ABOUT THE ARTIST

:: ABOUT THE ARTIST
Jana Epstein's love of art goes back to childhood and has been carried on with much enthusiasm to this date. Her degrees from the University of Georgia are in Photography and Graphic Design. Her love and commitment to photography has been her main focus and passion for many years.

Jana has been showing her photography on the national art show circuit for over twenty years. She is a multiple award winning artist whose body of art work has been recognized with over 40 Awards to date for her talent, craftsmanship, and artistry.

:: ABOUT THE ART
Jana uses natural light to photograph architecture and nature as well as the human figure. She is one of the rare few still using film and a wet darkroom to capture and create her images. She individually prints each photograph using traditional darkroom techniques. Each is printed on a mat surface Silver Gelatin paper. Jana believes in the integrity of film and the magical journey embarked on when bringing her vision to life on film and in her darkroom.

On the work table, Jana enhances her images by selectively adding color to her black and white photographs. It is the first time she thinks of color. When taking her images it is more about composition and texture. Her choices of color are instinctual. She paints each color piece by hand using wax based Prisma and Marshal colored pencils. She first applies a unique clear oil solution to the emulsion of the paper. Then she adds the color pencils. The liquid softens the lead of the pencils allowing Jana to blend the color into the paper so it becomes part of the image. This is a technique she has perfected throughout her years as an artist.

Jana does not usually add color to her images of the human figure. She does not want to distract from the intent of the subject matter which is pure and beautiful on its own.

:: ABOUT THE FRAME
In framing her images, Jana takes her work one step further by using antique ceiling tile and old wood moulding from homes to frame each photograph. Jana hand picks and salvages each piece of tin and wood specifically for every image. She then enhances the repurposed materials by sanding away layers of the original paint to expose underlying colors or by adding additional paint and sanding. When doing this she also exposes the design of the tin type and wood grain. After, she seals the frames to protect the finish of the tin and wood. By uniting her frames and her photographs, Jana creates a marriage between the two. Her framing is very much part of her eye and is also a huge part of her art. Jana believes a frame is just as important as the art inside and it should be a completion or extension of the art. It is an extremely thoughtful process for her. By mixing all these mediums Jana creates dimension to her work. The results, like Jana, is a one-of-a-kind original work of art.