Janet Kruskamp
"My works arouse feelings!"
Originally published in Bär Report Magazine, Germany, Aug/Sept/Oct, 2016
Translated by Ettienne Dupont

Click for full-size PDF of cover artwork and original article in German

English Translation of article:

Janet Kruskamp
"My works arouse feelings!"

Photos licensed by bentleypublishinggroup.com

On many images made by Janet Kruskamp a little mouse appears. She has no name, because Janet considers the mouse an observer, as part of himself, as part of the observer. "It is everyone - a metaphor of a "silent observer" of the things that happen in my pictures."

Sometimes, you can clearly see the mouse as in " Teddy Bear Work Hoppe" and "Teddy Bear Wear". For other subjects, it is not so obvious and you must search for it. "In some of my images the mouse is in the spirit there, as she did not belong to the subject" Janet says, "but even if you can't see it, it is there." Once a jigsaw puzzle was commissioned for which a series of four images was created. My meanwhile-famous mouse should be part of the images. But I forgot it in a painting and the Publisher claimed that immediately - my mouse must necessarily be put into it. So I painted a small picture of the mouse and it was "Photo shopped" in the painting. Janet says tongue in cheek: "my goodness, all this excitement about a little mouse! I hope she now does not feel too important. A last word about the sometimes illusory mouse – children discover it faster than adults in my pictures ! "

The internationally renowned artist Janet Kruskamp is known for her versatility and the ability to capture the essence of the many different topics. Her artworks are licensed worldwide by the Bentley licensing group. Janet's artistic talent has already crystallized in early childhood. Her father once joked that she was born with chalk in one hand and a brush in the other! Up to the age of two, she was already a very productive artist who drew many Disney characters. She crawled like behind the clothes in the wardrobe, and drew on the walls.

"I always knew that I wanted to go down the road of an artist. There was never a time in my life where it was unaware of this. There are people who are born with certain genes for certain talents and for me art, music and creative writing... which had strongest attraction, however art it was", says Janet.

From elementary school, Janet received numerous awards and honors for her work. At the age of eleven she could set up a "one woman show" in a local Arts and Recreation Center in Burbank, California. While still in high school, her scholarship at the prestigious Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, California was awarded. Her high school diploma she completed with many awards for her artistic and musical performances, including the major "Bank of America achievement award for Visual Arts".

After her marriage and the birth of her children, she continued painting and showed her works in galleries and museums. Janet found time for private art lessons for adults and children, moreover, she is often invited as a jury member at artistic competitions and was President of the local Art Association. In the early 1970s, Janet's work enjoyed great popularity and international recognition. In 1975 an article was published in the acclaimed "Southwest Art Magazine" that praised her works with the following words: "Your work evokes a feeling of tenderness, nostalgia and happiness."

In 1976, after three years of extensive travel in the United States, Janet revaeled a large collection of works. The theme, in honor of the Bicentennial, was "An artist in search of America". While avoiding the obvious tourist attractions, the artist tried to create a kind of "Time capsule", showed real people and real places in the various regions of America. From 1991, the brush were layed down, a big blow of fate had taken the family. Based on the recommendation of her friend, in 1993 Janet chose three photos of their work and sent it to a Publisher. Within a few days, a contract was offered! A whole new world opened up and her artworks became more and more sought after... just as her friend had predicted it would happen!

Janet means: "if someone, who has not seen me for a while, asks me whether I still paint, I wonder: the very idea !" It's not what I do, it's who I am - an artist. That’s what I will always be, whether or not I paint!"