JANICE FLEMING ARTIST
We shall not cease from exploration,
And the end of our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
T S Elliot
MY STORY
I am a mixed media contemporary artist and my work reflects my interests in the natural environment, its plant life and coastline. Â
My inspiration comes from the beautiful landscape and coastal areas around the Highlands and Morayshire. I love walking and it helps me absorb my experiences, process my responses and is an important part of my practice.
I enjoy experimenting in printmaking and mixed media but have recently returned to exploring painting as my medium of choice.
My images reflect my own often unexplained responses related to a sense of place or to my chosen subject matter.  I strive to bring the viewer's attention to the otherwise un-noticed, the fragments, fleeting moments, edges, spaces glimpsed, the ‘bits in between’. Ultimately I hope to capture for the viewer, the emotion and sense of place or subject matter which has inspired me to create.
MY RECENT COLLECTIONS
GARDEN FLOWERS
This is a new set of images which were inspired by the time I have spent in my garden over the last year, sowing seeds and nurturing plants. Using so much colour was a joy. I used gestural markmaking in an attempt to stay free and loose.  I am interested in expressing the character and personality which I see in plants and flowers. Sometimes I depart from the reference point of the still life set up and let my imagination and the creative process take over.
COASTAL REFLECTIONS
This body of work was not created as a series but I did work on a number of paintings over the same period. They are very much related to my subliminal responses to the sea and coastline which I walk in and around on a regular basis.
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PEBBLE SERIES
Experimenting with printmaking on a geli plate was the basis of the development of this series. I later explored the use of collage and stitch. They are inspired by my collection of pebbles of all sorts and my fascination with the variety of colours and marks on their surfaces. I really enjoyed working on this series and it is one I find myself returning to again and again thinking about different mediums, scale and colour.
STUDIO PRACTICE
My Inspiration
My inspiration comes from a love of the outdoors and searching out our connections to the land. I am lucky to live in such a beautiful part of Scotland where there are beautiful coastal areas as well as endless woods and mountains to explore.
My practice is process driven in that it is only by working with the materials that my ideas develop. I take lots of photographs, make drawings, explore with printmaking, collage and mixed media.
Below are some of the pieces I recently created in my studio.
I often start by playing with materials, maybe trying a new technique or a different set of colours or even working on top of old work. Working with uncertainty, although terrifying, does support the creative process. It feeds a need to look for new ways to express my responses to the environment. I like to work in a series which helps to develop the work. I paint with acrylics because I find them versatile and they work well with other media.
Recently I have returned to painting and work intuitively to create images which are often abstract expressions of my observations and inner world. These images are unearthed slowly through a process of continually applying paint, scraping back, and reapplying until eventually something (hopefully) magical, surfaces amid the history and traces of what has gone before.
I have enjoyed experimenting with monoprints and collage and love the way that I can develop the images through layering and mixing techniques. Often I find myself reaching for the sewing machine, using it as a drawing tool and feel that it gives a special quality to my drawing and markmaking.
‘The important thing is to create. Nothing else matters; creation is all.’ Pablo Picasso
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Thank you for your interest in my work. For further information or any queries please contact me at the email address below.
You can also find me on instagram.
07379332990
