Jane Galloway

Jane Galloway lives in the west coast town of Raglan and moved here a few years after graduating from Elam art school in Auckland. There her painting tutors were Garth Tapper, Bob Ellis and Don Binney. By the time she was at Elam, painting techniques were no longer taught and artists’ learning had to be self-motivated. There was an explosion of avenues of artistic expression in the 1970’s and painting was perceived by many as an outdated medium.  A group of students spent many evenings at the local Kiwi tavern passionately discussing art with Don. Garth’s life-long love affair with painting taught the students about the dedication needed to be an artist.

For the last 45 years Jane has focussed on earning a living. This is a dilemma for any artist who wants to spend their time being creative. Somehow these two things are uncomfortable partners as it is a pervasive belief that one has to be either poor and creatively fulfilled, or selling work and ignoring the call of the muse. Her combination of graphic designs for Live Wires NZ and realistic landscape paintings have been popular for years at the cost of setting aside the inner call to explore new ways of working.