Biography
The following is paraphrased from a write-up by Paula Martiesian, a Providence-based artist and curator of an exhibit of Rhode Island contemporary artists to he held at the BankRI Turks Head Galleries in December 2013. (See the Events/Venues page for details ).
MEET THE ARTIST – JANE BASSMAN
When Jane Bassman was a small girl growing up in Falls Church, Virginia, her grandmother sent her a framed reproduction of a painting by Franz Marc. Marc was one of the key figures in the German Expressionist movement and his vibrant paintings sing with strong, luminous colors. The painting of brilliant blue horses hung in her bedroom for years, coloring her dreams and influencing the budding artist.
Several years later and many miles from that bedroom, Bassman is still attracted to rich saturated color. Her paintings of still lives and landscapes ring with glowing reds, greens and yes, blues. They proclaim a lifelong addiction to color.
"I really do like color," Bassman explains. "I'm interested in the edges where one color meets another and trying to understand the transitions."
Bassman is no stranger to transitions. Four days a week she works as a physician assistant for an orthopedic group in Boston. Friday she comes home to Providence to shed the stress of 12-hour workdays and spends her long weekends painting. Her studio could be the dining room, or perhaps the back porch. When the cold weather and holidays arrive, she moves downstairs to the basement. Anywhere in the house is fair game for a canvas and brush.
"So my house isn’t clean," says Bassman. What it is, is full of paintings. She likes to look at her paintings while they are in progress, hanging them on the walls so she can see them at different times of day in different kinds of light. It helps her work out any problems she might have.
Bassman graduated with a degree in English from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA and then attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts for three years. She has a Masters in Computer Science Education and another in Physician Assistant Studies from Acadia University. Bassman arrived in Rhode Island in 2001 when her husband Bill accepted a job transfer. She thought she could balance a part time job with her painting. It has, however, been difficult to balance the two.
For now, she works hard and paints with fervor. Her paintings are still lives, portraits, or series of landscapes, waterscapes and street scenes from around the Providence area. In most cases the paint is heavily applied and has a sculptural quality. The color is all encompassing rich contrasting colors butting up against each other and still managing to achieve a luscious harmony.