hArtist’s Statementg

Jane Madson McCabe

I am a representational painter, who paints for two reasons: because I want to symbolize something, or, to express my joy in capturing some of the beauty of nature.

Though I didn’t plan it this way, these reasons have lead me to paint in two different styles. The paintings in which I make a statement or “tell a story” are usually large oil paintings and are somewhat surreal; the paintings simply for the joy of nature are small and are most often water colors. Some of these are “atmospheric,” scenes at night, dusk or dawn, or when it’s raining, foggy or snowing.

Some of my large paintings show apocalyptic scenes. The first apocalyptic painting I painted in 1967! It’s called appropriately The Apocalypse. I was painting a lot then and this painting just happened! I tend to refer to it as “the flying chicken painting,” because the chicken a woman was carrying to the table for her husband’s dinner has slipped from its platter and is air-born.  Something cataclysmic is happening that is represented by the storm outside. Years later, in 1996, I painted The Rapture, which shows a woman levitating while she’s cooking dinner. The Last Supper shows the heartbreak and strife of a dysfunctional family while da Vinci’s The Last Supper hands on their wall in the background.

Humor is an important element in my work, but it is usually understated.

The artists whose work I most admire are Edward Hopper, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, and Velazquez. My favorite paintings are Rousseau’s The Sleeping Gypsy, Velazquez’s Las Meninas, all of Rembrandt’s portraits, and Botticelli’s Birth of Venus.

—Jane Madson McCabe

May 1, 2008