Can you tell us something about yourself?
Jeanne: ” I am an artist from Maryland in the USA. While I started out from the very beginning loving painting, like many people I didn’t think of it as an actual option for a career so I went in another direction first. What I eventually figured out, and keep learning over and over, is to follow what I’m most passionate about. Over time I’ve learned to cultivate and listen to the instinct within, about what to paint next, what direction to go in within a particular painting, how best to spend my time. I think as artists it’s our job to pay attention to what we see, what we feel, and then distill it to what we want to say. Taking it seriously, honing it, making it the best we can–that is our job. It’s a gift to have this job, and it’s important and it’s a valuable thing to put forth in the world, especially now.”

When did you start drawing and painting?
Jeanne: “I started to see myself as an artist at around age fourteen, when I carved out a little space for myself in the basement, with art supplies and a counter to work on. I guess you could say that was my first studio.”

What kind of materials do you use?
Jeanne: “I work on archival sanded papers mounted on acid free boards, in soft pastel. I use isopropyl alcohol as an underpainting medium and also to dissolve splatter pastel in top layers. I work in layers of soft pastel, using varying pressure and application angles to create different ‘brushstroke’ effects. I occasionally use my fingers to blend, and I use brushes and blending tools to remove and manipulate surface pigment. When the painting is complete I apply a layer of Lascaux fixative.”

What kind of subjects do you paint?
Jeanne  “For the past fifteen years I have almost exclusively painted the natural world, from the forests near my home to the ocean shores I have loved since childhood. Seascapes are a continuous obsession and challenge because they engage all my senses. I am a swimmer and painting the ocean feels like swimming. Water changes constantly–shape, color, mood, depending on time, tide, season, light, so I am constantly learning and discovering more.

Did you study art?
Jeanne: ” I studied to be an English professor, but I took as many art electives as I could along the way. Getting a doctorate turned out to be great training for figuring out how to learn on my own, and also for how to financially survive at the beginning of my art career.”

Are you a full time artist?
Jeanne: “I have been a full-time artist for the past seventeen years.”

Fun Fact?
Jeanne: ” All my life I felt like an awkward goofy dancer, but during the pandemic I’ve been taking video ‘dance breaks’ with friends and family and suddenly I think I get it!”

Have you exhibited you art work? 
Jeanne: “Yes, here is a list.
St Botolph Club solo show, upcoming May 2022
American Society of Marine Art Six-Museum Tour, 2016-2018, 2019-2021
American Impressionist Society 21st National, 2020
Degas Gallery Solo Show, 2020
American Society of Marine Artists, Principle Gallery Charleston, 2018
Master Circle Exhibition, IAPS 2017, 2019
Butler Institute of American Art “Enduring Brilliance” PSA Select Show 2017
Pastel Society of America “Enduring Brilliance” National Show, 2005, 2013-2020
American Society of Marine Art Six-Museum Tour, 2016-2018, 2019-2021
Guild of Boston Artists Regional Competition, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2020
For Pastels Only Cape Cod Nat’l Show, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019
International Assoc. of Pastel Societies Web Show, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020

Which artists do you admire?
Jeanne: “Joaquin Sorolla for his brilliant use of sunlight and color, and innovative compositions.”

Connect with Jeanne Rosier Smith
rosiersmithart@gmail.com
www.jeannerosiersmith.com
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