Jane Maclean

Being a painter was always part of Jane’s plan. She knew what she wanted to say with her images. For years now, she has been living this dream. She loves to capture and preserve elements of history, and the stories they tell, as they stand alone, or as they relate to each other.

This connection of art and history was reinforced by her opportunity to be a tour guide for New Mexico’s Senator in our nation’s capitol building. The art and architecture of that place are steeped in the images and stories of the past. Frequent tours to describe these treasures to visitors, furthered her desire to memorialize authentic items that might otherwise never be seen and appreciated.

According to Still Life, A History, by Sybille Ebert-Schifferer, the works of still life painters of the 1500’s were valued by the number of levels of meaning a painting revealed. Serious collectors gave great study to this quality. Jane keeps that thought in mind as she develops her compositions.

Jane works mostly in pastel, sometimes in oil. Her pastel layering technique resembles an oil painting, but has the wonderful characteristic of luminosity. The process of bringing the painting to life absorbs her.

Jane lives and works in New Mexico. Her work has enjoyed recognition and awards. In January 2006 three of her historical still life paintings were unveiled in their permanent home, the rotunda of a New Mexico courthouse. It was a challenging two-year project. In MasterWorks 2007 her “Tea with Catherine” won Best of Show. In winter 2010, her work was a feature of the National League of American Pen Women magazine. Jane’s work has also served as cover art. Her image "A New View of the Moon" will soon appear on a Chinese translation of the original scientific book, New Views of the Moon. "Sound of the Dance", her latest award-winning painting was featured in the November 2010 National Pastel Painting Exhibition in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Jane is a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of New Mexico, and the President of the Yucca Branch of the National League of American Pen Women. NLAPW was organized in 1897 in Washington D.C. for professional women in Art, Letters, and Music.

Locally her work can be seen in her studio/gallery in Albuquerque, and at Rose’s Pottery House in Bernalillo, New Mexico.