Artist Q & A: Janna Watson

In our new artist Q & A, Toronto based artist Janna Watson talks about her new solo exhibition Elementals and the enduring significance of nature, literature, and a light and playful approach to her iconic gestural abstract works.
Elementals opens on February 15 at Bau-Xi Vancouver and runs through February 2, 2025.


Janna Watson, Angel in the Angle. Mixed Media on Panel, 60 x 60 in.



1. The natural elements of stone, water and wind are the focus of your new exhibition Elementals, as lyrically described in the quote you cited by 20th century Irish poet and author John O’Donoghue (1956-2008). What drew you to them, and how did the qualities of these particular elements manifest in your paintings?  

I have recently listened to John O‘Donoghue’s talk called The Inner Landscape.  The talk was so beautiful it brought me to tears.  He speaks about the love of his native landscapes and weaves together a tapestry of beautifully evoked images.  The way he paints with words inspired the feelings I have about the natural environment I am surrounded by which inspired this body of work.     

 Janna Watson, Undercurrent. Mixed Media on Panel, 40 x 60 in.

 
2. I can imagine your dynamic gestures with your brush moving like a river, as in O’Donoghue’s statement “I would love to live like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding.” Is this the idea behind your selection of this quote, and can you elaborate on how it applies?

I am one of those people who finds it difficult to sit and meditate. Painting for me is a meditation and this is when I feel most at ease and peaceful.  The way I paint is not premeditated.  I choose my palette, envision with my mind's eye the composition and then I enter the work from a place of openness and playfulness.  I feel like I become equal to my materials and find the unfolding of the work often surprising and delightful. 



 Janna Watson, Spirit Flows Down the Middle of the Page. Mixed Media on Panel, 52 x 80 in.


3. You often reference writers and poets in your artist statements – how important are the literary arts to your practice and what role do they play for you? 

I love words and I love poetry even more.    When I hear beautiful language it creates imagery to me.  I think the goal in poetry is to create a painting in someone's mind, and the goal of painting is to inspire poetry.  To paint a poem and to write a painting is to invoke layers of understanding and depth to the piece of work. 

 Janna Watson, A Wild and Crackly Sound Like A Rock Sneezing. Mixed Media on Panel, 60 x 60 in.

 
4. You’ve stated that these new paintings express the unspoken language of nature. Does the idea of a non-verbal, spiritual language translate into your artistic choices and the way you engage with materials?  

As much as I love words, I also love what happens between words.  Often language is not enough to express the spiritual feelings we experience in nature.  I grew up Pentecostal and was taught how to speak in tongues from a very young age.  It is considered a language of angels which bypasses the logical mind as a wordless utterance of the spirit.  I am no longer Pentecostal but this understanding of bypassing words as a way of prayer and gratitude has come with me in my spiritual practice.  John O’Donoghue said “silence is nature’s poetry.” I feel that deeply.  

Janna Watson, Sweet Speak. Mixed Media on Panel, 36 x 48 in. 
  
 
5. Your process involves painting with your panels flat on the ground as opposed to on the wall or on an easel. How does this fluidity in both creation and presentation affect the nature of the work itself and the viewer's interaction with it?  

I paint flat on the ground because I manipulate water and it allows me to work on the piece from all angles to maintain balance in the composition.  I often feel my own sense of gravity in a painting but I encourage the viewer to find their own gravity in the movements of the painting.  I have been told some viewers turn their piece on a regular basis.  I love this creative collaboration with my clients within their own sacred spaces.



The artist in her Toronto studio.
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