Landscapes as metaphors for women who refuse to be confined.

I’m Jan, and I’m a painter whose work celebrates women who live boldly, wildly, and without restrictions.

Growing up in the countryside, I was surrounded by open skies, wide fields, and the freedom to rely on my own strength. That environment shaped me deeply, teaching me resilience, independence, and self-reliance. But it also confronted me with the weight of expectations about what a woman’s role “should” be.

From an early age, I resisted those limitations. I pulled in a different direction, choosing boldness over conformity, strength over passivity, and freedom over restriction.

That resistance has never left me. It lives in my art.

For me, landscapes aren’t just scenery, they are metaphors. Each painting is an exploration of wildness, expansiveness, and possibility. Every brushstroke celebrates women who face fear and do it anyway, who say fuck you to stereotypes, and who claim their space unapologetically.

My work is here as both a celebration and invitation. For those who already live boldly, it says: I see you. For those still finding their way, it whispers: You can.

 

Artistic Process Statement

My process begins with immersion in the landscape, walking, observing, and sketching to absorb the textures, rhythms, and expansiveness of the natural world. I’m less interested in literal representation and more in capturing the feeling of wildness and freedom that the land holds.

In the studio, I work with layered brushstrokes, bold colour contrasts, and expressive marks that reflect the energy of open space. I often push against balance and harmony, deliberately allowing tension, irregularity, and rawness to remain on the canvas. These qualities echo the resistance and defiance that underpin my themes.

For me, painting is an act of embodiment. The physical gestures, the layering of paint, and the decisions to leave some marks raw or unfinished all become metaphors for living without restriction. Each work is both a landscape and a declaration, a space where untamed freedom is made visible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2025 - Selected for The Other Art Fair, London.

2025 - Longlisted for VAA Artist of the Year.

2024 - Longlisted for Women in Art Prize.

2024 - Accepted as a wild card on Landscape Artist of the Year.

2023 - One of her works, High Tarn, was selected for the RBA Bicentennial Exhibition at the Mall Galleries.