals, and then honing my skills by drawing the faces of my favourite film and TV stars at the time, in the days when there were great TV shows like The Virginian, It Takes a Thief, and The High Chapparal. Ah!, those were the days! I still have a drawing of David Soul done at the height of Starsky and Hutch mania. Oh dear, that dates me! I have only been painting miniatures for the last 5 years but have found it fascinating as I can produce a complete, detailed picture in a fraction of the time it would take me to do a large one, and therefore have gained a huge amount of experience in a very short time. The only trouble is that whenever I see a wonderful scene, I now automatically shrink it down in my mind, which can at times rather spoil my enjoyment of the actual full-sized spectacle! Fortunately, I don't have to use a magnifying glass to help create my miniature work as I have been blessed with excellent close sight, but cursed with rotten distance vision, hence the goggles. Life just isn't fair! The smallest painting I possess was done using a cocktail-stick, which gave me cramp, is the size of my small finger nail, and lives in a tiny locket. As you can tell, I'm always up for a challenge. I am a real Nature-lover and so always want to make my pictures look as real as possible, but still look like a painting and not like a photograph. Atmospheric subjects always intrigue me, and as I live in Dover, White Cliffs Country, the wonderful skies over the Channel and the ever-changing waters are a constant fascination and one of my favourite subjects to capture in oils. I see nothing wrong in painting from a good photograph, and indeed it is the only way to create a really convincing miniature, so as long as the reference material used is very clear, I can produce a really attractive painting, whatever the size. To view a sample of my Dolls House Miniature Painting, Wall Paintings, Handbag Mirrors, and Trinket Boxes, please browse through my web site. |
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