I have always loved to paint but I never really had the time to devote to painting.
But circumstances forced me to really take a good look at my life and although I had accomplished many goals, something was missing. I wanted to do something that I really liked and to fulfill a dream of working at home. So I opened the Eclectic Art Shop.

I have many muses and my style of painting usually depends on my mood and what is going on around me.

I love the presence of light when there isn't an actual daylight source. I prefer rainy days to sunny days. I love lights on in houses at night especially in winter with vapor coming out of chimmneys.

The current state of affairs have resulted in my American Dream Series, which is Protest Art.

I prefer earth colors such as burnt sienna, burnt umber,ochre and prussian blue. Sometimes I paint in contrasting bright colors and a palette knife. Especially in my abstract paintings. Other times I prefer monochromatic colors with any style of painting.

Painting to me is about color as well as content. Humans are visually inspired and we rely more on our vision than any other sense we have.

I don't like standardized techniques where one style resembles every other painter. I change my techniques with my moods. I hope my paintings bring forth not just my thoughts but the buyers thoughts and memories.

My paintings are very different then most artists work in that most of them are drilled on pieces of birch lumber which is ½ “or ¾ “thick. Sizes range from 1 ft. x 2 ft., 2ft. x 2 ft. or large at 3ft. x 3 ft. or 4 ft. x 2 ft. Some are single paintings and some are Diptychs or Triptychs. Framing is optional on either thickness of painting. Some paintings are not drilled and some paintings come with a professionally installed frame. Paintings will designate if they are drilled and if they include a frame on the page enlargement.

I free hand sketch all of my subjects and then drill them 3 to 5 times and sand them.
The final touch is acrylic paint in a combination of realism or expressionism styles. All parts of the focal point are drilled, no matter how small. Some paintings are more labor intensive than others and they are priced accordingly. Often I will include a heavy relief or impasto technique, a hand embellishment as well as the drilling which gives the paintings a solidity quality. I often allow the grain of the wood to show through the painting, especially oak.

I often paint with a palette knife instead of a paintbrush to get a more modern abstract effect.
Some paintings will have a high gloss or matte varnish finish, however it is really not needed since the type of paint that I use offers its own sealer.

Since all paintings are free hand drawings, no two paintings of the same subject would ever be alike. Each painting is one of a kind and my technique is unique. .

My specialty is the American Steam Locomotive trains, both freight and passenger lines.
I try to make my trains as exact to the original locomotive as I can. I will feature more United States steam locomotives as I obtain the original blueprints. I also drill boats, military scenes and most of my more modern expressionism styles.

I also have a line of Expressionism which is divided into various categories, such as: The Talisman Series, The Forest of Good and Evil Series, The Alchemist Series, Abstracts, Small Wall Art, Horses, and the American Dream Series which is a form of Protest Art. Also included are the Small Wall Art Series,which are small art in a related group.

My art will be separated into Trains, Realism, Expressionism, Abstracts, American Dream Series, The Alchemist Series, Horses and Small Wall Art Series.

I have had 3 exhibitions of my paintings at the Lebanon Valley College, Suzanne Arnold Gallery, of which I am an alumnus. I also have had a gallery show at the Lebanon Valley Council on the Arts. My work is on display in June 2010 at M J's Coffeehouse in Annvile PA. I recently sold paintings at the Brasenhil Mansion auction which is by invitation only. I have had three essays published by Penn State Hershey Medical Center magazine, Wild Onions. I won 2nd place in 2008 in the art competition at the Wild Onions magazine.

My paintings are strictly first come, first serve and you can be assured that you truly have a one of a kind painting since my technique is unique. If you do see a painting that you like and it is sold, I will contract another painting which is similar to the one you like. But no two paintings will ever be alike.

Any thoughts and suggestions are welcomed on my paintings. You can reach me at silvadj@comcast.net.

-- Jean