Janice Ingram

I first became aware of being an artist at the age of three. That was the day my dad came home from work and asked, "Who did this pretty drawing on the living room wall?" and I answered proudly,"I did, Daddy." He said, "Well, I'm going to have to punish you for drawing on the wall, but you're quite an artist." I have no memory of what my punishment was, but the words "quite an artist" made such an impression on me that I believe they led directly to my future career. I never considered working in any other field.

I majored in art in high school and in college, and after receiving my Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Memphis, I became a technical illustrator for the U. S. Navy, first drawing in pen and ink then later doing computer graphics and animations for aviation-related training lessons. I can honestly say I enjoyed every minute of my career.

After I retired, I joined CPSA in 1995. I had used colored pencils back in my college days (25 cents for a single Prismacolor pencil? Outrageous!) but I hadn't picked one up since. I had only worked in black and white for many years, so it was challenging to use color again. I've taken workshops with many excellent instructors including Vera Curnow, Bernard Poulin, Pat Averill, Gary Greene, and Janie Gildow, among others, and I've learned a great deal from each of them.

For years I strove to be ultra-realistic in my drawing, and I was accepted in two of CPSA's International Exhibitions. But quite recently I decided to embrace my inner illustrator, and since then I've been developing a new style. I've always loved posters from the 1920s and 30s, with their elegant shapes and flat colors. Currently my work is done mostly with watercolor pencils (I'm sure Inktense pencils were created just for me!) and regular colored pencils. I am having so much fun now working on each of my drawings, and my head is full of ideas for future drawings.