Jean Ballands is a professional practising artist living and working in Port Macquarie on the mid-north coast of New South Wales Australia. Her work comes from a love of nature and a deep affiliation with her natural surroundings which underpin and guide her extensive body of work. Jean is a painter, printmaker and installation artist.
Dog Portraits
Paintings
Viewing a dog portrait involves seeing the painting as a whole and paying attention to the details, while absorbing the mood it portrays. There is a two-way observation. The dog in the painting also observes the human in the way that an animal observes us in everyday life.
Printmaking
Linocuts, etchings and monoprints
Printmaking is an addictive art form. As a practicing artist, printmaking is throughly enjoyable and experimental. When the artist lifts that sheet of paper up from the press, there is always an element of surprise as the results are never certain. Jean’s linocuts, etchings and mono prints are modern, bold and layered. They draw from the forest landscape and the artist within it. These prints sit beautifully in the home and in commercial spaces.
Paintings
Watercolour, acrylic and oils on paper and canvas
Jean is a painter first and foremost. Her most recent exhibition was in regional New South Wales and her work is held in a number of private collections. Her paintings range from small detailed works mounted on canvas to large-scale paintings on paper. Much of Jean’s work is inspired by the natural layers of the rainforest and the human relationship with it. Jean’s painting style is bold and experimental, honouring the beauty of the landscape.
Collage
Paper cut out
Some of Jean’s most popular works are multi-layered paper cut out collage pieces, mounted to canvas. These lush landscapes visualise the transformation of an urban forest. Any plant in the wrong landscape should be considered a weed which imbalances the ecosystem. Jean’s collage works speak to the process of erasing exotic non-native plants and the careful transition to native and pure.
Jean is working on her next exhibition and is accepting commissions
Jean’s next body of work will consolidate the techniques she has developed over the last three years and will continue to explore themes of landscape and conservation and the social, historical and political aspects of the land.
