Emotional expression through the art of painting has allowed Janice Tayler to continue performing on a stage, so to speak. An injury required her to segue from her 30-year career as a professional dancer to something new that would still allow her to express herself but use her body in a different way. That’s when the canvas became her stage.
“When I discovered painting, it felt to me like a continuation of dance,” Tayler said. “It was like performing on a stage but using different tools. I realized it was similar to some of that, and I was constructing a stage. It was quite an eye-opening experience.”
She moved from Quebec, Canada, to Olalla with her husband, Max Frazee, 12 years ago. The scenery, especially the waterways here, have made an impact on Tayler’s work.
In her early childhood, Tayler spent most of her free time outdoors. The lure of nature, tilling a garden and examining the dirt, rocks and the colors and textures of vegetables that she harvested in her family garden fascinated her.
Dance had been her first, preferred method of expression. Tayler said that after her injury, she felt that she still had a lot to say. As an artist, Tayler knew she wanted to share her inner feelings, things that move her and her view and interpretation of the world. She had to find a different way to convey those thoughts and emotions, so she began to explore other mediums of creativity.
“I thought I’d be more drawn to sculpture,” Tayler said, “but it was too process-oriented, and painting is immediate. The expression can come out more quickly, and I work very quickly.”
Tayler earned a degree in painting from Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. She brought her fascination with those textures in the garden of her youth to her newfound passion of painting abstract, colorful images, and found that painting allowed her to communicate what she was feeling.
Her pieces play with a combination of nature and urban elements, like dilapidated bridges and abandoned structures that are in various stages of disintegration. Tayler conveys a contrast of soft and hard visual elements, textures and abstract scenes with a palette of both strong and muted color combinations. She plays with elements of hope and loss.
“In a lot of my work, I have architectural images, abandoned structures falling down, and I like to juxtapose these with nature,” she said. “One is decaying and one is growing, the hopeful with the loss or abandoned. It’s a metaphor for our life, but hopefully the healing will take over.”
Some of her inspiration comes from peers. Gallery visits, observations of natural elements while on nature walks, fun with friends, laughter and good music are also important to her.
While creativity may require some flexibility in bringing forth an idea and exactly how to express it, Tayler said her time in the studio is paired with strict discipline. It’s something she brought from her time as a professional dancer into her practice as a painter. Adhering to a set work schedule became second nature for her, so she arrives in her studio to work every day for a minimum of one hour and usually spends at least three.
“I’ve always been pretty disciplined about my work,” Tayler said. “I don’t necessarily know what I’m going to do when I go into the studio.”
Just being there in her studio, among the art tools, is inspirational for her, and she said it brings her peace. However, success requires more than simply painting and being good at it. Preparation for a gallery show in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, has Tayler working on things that have to happen in addition to being creative. She must spend time on marketing and making connections to get her art in places where others will see it. Currently, she is focused on the logistics of packing her canvases in order to prepare them for shipping to the gallery.
Having a studio enables Tayler to leave her unfinished pieces out, so when she has a chance to get back into the studio, she can pick up where she left off.
“Typically, in the studio everything is left out and I come in and decide which piece I’m going to work on, but what I have missed is play time,” she said, referring to her rush to get the pieces in the mail to the gallery. “To just go in and have fun and not worry about the outcome so much, so hopefully I’ll get more time for that.”
Playing around with those ideas, relaxing in the studio filled with canvases, paint brushes and a collection of paint tubes packed with many different colors provides a therapeutic relief from the world. Tayler believes that painting is a tool for healing, a way to lose herself.
“Any anxiety just sort of melts away,” she said. “I would recommend it to anyone to work through things and use it as a meditative practice.”
But, for others who want to make a career of painting, she said it takes a combination of business sense and dedication to the craft.
“You have to want to express something and have a desire to connect your voice with yourself and with the outside world,” she said. “You can become a painter and not necessarily show anything, and if you just want to do it for fun, it’s a great healing tool.”
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