Jane Kell is a colourist who pushes the boundary with colour and form to achieve a semi-abstract quality in her work. She uses oils and works ‘alla prima’ painting directly onto the canvas with no preliminary drawing. Working initially with thinned down paints to map out the space, and then applying thicker impasto layers of paint to build up the picture. She uses rags soaked with turps to wipe off sections of paint and create movement on the canvas and enjoys the tactile, physical quality of the paint and spontaneity of this method.
Sometimes a painting might be finished in one session, other times it might go through many stages and rethinks over several days. Her aim is to reduce the painting to essential elements. Often choosing to leave a section of the canvas unfinished or removing details that seemed significant at the beginning. These decisions are instinctive and spontaneous and can result in paintings changing dramatically during the process. She enjoys the push and pull of this method and not knowing how a painting will look on completion.
The effect of light on water and the colours in nature are recurring themes in her work. Since 2017 she has worked on a series of 'Pool' paintings and she enjoys the colors and abstract shapes which they present allowing her to combine key figurative elements into work with a strong abstract sensibility