A Painter’s Path

Written By: Donna Rhodes | Issue: 2015/04 - April

Artist Janet Curtis has lived the island life we’ve have all dreamed about.

“In the ‘90s I moved from the States to Green Turtle Key in the Bahamas,” she says. “I opened a mini-resort of three houses built around tropical trees. They each had beautiful vistas of sun and sea. Resources were limited, so I had to be creative.”

At that time there was no Internet — bookings were conducted via letter. On one of Janet’s trips back from the states she brought paints to create murals on the walls: ocean scenes, palm trees over the beds, island life in all its colorful glory.

She wanted to make otherwise drab interiors pop with eye-catching scenery.

“After the walls were decorated, I painted local flora and fauna on the bed linens and towels,” she says. “Bright colored hibiscus gave the rentals a special flair. At one point I took thin plywood on which I painted big fish. I put them on the cupboards, swimming across the kitchen to create movement and eye appeal.” Then she painted the furniture. Virtually anything that didn’t move got painted.

After Janet did that for a few years, her architect husband bought a sailboat and they set out to sea, exploring the Caribbean. Space may have been limited in the cottages, but painting space was virtually non-existent on the boat.

She says, “I pared down to a box of watercolors and a couple of brushes.”

That’s when she started doing sea turtles, sunsets, and seascapes.

Eventually they sold the boat and moved to Western North Carolina. She loves it here.

“The lighting in the forest is just magical, it’s an artist’s paradise and a place to stay for a great while,” she says.

Janet never runs out of surfaces on which to paint. When her husband constructed a breezeway in their mountain home, she salvaged the lumber scraps and began painting them with acrylics. Living on a boat taught her the fine art of preserving wood against the elements, so she started varnishing her images for display out-of-doors. She’s still waiting for that idea to catch fire, but she and friends have had works hanging outside for years and they still look fabulous.

Subjects may have shifted from hibiscus to sunflowers or tulips, sea turtles to bears or wild turkeys, but Janet brought the island color palette home with her. It casts a new glow on the old familiar.

While she has plenty of finished creations to choose from, she is available to discuss wall painting commissions and other dazzlements for your home and garden.

To see more of Janet’s work, visit Smitten Gallery on US 64 East in Highlands from 5:30 P.M. until on Thursday, April 16, where she’ll be featured artist of the month. Call Smitten at (828) 526-9300 or e-mail Katherine Evans at: [email protected]. Gallery hours during season are Monday through Saturday 11:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M.; Sundays from 1:00 to 5:00 P.M.; with extended hours on Third Thursdays. Janet’s email is [email protected].