JEANNE BESSETTE
“My objects of affection are not objects at all but the fabric of humankind.”
Chosen as one of the top 50 “Artists to Watch” by Art Business News Magazine in 2011, Jeanne Bessette was born in Massachusetts, but spent her youth in the state of Rhode Island. It was there that she attended the Rhode Island School of Photography and began her path towards becoming a professional artist. Jeanne owned and operated a successful photography studio for thirteen years before she dedicated herself solely to painting.
A background in photography gave Jeanne a great depth of understanding about light and composition, which allows her to play with these properties while painting. Jeanne uses many different media to accomplish her goals of expression. The main element is always acrylic, along with an array of combined media such as pencils, markers, ink, varnish, glaze, charcoal and cardboard.
Jeanne’s paintings are a method of storytelling, a meditative way to elude the external world and immerse herself in the world of emotions. The painting process begins at the large plastic-covered tables in her studio. Here she begins playing and experimenting with sponges, rags, fingers, pencils, palette knives or whatever she encounters in the moment of creation. Jeanne states that her abstracts come to life “when the painting begins to talk to me, my internal experience shifts, which then spills onto the canvas.” Jeanne is then left with what she calls “internal landscapes,” making the canvas come alive with stories and experiences. Her figures dance off the canvas and into life, connecting with others’ stories.
Jeanne has been involved in many group and solo exhibitions all over the East Coast including The Studio in New Hope, Pennsylvania, the Visual Art Exchange in Raleigh, North Carolina and Manatee Art Center in Manatee, Florida. Jeanne has been the featured artist and juror at the Annual Wine, Art and Heart charity event in St. Petersburg Florida from 2008-2010. Her work resides in the permanent collections of contemporary artists Joanna Coke and Robert Burridge as well as comedian Tim Wilkins and television celebrity Michelle Phillips. The Big Brother Big Sister organization hangs commissioned work by Jeanne in their public offices.
Jeanne has achieved great recognition and success by striving to connect with her viewer on a level beyond words.
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