Janice Mason Steeves has been a full-time painter for over 25 years. Painting in oil on birch panels, her personal style is characterized by a strong sense of composition and the use of light combined with a love of pattern and texture.

Graduating with an MA in Clinical Psychology from the University of Manitoba, she held Clinical and School Psychology positions in Manitoba and Ontario before leaving the field to focus on painting. Further studies were completed at the Ontario College of Art and Design where she graduated with an Honours Diploma in Drawing and Painting and was the recipient of the Nora E. Vaughan Award. She has exhibited annually in solo and group exhibitions across Canada and in the U.S. for 25 years. Her work is included in numerous corporate and public collections both in Canada and internationally including, among others, The Government of Ontario Art Collection, The Schulich School of Business, York University, CIBC World Markets, London, First Gulf, Intrawest Corporation and the Senvest Collection. Janice is represented by five Canadian galleries. Her home and studio are in the country outside of Guelph, Ontario Canada. 

ABOUT MY WORK

My work is a celebration of life. I’m interested in the concept of a personal quest like the mythological search for Shambhala or the Holy Grail -- the inner search for meaning, peace and wholeness -- and the idea of pilgrimage -- a transformational journey to a sacred center. Inspired by the various travels and pilgrimages I have taken, I search for the essence of the journey, or the “Spirit of Place” and aim to find an image or symbol that would express that Spirit. In doing so, I remain open to the Muse, to the unexpected ideas that come to me and I delight in exploring new directions. I rely on intuition to lead the way. 

Later travels took me twice to India, where I learned about the sacred lotus and its importance in Hinduism and Buddhism. Although I never saw lotuses growing in India, I did see lotus buds that were presented as offerings to Shiva at temples in the south of India. When I came home from India, I was interested to learn where I might see lotus growing in Canada, and I contacted a garden writer at the Toronto Star newspaper to ask for assistance. She put me in touch with the owner of a private water garden on Lake Erie and the friendly gardener invited me to visit his pond the following summer.

I was absolutely stunned when I visited this garden and saw the lotuses in bloom. I had no idea of the size of the flowers or their spectacular beauty and I fell in love with the ‘Mrs. Perry D. Slocum’ variety. I have a long-standing interest in peonies, particularly tree peonies. I had travelled to China and Tibet (on another form of pilgrimage), in search of wild tree peonies and had also visited and photographed the spectacular collection of tree peonies at Linwood Gardens near Rochester, NY USA. I was taken with the resemblance of this particular lotus to the blowsy look and enormous size of the tree peonies.

I don’t know where this lotus/waterlily pilgrimage passion will lead, but with something like 325 water gardens on the Water Gardeners International list, I’d better get going!

Janice at Jardin Majorelle,
Marakesh, Morocco