Jane hadn't painted since high school. She's now a full-time artist with her own gallery.

Welcome to Mamamia’s art endeavour, the Voulez-Vous Project. Every week we celebrate emerging artists, designers, illustrators, creators and women who knit using their vaginas. (Kidding. Maybe.) Our aim: to help the internet become a slightly more beautiful, captivating, or thought-provoking place by making art accessible. To find out more about the Voulez-Vous project, click here. Click here to see all the previous Voulez-Vous posts.

By ELISSA RATLIFF

It is a truth universally acknowledged that colour can make life that extra bit better.

A splash, a dab or a giant painting can not only impact a person’s day – it can also make any room better.

Such is the case with Jane Donaldson’s artworks. Bright, vivid and captivating.

Based in Queensland, Jane finds inspiration everywhere. But she believes the real trick is being able to see it.

“Because many of my paintings centre around relationships between people and people and animals – my family and friendships and our animals provide constant snapshots of connecting and holding and tending; images from my dreams find their way into my sketchbooks; stories and snippets of phrases and words generate paintings in my mind if I sit still – learning to be in the quiet and push past the chatter to the stillness is a skill that I’m honing.”

“Words are really important – sometimes I catch phrases from songs or conversations that I listen to and collect them on my blackboard door in the studio and oh, music – the rhythm and poetry and beat flow in and around all my paintings – they affect how fast I paint and what type of brushstrokes I use.”

All of this can be seen throughout Jane’s fantastic work. Take a look:

Suprisingly, Jane only picked up her paintbrush in 2006 after her youngest daughter went to school.

“A friend asked me to exhibit with her in a small rural gallery. Having not painted since high school meant it was a bit of a leap into the unknown but finding some kid-free time on my hands allowed me to begin thinking about what type of art I’d like to create if I could. I took up the challenge and I started playing and experimenting.”

Seven years later Jane and her husband Ben opened up their very own gallery ‘Jane Donaldson Art Gallery.’

Jane and her husband Ben.

“We work out of our home office and studio on our hobby farm near Warwick in Queensland. I now spend the majority of my time working through commissions as well as creating original pieces available for purchase online. We also invested in a large format printer an produce archival quality prints of my paintings which we sell through our website: www.janedonaldsonartgallery.com”

But her favourite part? Learning about the people who buy her work.

“I love learning about my clients – peeking into other families and lives and getting to know really interesting, genuine and delightful people who love colourful expression and visual storytelling as much as I do is such a treat.. When I’m not telling someone else’s story I tell my own, or that of a dreamt or imagined character that’s been ferreted in the back of my mind – between imagination and reality there’s enough bits of inspiration stored to keep me going for a long time!”

To see more of Jane’s work head to her website here. Follow her on Facebook here, Instagram here and Pinterest here.

Do you know an artist (or are YOU an artist) who creates beautiful or thought-provoking work and whom you think should be featured on Mamamia’s Voulez-Vous Project? Send an email to info@mamamia.com.au.