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About Janet Zeh
 Hi, I'm Janet. Since you have come to this page to find out about me, I'll tell you a bit. Your first question is maybe something like this: "How long have you been an artist?" Well my answer is pretty standard as far as artists go and that is: for a long time; for as long as I can remember! Really, as soon as I could hold a crayon in my chubby little fist, nothing with a flat surface was safe. For instance, when there was no paper available, I drew on the wallpaper. Windowsills were even better, because I could close the curtains to hide the evidence (I really thought that would work). My parents claim I somehow even got high enough to color near the ceiling in the hopes that no one would see.
Fortunately for all involved, I finally found an acceptable outlet for my desire to
draw when I began formal art training with a private tutor at age
eight. Later, I studied art at Nazareth College of Rochester,
Southern Connecticut State University and Rhode Island School of
Design While raising three sons, I worked for eighteen years as
a part-time free-lance illustrator in pen and ink and digital graphics.
In 1994 I began painting in watercolor and fell in love with the medium and with working in color! When my watercolors won Best in Show at my first juried art show in 1997, it encouraged me to leave a public school teaching job and become an artist full-time. I never looked back and have been painting daily ever since.
 In addition to subsequent painting awards, I
have won commissions for indoor and outdoor nature and garden murals for both the public and private sector. I have designed and painted theatrical sets and backdrops for two full-length ballets and
illustrated half a dozen botanical and geologic books for the
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. My current project is an exciting one for me: writing and illustrating a childrens adventure story that I plan to publish.
Besides all the above, I sell my watercolor and oil
paintings online on this website, in my shop at Zehland.Etsy.com and at ZehStore.com, my store on eBay. Additionally, I hold a yearly open studio. My hundreds of paintings (actually over a thousand) have been collected throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia and Russia.
 So now that you know about my work, how about when I'm not painting? I'm a nature lover and find inspiration and relaxation out-of-doors. I like to walk in the countryside or at the beach, climb a mountain or two, and do some gardening in my studio flower gardens.
Artist Statement
By painting the beauty of the natural world, I
express my love for the Creator God. I create intimate pieces that are
moving and inspirational; that awaken the spirit to the wonders of
creation through the colors and richness in everyday scenes.
For my paintings, I choose themes from nature that
interest and inspire me - flowers from my garden and the landscapes and
seascapes of my native New England or my travels. My goal is to
accentuate the form and life of a subject through the use of value and
color in order to draw the viewer into the scene. Therefore, a painting
must be as engaging up close as it is from a distance. I am
particularly fascinated with the rainbow of hues found in the shadows
of white flowers and will often use complements to achieve sumptuous
glowing color. ~JZ
Painting outdoors in my garden
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