Jean Wallace is the Director of Art Education at Studio on the Common. She is an artist-educator with a passion for creating welcoming spaces where people can gather to share in the process of art making.
In her studio practice, Jean is focused on understanding and representing the human experience. She begins with an experience, theme, or concept, followed by time researching and exploring to discover the media and form best suited to express her ideas. A few of the media she has worked with include: photography; encaustic; oil painting; bookmaking; and mixed media.
The paintings highlighted for Art in August are small 6” x 6” oil paintings. For this series, Jean selects ordinary objects and elevates them by painting a traditional portrait using oil paint (cut flowers in a vintage milk glass hobnail vase handed down to her by her mother; the plastic owl that sits atop her partner's boat; or the small plastic rooster that lived in her childhood kitchen). The simplicity of the background allows the objects to be front and center — an invitation to recognize the importance of simple moments and everyday objects!
