"having a website has helped me promote my work to and engage a much wider audience than I could achieve locally"
The only subject at school that Jan showed any flair for was art, but at the age of 13 when ‘O’ level choices had to be made her Dickensian grammar school headmistress refused to let her study art.
So for the next 15 years, art was totally out of the picture and Jan became a secondary French teacher, married and followed her husband abroad to the U.S.A. with his job.
Lonely and bored, as she was not allowed to work in America, Jan joined a drawing class at the local high school. Here she made friends and became reacquainted with her love of art.
Once ignited, there was no stopping her. She turned the guest bedroom into a studio and did nothing but paint. Through an art society, she sold her work and then became known for her portraiture and fulfilled many commissions.
Returning to England, a trip to the Cotswolds led to an epiphany. It occurred to Jan that you don’t need to be the most skilled artist to become popular, you just need to paint what people would identify with, and this was how Onion Jake was born.
The Onion Jake series represents everything truly English. Things that everyone can identify with. The paintings are gently humorous and decorative. Everyone will know someone like the people in the paintings. Each painting contains a Union Jack, which may be hard to find at times.
The name Onion Jake comes from an experience Jan had whilst coming home from France and taking a taxi . The driver related to her how a French man had recently tried to make polite conversation with him by saying 'how very much he liked zee onion Jake'. By this he meant the Union Jack! It is this gentle sense of fun that is now embodied in the Onion Jake series. Jan hopes they bring a smile to your face!
