“There is something else I used to do as a child” she says, “that has led me to believe that drawing and painting well is less about natural talent and more about a burning desire to practice! As a child, I spent a great deal of time outdoors. This may have been to escape the noisy commotion of four siblings and a dog. At any rate, in the outdoors, lying under a tree, gazing at the peaceful sky was the place you’d find me on a summer’s day or even on a cold snowy winter’s day. I remember constantly shutting one eye and tracing the outline of distant objects with my finger. Because I was so often outside, it was usually a tree branch or a leaf, a flower - anything that stood still. It was not until I took a drawing class in college that I learned that a variation of this technique is used to teach people to draw. I suddenly realized with a slight shock that not everyone naturally does it!”

Janet found an acceptable outlet for her desire to draw when she began formal art training with a private tutor at age eight. Later, she studied art at Nazareth College of Rochester, Southern Connecticut State University and Rhode Island School of Design. She spent eighteen years, while her three sons were growing up, as a part-time free-lance illustrator in pen and ink. In 1994 she began painting in watercolor and fell in love with the medium. “There is something about the flow of watercolors while I am working with them that is exciting. Sometimes the colors mixing on the paper takes my breath away. I can hardly wait to go to my easel in the morning to paint. I always try to paint only things that I have experienced myself and that delight me with their beauty and sense of peace. My paintings start either with a photo I have taken, or a sketch I have done on site; or I start the painting on site and finish it in my studio. I usually don’t need the original reference once the work gets to a certain point. The painting leads me where it wants to go.”

In addition to watercolors, Janet has painted indoor and outdoor nature and garden murals in acrylic for both the public and private sector, designed and painted theatrical sets and backdrops for two full length ballets, and illustrated half a dozen botanical and geologic books for the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection in pen and ink and digital graphics.

Janet’s three sons are grown now and two of them are currently serving in the military. “When my second oldest son went off to war in Iraq, it was one of the most stressful years of my life. Now, he’s getting ready to serve another tour. My faith in God and the support of friends will help me through this challenging time. I am proud of my boys for serving their country, and following their dreams, but, as any parent of a soldier knows, it can be tremendously difficult at times.”

Janet's love of the outdoors continues to this day.  She finds a certain peace in nature that is evident in her work.  She spends much of her free time walking in the woods or at the beach, mountain climbing and gardening or painting  in her studio gardens.