Jan Bennett's love affair with paint - new Chichester exhibition

Jan said: “It’s that stage where the clock’s ticking and my previous exhibitions have been few and far between, so now feels the right time to show some of my work to a broader audience. I mainly use oils on canvas and my paintings are colourful, unfolding as I work; sometimes I think they resemble fragmented dreams recalled from the night before, when you wonder ‘What on earth was that all about?’

“Living in West Sussex, Chichester College was an ideal option while seeking a change of direction in 1995. Along with other creatives I enrolled on a hugely enjoyable course which taught interior paint effects along design modules to explore. I was immediately hooked and have been productive ever since, often experimenting in other directions though my paintings have always taken priority.”

Jan left school “at the earliest opportunity to escape the academic bias and join the real world.” Art college was suggested but rejected as she had no work to show and instead began an apprenticeship which led to running her own business: “Somewhere along the way the window displays took a new turn, at times bearing little connection to that of the business inside and prompting one vinegar-tongued customer to remark upon their resemblance to that of a funeral parlour.”

Finally seeking a new direction in 1995, Jan closed the business and enrolled at Chichester College. “Along with new-found freedom, this was the beginning of my love affair with paint.”