Jane Dalton is an unexpected sort of artist. In the first place she never planned to be one. So, when you meet her, it’s a surprise to discover her work has been Jerwood Drawing Prize short-listed.
Leaving school, she read Law at UCL for a while, but left to pursue a career in sales and marketing and start a family. Always able to draw, it wasn’t until she was in her forties that her thoughts finally turned to the possibility of changing direction and questioning her creative muse.
A foundation course at Central Saint Martins was followed by a BA in Drawing at Camberwell College of Art and Design. Whilst in her final year there (2008) she was shortlisted for The Jerwood Drawing Prize* and has had work exhibited in Durham, Cheltenham, Winchester, Bury St Edmunds and in London, including at The Jerwood Gallery and at The Affordable Art Fair (sold out).
She now lives in both London and Kent, where she works primarily on paper, with pen and ink, charcoal and graphite.
*now known as The Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
My drawings emerge slowly. They are an accumulation of marks that explore replication, variation and the nature of perfection. Each mark is meditative and considered. They can be words, but more often a simple dot or line. These small, “quiet” movements transform the surface of my paper into something complex yet universal.
The importance of the slow, physical process is fundamental to my work. Carefully repeated movements reveal tiny variations. These minute differences create unique optical effects. Every small variation attests to the fallibility of the human hand and the elusive nature of perfect repetition.
Overall and most of all I want my work to offer a rhythmic visual experience. Although my drawings seem to reflect the the natural world they also are simply just their own thing. I observe and explore the universal patterns that are present around us – the microscopic and the monumental. The ambiguity of scale is, I hope, intriguing.
THE GRANULARITY CONUNDRUM
Jane creates her work painstakingly. A highly close up and personal process – point by point, mark by mark, word by word, line by line. It is as extraordinarily granular as it is remarkable.
It is virtually impossible to see the detail online, even on a big screen. Please look at Jane’s Gallery where you can expand the images. But to see the real ethereal numinoustic majesty of the work you need to arrange to come and meet Jane in her South West London studio. Contact details are at the bottom of the page.
COMMISSIONS
Depending on her creative load Jane is normally able to create bespoke pieces. Contact her using the detail at the bottom of the page.
STUDIO VISITS – COLLECTORS, GALLERIES & MEDIA
Jane is happy to invite potential collectors, galleries and media to see her work in her South West London studio by arrangement.