We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jane Theodore a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jane, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

I have had a creative career, in various iterations, for most of my adult life. My training is in graphic design and I have worked in that sector for many years, starting out as a designer and illustrator and then moving into management. (Deleted the sentence here, as it is duplicated below.) I also started an e-comm fine art stationery business, from which I learned a great deal about retail.

But I exclusively focused my attention on painting in 2013, and absolutely, I wish I had started sooner. I still have so much to learn!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I create gestural abstract paintings on wood panels and, occasionally, canvas. As is the case with most creative people, I have been making art since I was a child. I live in Toronto, Canada, but my formative years were spent in a small northern farming community on the Canadian prairies. The flat landscape and expansive sky continue to influence my work.

My interest in art led to commercial art training in college and ultimately a career in design management. I also made art for myself and had success with a series of hand-painted serigraphs based on my illustrations. Represented by Progressive Fine Art (Toronto), the prints are in private and corporate collections internationally and were published by Verkerke Reprodukties, N. V., of Holland. In 2013, I shifted my focus to concentrate exclusively on abstraction.

I relish the physicality of painting. My intention is to create work that expresses movement and energy, reflective of my whole-body approach to creation. My paintings have been exhibited in Canada, the US, and Portugal. My work is included on the Collections Canada website Women Artists in Canada, and in numerous private collections throughout North America and Europe. I am represented by Muse Gallery (Toronto, Canada) and Jones Gallery (Saint John, Canada).

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I have concentrated my social media efforts on Instagram. In the beginning, Instagram was a pristine platform – a clean, minimal interface showcasing beautiful photos. Recent changes to the platform have made it more challenging to gain followers and create a presence. But I have had a reasonable amount of success on the platform, and despite the changes, it remains my focus.

Initially, I did a great deal of research. I searched for people and businesses whose work and careers I admired, and looked at the content on their pages. What kind of information were they sharing? What was the tone of their posts? How did they present their work? This gave me ideas for my own approach. And then I experimented until I found a style that was comfortable for me.

My advice is to post regularly – at least three times a week – and engage with your followers. Reply to every comment. Thank people for taking the time to comment on your work. Experiment. Social media requires patience and consistency – you will build your audience one follower at a time.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

The wonderful thing about a fine art practice is I create for myself. Creation is a very personal journey, and I have the freedom to explore and make what interests me.

But it is also work, and I find people are surprised to learn that not every creative day is enjoyable. It can be very frustrating when a painting is slow to realize, or just doesn’t work, no matter what I do!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.janetheodore.com
• Instagram: @janethodoreartist
• Facebook: @janethodoreartist
• Twitter: @janetheodore

Image Credits
N/A – all the images were taken by me.