Janice Mason Steeves

The Way 20x21" oil on panel ©2018 Janice Mason Steeves There are a lot of us out there who have come to art later in life. My workshops are filled with women (mostly) who are between the ages of 50 and 75 (The baby boom generation). Probably most are between 60 and 75. And what interesting people they are! They bring their life experiences with them to their art––their heartaches, joys, achievements, worries, and gratitude. And they are, for the most part, committed artists. They are embracing art like it's finally their time. It's what they've been waiting their whole lives to do. They come with their souls on fire. "and there was a new voice  which you slowly recognized as your own,  that kept you company as you strode deeper and deeper into the world, determined to do the only thing you could do–– determined to save the only life you could save. " The Journey by Mary Oliver  It doesn't matter how old you are if you have passion for

Of the Camino  3  20x21"  Oil/earthen pigments on panel In the workshop I recently taught in Spain, I gave a slide show where I presented a survey of my work from the past 12 years of my 35 year art career. I hadn't seen the slide show for a while. The last time I'd presented it was for a talk at a public gallery a few years ago in conjunction with my show.  It's a good exercise to look at the development over time of your work now and again. I realized again how important place is in my work. Place and light. Both. And travel. Of the Camino 1  8x40" Oil/earthen pigment on panel  While I love coming home, I equally love to travel as you might know from my recent introduction of Workshops in Wild Places . I expect my work will continue to grow and change as I travel to the various places where I've organized workshops. Connecting to place is something that's done with the heart. Not all places resonate with my heart. I'm happy to see t