Janette Dye

Born in England, 1962, Janette grew up in a quaint village on the outskirts of the industrial NW city of Manchester, amongst thriving contrasts of the working class and the privileged. These were strong influences from an early age with their constant change in movement, growth and vitality.  

It was at this early age that Janette persisted she should be allowed to take instruction from the world renown English painter, Harold Riley.  Although she was considered  too young to be in the class, Mr.Riley allowed her to join after seeing her passion for art and thus began the start of a lifelong dream.

In later years through painting with Riley, Janette was exposed to the works of his mentor L.S. Lowry. Lowrys’ paintings depict the strained moods of those Northern factories and their laborers, to which Janette could relate

to because of passed down family history. He was  capable of capturing the overpowering weariness in the emotions of the workers and the factories, through strong stylized forms.This made her even more excited about the potential of a single painted line, which in turn led to her exploration in abstract art. 

These images soon began to influence her approach on everyday living, “As each painting has a new beginning so we too can experience something new every day.”

As of recently, Mr Riley had this to say to her.

“Dear Janette.

Thank you for your very interesting letter. I remember buile hill park and the lessons i gave. I did it out of love without payment for 16 years and i so often hear from people who studied there as you did and that time is amongst my happiest memories. Of course, if ever you come over this way, please Janette, be in touch. I wish you every success and happiness in your life. As ever. Harold Riley”

 During her time at art College in Manchester, she mainly worked with charcoal where her emphasis was on the ‘negative’ space. The lack of color emphasised the shape and size of the line and sensibility.

“Life is for living, not just existing.”

This is the mantra that Janette bases her life on. ” Not to just  go through mundane daily motions  but to experiment and do something out of the ordinary”

Now in the U.S. Janette has combined her earlier life experiences from the UK. to begin her new creative direction here.

Balance and simplicity is at the heart of Janettes’ work. She is at her boldest when she seduces the viewer with her dynamic composition and color sensitivity to create a unique visual vocabulary

“Life is for Living, not just Existing, it’s the same as abstract painting. Each blank canvas is a ‘new day’ where every brush stroke is filled with unpredictable excitement, spilling over with spontaneity, nothing anticipated or obvious, yet is able to balance the feelings that don’t disturb the viewer,alternately, add a sense of curiosity and objectivity.”

In the last few years, Janette has been very fortunate to work with artists such as DOWNS who was mentored by Karl Benjamin and Frederick Hammersley.

Each of these situations has provided her with a deeper insight towards her exploration of abstaction.