Featured Artist Jane Maday Creates Decorative Garden Flags

I recently had a chance to "chat" with Jane Maday, a licensed artist born in England and raised in the United States. Did you know that while still in high school, she worked at the University of Florida as a scientific illustrator? Jane states, “This helped me decide that art was a legitimate career path.” After graduating from Ringling College of Art and Design, her first job was working for Hallmark Cards. Jane credits her licensing agent Debby Leggat, who handles the business side of things. Visit Debby and Jane at www.blueskyartanddesign.com

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Finding inspiration by always observing and photographing things, Jane enjoys painting birds and flowers. Her goal is “to paint pretty pictures that make people happy.

Jane's artistic designs include lovely decorative outdoor garden flags. These colorful seasonal themes illustrate Jane's attention to detail. With eye-catching colors and charming themes, these attractive garden flags will complement everyone's home. Special Delivery Decorative Garden Flag (see below) is one of our personal favorites. Note the pretty color combinations and the beautifully detailed cardinals, chickadee gold finch and kitty.

Like most artists, Jane works six months to a year ahead to create new designs for the upcoming seasons and holidays. Her favorite products are flags and puzzles. Describing her art as idealized realism, she says, “It isn’t exactly realistic, but I try to make sure my birds, flowers and animals are fairly accurate. It’s an idealized world though; the animals all live together happily, the weather is always good and the garden is always in bloom.”

Coming from a family of engineers, Jane was always considered a bit of a “mutant”. No one in her family knew where her artistic desire came from. Her mother, however, made spectacular quilts. Jane says, “I think I get my love of handworking and craft from her. I am just really touched when anyone wants to buy a product with my art on it and have it in their home. I share part of myself in every painting I do, and the fact that someone might respond to it is very humbling.”

Jane still paints everything by hand in watercolor or acrylic. However, Photoshop allows her to make one painting work in many different formats for different products. Follow Jane Maday on Facebook to see her newest designs.

Her art is what she enjoys the most. She tends to even paint on the weekends. When she can be dragged out of her studio, she loves traveling and spending time with her family. Her favorite art supplies are her watercolors. Currently she’s using Mijello Mission gold, a Russian brand called White Nights and Schminke Horadem.

Jane’s advice if you want to become a Licensed Artist: "Remember to create art that has commercial applications. In licensing you have to make sure your personal artistic vision is compatible with what the market wants. This is a job, and you have to treat it as such."