Jan's Dimensional Painting Process
All of my art would be considered mixed media with a dimensional element to it. I have a goal when I begin each piece; to draw my audience into my work.  Most often people come closer to the piece and inspect the details. I particularly enjoy when people linger and reach to touch the artwork and that is when I know I have achieved my goal. My paintings fall into two categories of dimensional artwork; 2-D and 3-D. The variance between my 3-D painting process and my 2-D process lies in the foundations of each. 3-D begins with a hard surface such as a board where as 2-D begins with a purchased, pre-primed, flat, stretched canvas panel.
For 3-D, as I have said, I begin with a clean, straight board. On the board I place layers of objects methodically, sometimes projecting as much as 6 to 8 inches from the surface. The objects themselves need to be things that will not break down over time beneath the painted canvas, such as wood, metal or plastic. The items are When I create a 2-D painting I begin with a purchased primed stretched canvas. On the canvas I then collage images, items and objects but rarely exceed a protrusion from the canvas of more than two inches. The paintings are then primed with gesso and painted with acrylic paint following the same process of adding more materials as is used with the 3-D process. I discovered art with dimension while in high school. The dimensional processes that I use, Recently, I
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placed so that when canvas is stretched over them different patterns, shapes, textures and heights are achieved. I have more creative license with the 3-D process in that the hard surface tolerates weightier objects and loftier protrusions. Since I’ve been doing this for some time, I have a general idea of the shapes I want to focus on and enhance with the canvas which I stretch over the entire piece using a staple gun. Stapling the canvas sets off the elements that are to become my areas of interest and focal point. Once the canvas is stretched and secured and the excess canvas removed, I prime the piece with gesso. After the gesso primer is dry I may add more materials for texture and added interest before I paint with acrylic paint. Also, occasionally the other materials are added after the piece has been painted depending purely on what the individual piece seems to be projecting to me.
I developed during school in the early 1970’s. My painting teacher, Pat Wolf, loved bold geometrics and abstracts; her curriculum included the teaching of basics including the stretching of our own canvases. Another instructor, Jim Wheat, presented us with the ideas of assemblage art. He collected old rusted farm tools and such and combined them with natural elements such as twine and barn wood creating earthy and native looking wall hangings and sculpture. Inspired and influenced by my instructors as well as contemporary artists Jasper Johns, Wassily Kandinsky, Robert Rauschenberg, and Louise Nevelson, I created my own painting process of 2-D and 3-D art.
have been fortunate to find an instructor at the Kansas City Art Institute, Linda Light, who is an educated and experienced mixed media artist, and has rounded out my educational experience. Linda has helped me to further define my style and bring more professionalism to my pieces.