Frank Janca

 

Still Life with Almond Blossoms and Apples, 2004
oil on linen
40 X 36 inches

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still Life with Gerberas and Oriental Vase
oil on linen
36 X 40 inches

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still Life With Lady Apples and 17th Century French Vase, 2006
oil on canvas
12 X 18 inches

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still Life with Parrot Tulips and Spanish Pot
oil on linen
32 X 30 inches

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still Life with Red and White Roses, 2001
oil on linen
28 X 30 inches

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still Life with Sunflowers and Chinese Teapot , 2006
oil on linen
16 X 20 inches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still Life with Sunflowers and Blue and White Delphiniums, 2004
oil on linen
36 X 40 inches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

White Roses and Oriental Vase, 2005
oil on canvas
24 X 24 inches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Les Vendeurs des Poulets, Paris, 2005
oil on canvas
26 X 26 inches

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time of Lavender
oil on linen
21 1/2 X 28 1/2 inches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Field of Flowers
oil on canvas
12 X 20 inches

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Greenwich Point
oil on canvas
18 X 24 inches

 

 

 

 

 

Frank Janca is a modern-day master in the truest sense. His impressionistic canvases display an emulation of the Baroque and Renaissance Masters married with a refined individual style.  He insists on personal involvement in every aspect of his paintings.  Dissatisfied with the quality of paints commercially available to artists, Janca grinds his pigment by hand and cooks his own oil mediums, similar to the manner of medieval alchemists.  His carefully prepared linen canvases are frequently underpainted in grisaille, a centuries-old technique of painting the forms in grayscale before color is used.  Janca then paints the final image with rich, jeweled colors.  The results of these efforts are luxurious colors now rare in contemporary work and paintings which will remain in the finest condition for generations to come.  The length of a typical painting day for Janca is about 14 hours. Such perseverance has brought Janca’s work to a level reflecting the insight and maturity of a master painter who is recognized as such in the United States and abroad.

 

Born in Bethesda, Maryland in 1953, Janca grew up in Biloxi, Mississippi where he began painting professionally at age 14. At 23, he moved to New York City to pursue formal artistic training at the Art Students League.  There he studied anatomy, perspective and figure drawing under the guidance of Robert Beverly Hale and David Leffel.  He spent countless hours copying Old Masters works at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and became so involved in the great painters’ lives that he began to learn how to make his own paints.  Janca then decided the next step would be for him to travel to Europe to paint en plein aire, and develop his personal style of brushwork and composition.  He found much inspiration in the light and landscape of Southern France, especially the area of Alba in the province of Ardeche, where Van Gogh and Cezanne had painted before him. Janca continues travels to Southern France each summer, where he paints on location and teaches workshops at Moulin de Perrot academy. 

 

In a professional career now spanning more than three decades, Frank Janca’s paintings have been exhibited in New York, California, Mississippi, France, Italy, Holland, Belgium and Japan.  His art and travels have offered him the opportunity on several occasions to be an ambassador of the American art scene to major world cities.  one such honor is the invitation Janca received in 1995 from the President of the European Institute of Cultural Integration to participate in a two-person show of American art in Rome.  Janca’s truly exceptional still lifes, portraits and landscapes are part of numerous public and private collections worldwide.

 

Discussing his life’s passion, Janca credits Spanish painter Velazquez (1590-1660) with being one of his most significant influences.  “Velazquez composed the light so beautifully that he makes you see more colors than he’s actually put down,” he explains.  “Designing the light in the painting is my first concern.”

 

Janca routinely works from life, believing that this enables him to capture the spirit and vitality of the objects, persons or landscapes being painted.  He has cultivated the fine art of balancing an analytical eye for realistic detail with allowing emotional response to the subject matter to be expressed through his painterly style.