Interview

Aug 1

Janey Hunt

Janey is a landscape painter, using charcoal, pastel and watercolour crayons. She is influenced by contours of the landscape, ancient monuments, historical field patterns and modern farming, old estate maps and archaeological drawings. She recently moved to Wells in Somerset UK, previously living in Totnes, Devon, UK. She had two solo exhibitions this year 2024 at Birdwood House, Totnes, Devon, UK and at SpringCheltenham, Gloucestershire UK.

What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?

“I started art late. I learned how to draw at a life drawing group, run by a wonderful woman and artist, Elyse Parkin, in the 1980’s. I was accepted to the Glasgow School of Art studying Environmental Art and then went onto the University of Plymouth to do a Doctorate in practice based fine art entitled the ‘Socially Engaged Artist as Environmental Change Agent.’ I lived in Totnes in Devon, UK and became involved with the earliest iteration of Transition Town Totnes. Following a period of illness, I had to completely change my practice from socially engaged art to 2D artwork, which is now my oeuvre.”

What does your work aim to say? Does it comment on any current social or political issues?

“My work currently explores the lie of the land and man’s intervention in the shape of prehistoric monuments and field boundaries. I make work now which celebrates a more gentle aesthetic rather than overt social/political issues.”

Do you plan your work in advance, or is it improvisation?

“I start with going out and exploring the landscape around me. Sometimes wandering, sometimes going to specific locations. I sketch and take photos, which are used as the basic studies and aid memoirs back in the studio. I also use maps and Google Earth to locate sites of interest. Once the basic drawing is made in charcoal then I relinquish the studies and allow the picture to emerge as it will into varying stages of abstraction.”

Are there any art world trends you are following?

“I’m reading a fabulous book entitled ‘Artists Making Landscapes in Post-war Britain’ by Margaret Garlake, comprising semi and abstract works. I feel my work stems from this tradition.”

“I make work now to please myself and celebrate a more gentle aesthetic rather than overt social/political issues.”

What process, materials and techniques do you use to create your artwork?

“I work in charcoal, pastel and watercolour crayons in a play of mark making, texture, tone and colour. I like to feel the medium and the paper to enable me to puzzle out the emerging picture. Currently, I work on Arboreta paper generally in A1 size in a landscape format. I will be starting to experiment with using canvas and varnish with pastels and charcoal later this year.”

What does your art mean to you?

“I feel a tie to the land and landscape around me that I want to portray through my artwork. This is a real emotional and physical experience which links history, land, people and our influence on the world in which I live and people have lived through time.”

What’s your favorite artwork and why?

“I can’t pinpoint one work, as there are so many wonderful artists. Almost anything by Ivon Hitchens, I particularly remember a painting of Chestnut trees at the Serpentine Gallery in London that blew me away. Also Dennis Creffield, especially the English Cathedral charcoal series and the abstract landscape works of Richard Diebenkorn.”