Jane Ferdinando

Jane is a contemporary artist based in Kent/East Sussex working in charcoal, oil and watercolour. With no formal training, she is mainly self taught, but has enhanced her knowledge attending workshops and courses, and has studied portraiture under both Nick Bashall and Gareth Reid at Ashbrooke House in Northern Ireland. Jane loves experimenting with different techniques in her studio at home, she was first inspired to paint in 2014 after the passing of her Mum, who was a botanical artist, feeling a closeness to her through art, and since then has known that art is her calling.


Jane is drawn to portraiture, she finds it an emotional experience, connecting with her subject. Whilst she enjoys working from life, this is often not possible and will then work from photographs. Jane focuses on choosing and capturing a natural expression for that particular person, and uses sensitivity and softness to bring the subject to life.


Jane also loves to paint scenes from nature, wildlife, flowers and landscapes, using an expressive style and when using colour, often uses a limited palette along with a strong light source to bring interest to her works. She seeks to achieve a work that gives a sense of moment in time, a feeling of expression, of thought, of joy, whatever her subject.


Jane finds inspiration from the simple joys of life and using mindfulness to enjoy them all the more. Sketchbooks record these moments which she can then use to inform a painting at a later date.