INTERVIEW: Janet Ledoux | Ogunquit Art Association (OAA) Showcase Artist - Barn Gallery

Janet Ledoux is an Ogunquit Art Association member-artist (Painter) and one of our 6 Showcase Artists at Barn Gallery for the 2023 Season.

Ledoux’s Showcase at Barn Gallery will run from August 9th – September 9th, 2023 with an Opening Reception on Saturday, August 19th (from 4PM – 7:30PM) and a Gallery Talk (along with Painter, Anne Strout) on Thursday, August 17th, at 6 PM.

Learn more about the Barn Gallery 2023 Schedule: barngallery.org/2023-season

featured image above: Janet Ledoux; Darrow’s Barn 3 (detail); 14 x 18″.

Continue reading below for some excerpts from a discussion we had with Janet Ledoux about her background and work.

What is the theme of the body of work will you be exhibiting in your showcase?

The title of my showcase is “Begin Again.” As 2020 arrived, I was in the process of building a house in Jefferson, Maine, on a lake not far from the Atlantic. As the Pandemic surged, my husband and I scrambled to finish the house and move while he retired. I was surprised to find my painting process upended by this onrush of change, and I took a breath and stopped working while I figured out how to begin again. These paintings are some of the art I have made as I slowly regained my path as a painter. They are art of the space all around me, my new studio, my new landscape, and my new life.

Can you talk a little bit about your process?

I paint in oil directly from life, often outdoors, editing the many details into a simpler and more powerful whole. Although the work can vary from direct perceptual painting to a more markedly abstracted approach, the idea of something observed and distilled is always there.The subject is often the light, the geometry in boulders and trees, the language of color, movement, or people and our interaction with the world. I use oil paints for most of my paintings. Oil allows for more editing, layering, and altering as I rework a painting. I search for clarity by simplifying the subject to communicate through the language of paint.

Can you tell us about a few of the artists who have inspired your own creative journey?

I have been influenced and aided by so many artists past and present. The art of Fairfield Porter and Lois Dodd continues to resonate for me, among many others.

And where can people learn more about you and the work you create?

They can visit my website janetledoux.com to see more work and a more complete artist bio.