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 having to create each stroke. I can push and pull the highlights and shadows, as if sculpting in 2D.
EDUCATION
B.A. in Fine Art, Meredith College | Raleigh NC
B.A. in History, Meredith College | Raleigh NC
EXHIBITIONS & AWARDS
Fine Craft, Fine Art | 2024 | Greensboro, NC
Makers at the Mill Holiday Bazaar | 2023 | Hillsborough, NC
Alamance Artisans Extravaganza | 2023 | Elon, NC
Alamance Artisans Extravaganza | 2018 | Haw River NC
Alamance Artisans Extravaganza | 2017 | Haw River NC
Patriotic Expressions 2017 Art Contest | 2nd place for One Nation, pastel
Alamance Artisans Studio Tour | 2013-2016 | Mebane NC
2014 Annual NC Statewide Juried Pastel Exhibition | Swish, pastel
Harrison’s | 2014 | Burlington NC
2013 NC Statewide Juried Pastel Exhibition | Woolly Malamute and Alpine Goat, pastel
Festifall | 2012 | Chapel Hill NC
Benjamin Winery | 2012 | Saxapahaw NC
Saxapahaw Artists “Summer in America” | 2011 | Saxapahaw NC
11th International Fine Arts Show | American Juried Art Salon | Violet, colored pencil | 2010 | Plano Texas
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
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 