Jane Grant-Abban grew up in England and moved to Wales where she studied then lived for 22 years. In 2006 she moved with her husband and two sons to Stillwater, Minnesota.
Growing up, she loved to paint and sketch and her studies included art history, which provided her with the opportunity to visit some world-renowned galleries and study the paintings of past masters first-hand.
Although she left art studies behind to obtain degrees in both business and teaching, she still felt a strong pull to paint.
Upon moving to Minnesota, she was able to really give herself to the study of painting in oils and the prismatic palette under Minnesota Master Painter Kami Polzin, (as well as portraiture with Leslie DeMille) ,and has not looked back.
In recent years, her work has been shown at both the Minnesota State Fair Fine Art Show and Plymouth Primavera Fine Art Show (juried entries) and received awards in both landscape and portrait categories in the Artists of Minnesota Show 2009. September 2009 brings her Solo Exhibition in Stillwater entitled ‘Pauses with Pen and Paint.’Most recently she won Best Of Show, First Place and Award of Merit at the Artists of Minnesota Show 2010.
Jane is continually taught, inspired, and challenged by the study of master painters past and present. She says,
“There have been, and continue to be, many wonderful painters in the world, but that should not keep any one of us from expressing ourselves creatively and uniquely. That is our personal privilege and responsibility. To not paint because there are already great painters is like not singing because there are great singers, or not cooking because there are great chefs. Each of us has something to give creatively to the world around us."
Jane’s creative expression also involves writing.
“What I paint inspires what I write, and sometimes what I write inspires what I paint. But either way it comes from real human experience in this life. I paint and write to communicate the beauty and truths behind whatever the subject matter, no matter how commonplace.”
When asked what she wants to have achieved with a finished painting when it hangs on someone’s wall, Jane says she wants her painting to have the ability to attract and intrigue not just the eye of the beholder, but the heart.
“It should not be just pleasing to the eye,” she says, “but refreshing to the heart. It should not just capture the ‘atmosphere’ of the subject matter, but acquire a place in the heart of the observer.’
Living in the beautiful St Croix Valley, travelling in Africa, working at a leper colony in India, and being a wife and mother, have all played their part in influencing her work.
“Every part of our humanity, especially the seasons of our lives, can be the harvest-field for our creativity. Through all the seasons of life I desire to learn and grow both as a person and a painter. The two are inseparable. This is a life-long journey.”
