Janet Starr is a non-representational contemporary painter based in Hailey, Idaho.

She began her career as a textile artist over two decades ago.  Influenced by the graphic and improvisational design of Nancy Crow, and the technical expertise of Jane Dunnewold and others, Janet made large abstract wall hangings using hand-dyed fabric.  Largely self-taught, Janet explored surface design through numerous workshops, self-directed study, and years of experimentation driven by curiosity.  After completing a 45-piece series which required sewing over 350,000 inches, she set aside her dyes and began working in oil and cold wax as well as mixed media.

She continues to paint large non-objective work rich in color, line, and texture.  Her style is fluid as she moves from structure to wild abandon with ease.

Janet’s comfort with change and risk-taking comes from her early life traveling around the country.  In 1978 she moved to Washington, DC to study Thai before moving to Bangkok and then to the small town of Khon Kaen in Northeast Thailand.  After returning to the U.S., she settled in the Wood River Valley where she works from her studio in Indian Creek.

Her work hangs in private collections in Sun Valley, the Pacific Northwest, San Francisco, Italy, and Turkey.

I am a non-objective painter currently working in mixed media as well as oil and cold wax.

My first marks are fast and gestural. This gives me an idea of scale and how it feels to move across a large canvas.

I am drawn to both structure and imperfection – control versus rawness. Each mark starts the conversation, each demands a response, an adjustment, a line. I’m not afraid to make big changes which may entirely alter the course of the painting.

I paint because I enjoy the challenge of uncertainty – to experiment, and to satisfy my own curiosity. I hope the viewer senses that same spirit of exploration.