JAN TERVONEN

Jan grew up in a Finnish-American family in a small town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan surrounded by the beauty of Lake Superior. She was taught the values of simplicity, organization and a good pun. She graduated from Michigan Technological University and was a software professional by trade.

She spent her earlier life as an artist wannabe living in such places as upstate New York and Paris before settling in Seattle over 30 years ago. After many years as a successful commercial software executive, she found another passion to augment her creativity — watercolor painting.

Jan has developed a minimalistic abstract style with a droll sense of humor representative of her Finnish-American roots. Her paintings have been featured in numerous solo and group shows in the Pacific Northwest including the Edmonds Arts Festival Foundation Gallery, Lynnwood Convention Center, Kirkland Library, Overlake Hospital in Bellevue, the city of Renton’s Carco Theatre, and Pratt Fine Arts Center.

Jan was the winner of the William Radcliffe Studio Challenge Award at Kirkland Arts Center’s REDUX Auction, and is a past recipient of the Vascovitz Family Scholarship for Drawing and Painting at the Pratt Fine Arts Center.

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“I am a modern abstract artist who works primarily with mixed watermedia. My pieces are combinations of bold colors, brushstrokes, and simplified flat shapes collaged onto each piece. These elements create a visual experience often evoking a wry smMy inspiration is born from a passion for Mid-century Modern and Japanese art and their common threads with Finnish aesthetics using limited line and color, and simplicity of design.”

— Jan Tervonen