Biography

Jan Lowe is an artist based in Melbourne, Australia. To Jan, art is a time for appreciating the world around us. Putting it on paper or drawing it on a scratchboard brings back memories and a love of the subject. Art is a leveller. It is what you are and what you see and appreciate within your vision.

Studying and learning, including completing a Fine Art degree in the 1970s, was only the beginning of her journey. It is what you perceive and see, and what you create with your brush or pen, that really matters to you. It is your art.

She would say that she is a self-taught artist. A degree was a formal way of pursuing an art career, which did not take hold until the next century. A thing called “life” got in the way. However, through a life full of travel and visits to many parts of the world, she gained years of drawing experience, discovered unique places, and studied many species of animals and other wildlife and aspects of nature.

Her work reflects the world around us. She is absorbed by the unknown elements that nature presents, the colors, and the amazing wildlife across the land and sea. She spends time drawing and appreciating her relationship with nature, while also considering the horrific impact humans have on the natural world and wildlife. Recording unique places and creatures is her aim. Her wildlife is drawn from life, so the works are not precision drawings or tracings. They are created by hand.

Jan also loves working with watercolor on hot-pressed paper for landscapes and wildlife. The unique and beautiful surface of Claybord is one of her favorites. It is demanding, produces challenging results, and allows the paint to go where it wants.

She is an award-winning artist in Canada, the United States, Australia, and Europe. Her work has been widely exhibited in Europe, the United States, Canada, and Australia and published in Europe, Australia, and the United States. She is also a tutor and judge.

Jan believes in giving back to the community and has done so over the last 25 years. She is currently President of the Pastel Society of Australia and a member of the editorial team for the International Society of Scratchboard Artists in the United States, representing Australia. Within the Australian Guild of Realist Artists (AGRA), she is a former editor and president and is now a contributor.

Jan is a tutor and judge who enjoys working with her students throughout their artistic journeys. One of her mottos is to truly learn to see your subject, take a risk, practice, be brave, take on difficult subjects, be prepared to continue learning, and, above all, enjoy what you do.

Artist Statement

Jan is a professional realist artist, tutor, and judge. She became a full-time artist over 25 years ago. She is a published artist in Europe and Canada and has achieved many international successes with her watercolor works on Claybord and her scratchboard works in international competitions in Europe, Australia, Canada, and the United States.

Her practice explores the unique personalities of animals, captures the atmosphere within landscapes and cityscapes, and investigates the dynamics of each subject, including the manipulation of its effects.

She is committed to working with her students and nurturing their development and love of art. She is active within the art community as President of the Pastel Society of Australia and Australian Editor for the International Society of Scratchboard Artists in the United States, where she formerly served as editor and vice president. She is also an active member of the Australian Guild of Realist Artists and the International Guild of Realism. She has a degree in Fine Art.

www.janlowefineart.com

Jan Lowe

Rosarinho Andrade

Michael Mingqian Yang