Jane Beharrell is a British artist based in Hull, England. Her work is in many private collections and has been exhibited in group shows in the UK and USA, including the BP Portrait Award exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Beharrell has no formal art education but her background is saturated with art, gallery visits, and creativity. Her father was a heraldic artist with his own artistic practice and a keen interest in art history, especially the Pre-Raphaelites. This early immersion in creative life, in an encouraging household full of paintings, prints, books and musical instruments was the foundation on which her personal identity as an artist was formed.
Many of the same paintings she first saw in her father’s art books remain an inspiration for the work she creates today. The Northern Renaissance particularly made a deep and lasting impression and she continues to be inspired by artists such as Durer, Holbein and Van Eyck.
The cold northern light and timeless themes of beauty, death, and decay run through Beharrell’s work. She paints in a realistic style that values detail and subtlety. Painting portraits, still lifes, and floral pieces she uses an indirect method which takes her several months to complete each piece. “I use thin layers of oil paint to gradually build the image over time. The layers remain semi-transparent, which adds extra depth and detail to the paintings.”
Beharrell prefers to keep her work self contained and personally meaningful by painting the people and objects around her. Her daughter and pet whippet make frequent appearances in her paintings, and flowers from her garden and the surrounding area are often used as subjects. “I love gardening and I grow the roses I paint in my garden. I like having that connection to them. Each flower I paint is an individual, from an individual plant, each with its own unique beauty and imperfections.”