Night dance

Night dance

Rough, improvisational, many-layered.

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Night Dance. © 2010 Janet Madill. Oil on canvas, 4 x 3 feet.

Janet Madill, a member of First Unitarian Church in Portland, Oregon, spent most of her adulthood on “the intellectual side of life.” She returned to her early love of art and finished a senior thesis in painting in 2008. She writes of her work:

“A certain roughness and improvisational quality mark most of my paintings. They are usually many-layered, as is my life. One layer often speaks to the next one in surprising ways, and a sense of adventure and curiosity about the next direction keep me fully present as I paint.

“Looking long and hard at the natural world is key as I proceed day to day. I like looking really close up and sometimes as far away as another galaxy. A part of me is often asking, ‘What’s it all about?’ even as I suspect the answers will remain full of mystery.

“My work is often open to multiple readings, some but not all of which I perceive ahead of time. I see the world as a very complex, diverse place and hope this is mirrored in my work.”


This article appeared in the Winter 2012 issue of UU World (page 23).

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