I’m fascinated with the details in life,
the expressions of joy and sorrow,
the light shining on a subject,
and I take it all in.
—
As a young girl, I used to draw spiders. Everywhere and on everything. At 10 years old, I wanted to be a starving artist.
Things changed a bit after art school, like getting a 9 to 5 job and finding a spot in the corporate world. I never really stopped creating but I didn’t have an outlet for it.
After my dad passed away, I was looking for a katydid photo to symbolize him. He taught me the love of nature, the love of being silent and taking in the sounds of our surroundings…the love of everything, even if it isn’t “traditionally” pretty. By accident, I came across a colored pencil forum that made me remember how much I enjoyed that medium when I was younger. I just didn’t know the potential until I saw the wonderfully talented artists on the site. A few months later, I joined a local art gallery.
While colored pencil allows me to get into the details, charcoal and pastel allow me to the freedom to create the sense of a subject without getting everything down. I can push and pull the highlights and shadows, almost sculpting in 2D., that I can’t do with pencil.
Life has hit me pretty hard for the past 7 years, and I eventually became numb to the idea of any creativity. Regardless, my love of nature never left. The mystery ahead is to see what I want to create.
—
EDUCATION
B.A. in Fine Art, Meredith College | 1998 | Raleigh NC
B.A. in History, Meredith College | 1998 | Raleigh NC
AWARDS & JURIED SHOWS
One Nation \ Pastel | 2nd Place – Patriotic Expressions 2017 Art Contest| 2017
Swish | Pastel | 2014 Annual NC Statewide Juried Pastel Exhibition | 2014
Woolly Malamute and Alpine Goat | Pastel | 2013 NC Statewide Juried Pastel Exhibition | 2013
Violet | Colored Pencil | 11th International Fine Arts Show | American Juried Art Salon | 2010 | Plano Texas
Portrait of a Military Father | Pen and Ink (Stippling) | 1st Place – In Honor | 1991 | North Ridge Portrait Competition | Raleigh NC
Golden Key Award | 1991 | Durham NC
EXHIBITIONS
Alamance Artisans Extravaganza | 2017 -2018| Haw River NC
Alamance Artisans Studio Tour | 2013-2016 | Mebane NC
Harrison’s | 2014 | Burlington NC
Festifall | 2012 | Chapel Hill NC
Benjamin Winery | 2012 | Saxapahaw NC
Saxapahaw Artists “Summer in America” | 2011 | Saxapahaw NC
Royal Bean | 2010 | Raleigh NC
Tyler D Studios | 2009 | Burlington NC
Art & Soul Studios “Aloha” | 2009 | Mebane NC
Art & Soul Studios “Together Again” | 2009 | Mebane NC
Churton Street Realty | 2009 | Hillsborough NC
Benjamin Winery | 2009 | Saxapahaw NC
Art & Soul Studios | 2008 | Mebane NC
Mebane Public Library | 2008 | Mebane NC
Art & Soul Studios | 2007 | Mebane NC
Meredith College | 1998 | Raleigh NC
GALLERIES
Fine and Folk Art Carolina | 2014-2020 | Mebane NC
NC Crafts Gallery | 2012 | Carrboro NC
Saxapahaw Artists | 2011-2012 | Saxapahaw NC
Art & Soul Studios | 2007-2009 | Mebane NC
Janae Lehto Fine Art 