News Release

Painter JanyRae Seda is Mesa Verde National Park’s Next Artist in Residence

Date: September 10, 2018
Contact: Mesa Verde Museum Association, 970-529-4445
Contact: Cristy Brown, 970-529-4608

Studio and impressionist painter JanyRae Seda of Boise, Idaho, will be Mesa Verde’s next Artist in Residence from September 17 through 29, and will offer two programs.

“Explore Mesa Verde with a sketchbook.” Thursday, September 27, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Meet at the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum Lobby. JanyRae will lead visitors on a hike to visit some of the places that inspire her work, talk about process, and do a series of quick, creative sketches of key locations. This program is free to the public. Space is limited to 10 participants, and children must be accompanied by an adult. Materials provided.

“Plein Air in Mancos.” Saturday, September 22, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Meet at the Mancos Makers Space next to the river by the library and plan to explore the community on foot and with paintbrush in hand. There is a fee for this workshop. Register on-line through Mancos School of the West www.schoolofthewest.org. A materials fee will be collected at the class.

JanyRae Seda, a 4th generation Idahoan, loves to paint the western sky and landscape. She has always enjoyed creating with paper and pencil, spending countless hours imagining and drawing as a child. JanyRae states, “I am always looking for a balance between my experience with the environment and the physical reality of paint on canvas. I believe the marks, strokes and gestures of paint express the forces of nature, vibrancy, and power.” During her residency, she plans to create an oil painting series to explore the fragmentary and partial way in which we experience natural landscapes, systems, and processes. JanyRae’s style uses thick bold paint to illustrate the vibrancy and power of Mesa Verde as a living link between past and present. As a member of Preservation Idaho, a statewide non-profit, she hopes to further illustrate how this land and its heritage need to be preserved for future generations.

After graduating with a BFA from the University of Idaho, JanyRae had multiple careers while raising three children. She is the winner of numerous awards, and has experience as artist in residence in public lands throughout the West. She purchased her 1895 house/studio in Boise five years ago, where upwards of a 100 oil paintings are done each year.

Mesa Verde National Park’s Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program provides professional artists the opportunity to become part of a long established tradition of artists creating art in our national parks. The AIR program is managed for the park by the nonprofit Mesa Verde Museum Association. Learn more at https://www.nps.gov/meve/getinvolved/artists_in_residence.htm and at www.mesaverde.org.
 

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