My Story

Falling in love with Horses

There’s a reason why so many people fall in love with horses. Horses evoke such powerful emotions in us , an intoxicating cocktail of excitement, passion, deep contentment and joy to name a few.

The sight and silhouette of a horse never fails to catch my attention and open my heart to another world …. I paint for the love of horses, to explore the emotional connection that exists between us and to share the essence of horse energy  through the power of the painting. My paintings capture the spirit and soul of the horse and the joy and sense of freedom that they give me.

Together with my horse Spirit we travel the wild landscape crossing rivers and valleys, lifting our faces to the wind on wide blowy beaches, climbing to the top of the mountain where we stop to rest, absorbing the beauty of the countryside spanning out in front of us.  It’s a magical experience and it’s these adventures in the saddle that inspire me to paint . I want to share these experiences with you and I want my paintings to connect you to your own adventures with horses, the love, the losses and the life spent with them.

Falling in love with Paint

In my painting process I encounter similar challenges with my creative journey as I have with my horsemanship and I’ve become fascinated with the interplay between them and how one informs the other. At the heart of it is energy.

Over the years I have discovered that horses are the most wonderful teachers and will respond accordingly to how you present yourself to them. It’s the same with creativity . And in order to truly harness the essence of horse energy I take the energy and insights I discover from the horse and apply them to my creative practice. My process starts with abstract play , often making textural marks on a plaster base which creates the foundation for future layers of transparent paint and holds the physical marks and impressions from my hand . at this stage I will create the intention for the piece , often choosing at random 3 words from my “box of emotions” which go on to inform the mark-making and colour palette.. From this abstract mess the horse will start to emerge and make his presence known on the panel .  It is a constant process of putting on paint and then taking away, sanding back to reveal unexpected history from previous layers.

Jane Johansson works from her studio in The Cowshed in Lewes, East Sussex where she lives with her family and horses.

After graduating with BA (Hons) in Fashion Design from Central St. Martins she had a successful career in fashion and costume design for Contemporary Dance. and Ballet

As co-owner of Float Glass Design she has created several Public Art Commissions including a large-scale glass art commission for The Natural History Museum.

Jane has exhibited her work  at several prestigious horse events .Her paintings are held privately in the USA and UK and she is a member of The Society of Equestrian Artists.