Janis Sanders – New Work, Same Voice

Summer Sail I by Janis Sanders Summer Sail II by Janis Sanders

“Man’s integration with and interdependence with nature was clear to me at an early age with the immersion in the agricultural environment a stone’s throw from home. This gave me an early foundation and appreciation for the bounties that surround us in the natural environment.”

Janis Sanders has always found his inspiration from the outside world and how it interacts with man and the objects we build. His stunning use of sky and light combined with structures and vessels has become his signature.

He explains it best when he said, “My self-assigned task for each work, is to convey the ethereal ‘thing’ of light in the paint, as the sun casts its breath on the world, a definite sky and subsequent horizon line define space. Each painting for me begins with the sky, it is like a curtain that is the backdrop for a vast stage.”

Side Street by Janis Sanders

For Sanders, each series of paintings develop a personality of their own, which really cannot be directed, he sees it happen in front of his eyes as he paints through the body of work. “There are a path and direction that develop—it can be a new gesture or color or both, in combination or separately, or a new way of describing familiar territory.”

With this said, Sanders’ new body of work represents what we know and love about his style as we know it, while taking it in a different, unexpectedly delightful direction.

“When I was at Mass College of Art, I was already developing my own voice. I definitely wanted to and put a conscious emphasis on developing my own way of expression,” says Sanders. “ I never want to re-iterate a style that someone else had developed and expressed exquisitely.”

Light From a Cottage by Janis Sanders

Sanders has kept this voice but has added to it, still keeping it very much his own. “One of the Impressionists is said to have said that in order to become a good painter, paint miles and miles of canvas,” shares Sanders. “I believe every painter and artist of any nature ultimately is self-taught. The best educations give the artist the tools, the fundamentals, and vocabulary to best express their intention. But the path, the personal volitional development, and evolution of their own voice comes from within, all driven by the mystery of an invisible force far beyond.”

Winter River by Janis Sanders

We welcome you to stop by and visit Janis Sanders’s entire collection. Our February hours are Thursday – Monday 10 am to 5 pm. As always you can see his works by clicking here, Janis Sanders – Artist Page or read more from Janis himself by clicking here Janis Sanders – Artists Insights and Stories.