Abbott, Natalie

July 2021 Artist of the Month

Each month in 2021 – The Year of the Artist, a different arts category will be highlighted with an artist in that field being celebrated as the Artist of the Month. 

This month the Arts Council recognizes Jan French, a self-taught mixed media artist. She grew up in El Paso, Texas as the middle child of a very artistic family. Her mother was a watercolorist and oil painter. Her father, a builder and a woodcarver of carousel horses. Her two brothers painted and owned an art framing company.

Being creative in many areas became second nature to Jan as she watched and learned from all the creative pursuits going on around her within her family. Jan founded a gift business in her twenties that grew to twelve employees and sold to accounts worldwide. She received the “Business Woman of the Year” at the young age of 24.

In 1979, Jan moved to Colorado. There, she founded a second art-related business making jewelry from handmade paper. She showed at many juried shows and won numerous awards. Jan then broadened her talents by opening an interior design studio. She worked on many model homes and commercial projects and won the “MAME Award” for excellence in model home design. 

After many years as an interior designer and antique dealer, she returned to art and started making assemblages and mixed media paintings. Her artwork can be found in hospitals, hotels, and private collectors. She is currently showing work in the Arts Council Gallery July show titled Playful Boundaries.