Janice Mason Steeves

Born in Saskatchewan, Janice Mason Steeves graduated with an M.A. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Manitoba. She held school psychology positions before leaving the field to focus on painting. Further studies were completed at the Ontario College of Art and Design. Janice is represented by galleries in Canada and the U.S. and has work in public, corporate, and private collections in North America and internationally. She has been awarded artist residencies in Spain, Ireland, Sweden and Iceland.

The landscape is Janices starting point. Places like Lapland in Sweden, northern Iceland and the Isle of Lewis in Scotland with their stark landscapes, the clarity of their air and the quality of their light inspire a minimal, reductive quality in her paintings. Process and materials are important to her. Structured and methodical approaches combined with intuitive reactions allow her to take risks, to combine control with spontaneity.

She is working on two concurrent series of paintings, each of which are painted with a mixture of cold wax and oils. One series consists of small gestural interpretations of the landscape on paper, some of which are accompanied by colour field paintings that reflect the atmosphere of place. The other series, comprised of small works on panel, are attached together to form grids. The paint is applied in extremely thin translucent layers that overlap each other creating luminous colour fields that reflect the energy and emotion of her response to nature.

As an established artist of 35 years, Janice has been sharing her knowledge both in her Art Mentoring program and in the painting workshops that she teaches in Canada, the US, and Europe. She has also become interested in inspiring artists to create a whole new response to the environmental crisis that goes beyond facts, pessimism, arguments, and blame, and instead offers up what nature means to our spirits; the love of it. With this in mind, Janice has developed an art teaching initiative called Workshops in Wild Places. In these unique, innovative workshops, students travel to remote locations throughout the world to experience the beauty, energy and power of the wild landscape, to deeply and joyfully connect with it, and then–– through a facilitated contemplative and creative process–– translate that response into abstract paintings.

Find out more at janicemasonsteeves.com.