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.

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.
Some paintings will have a high gloss 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 included a line of Expressionism which is divided into various categories, such as: The Talisman Series, The Forest of Good and Evil Series and the American Dream Series which is a form of Protest Art.
My art will be separated into Realism, Expressionism and Trains.

I have had 4 exhibitions of my paintings and a gallery showing 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. 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.

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

-- Jean