Jan Frazee - PSA, DPS

Jan currently works out of her studio at her home in central Florida. Her paintings are exhibited throughout the year at leading art festivals across the country and in select galleries.  Jan studied painting/drawing, color theory and stain glass design, while pursuing a degree in Landscape Architecture at the School of Environmental Design at Louisiana State University.

Artist Statement

As I live each day, I am constantly amused by and drawn to a facial expression or a bodily gesture of the people I see or come in contact with.  The world is all about us,the joy the sadness, the living and dying. In my work as a landscape architect, my objective was always about creating physical space for people. The attention to people in my design background has created, I believe, the desire to capture people experiencing life moments in a painting. Hence, my work is primarily figurative. I often approach my subjects with the camera first. This allows study and enjoyment of  my subject matter without concern for the final piece.

The images I capture are used as reference to create the composition. I start a painting by loosely sketching the contours of the major shapes I perceive thru a series of little sketches. Then I try and connect the darkest value shapes, moving them around the composition to establish a rhythm. I often lay in a color compliment to define the area more, creating an under-painting of form and mass. If it looks like a good direction, I proceed, adding color and texture, refining shapes, layer upon layer. The details and lightest values are determined toward the end of painting development.

I work in both oils and pastel, and use a variety of oil pigment and soft pastel brands. In my pastel paintings, I use both wet and dry pigment application and prefer Wallis sanded paper as my ground, as it grips many layers of pigment. My oils are painted on cotton and linen stretched canvas and board.

Awards

  • Pastel Society of America, selected for “The Figure in Pastel, A Tribute to Flora Giffuni,” @The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH, February/March 2007
  • Pastel Society of America, selected for Eastern Shore Art Association Exhibition, Fairhope, AL, April 2007
  • Merit Award, Gasparilla Festival of Art, Tampa, FL, 2006
  • Merit Award, Winter Park Autumn Art Festival, 2005
  • The Award of Excellence (Mary Louise Womer Award), 57th Street Art Fair, Chicago, 2005
  • First place in category, Vero Under the Oaks 2004
  • Wakeham/Sutherland Award, Pastel Society of the West Coast 18th Competition 2004
  • Third Place, In Category, Disney Festival of the Masters 2003
  • First Place, Drawing/Pastels, Melbourne Art Festival 2003
  • Award of Excellence, Mainsail Art Festival 2003
  • Honorable Mention Figurative Category, Pastel Journal National Competition 2003
  • Honorable Mention Still Life Category, Pastel Journal National Competition 2003
  • Award of Recognition, Deland Fall 2002
  • Honor Award, Dunedin Art Harvest 2002
  • Honorable Mention, Winter Park Fall Art Festival 2002
  • Best of Show, Melbourne Art Festival 2002

Memberships

  • Pastel Society of America
  • Degas Pastel Society
  • Orlando Visual Arts League
  • Arts Council, FPCO