Jan Hodson

I was raised in Champaign, Illinois. I began drawing and developed an interest in art at an early age.  An outstanding High School Art teacher encouraged me to follow that path.  i graduated from the University of Illinois, majoring in painting.  My husband, John and I were married during my senior year.  Following our graduation life got in the way.  I gave up my painting to raise our two daughters, Christa and Melita, and have a working career. 

From Artist Jan Hodson:

John and I full-time RV'd after retirement for approximately five years.  We traveled extensively and visited many of the National Parks.  Having already fallen in love with the west, Wyoming became home.  In 2000, we moved to Payson, Arizona to be closer to our oldest daughter in Phoenix.  

I joined the very active art league in Payson and eventually served as President for 3 years.  This experience whetted my desire to paint again.  I made a conscious decision to see if i could "make it" in the art world.  I started painting and it worked.  I entered multiple national art shows at which I was well received, winning numerous awards along the way.  My work has been shown in numerous galleries in Scottsdale, Jackson Sedona and Santa Fe, among others. It is included in corporate and personal collections both nationally and internationally.  

John and I returned to Laramie in 2007.  He had been very supportive of my art career, making most of my frames during our time in Payson.  He died in 2011.  In 2017, my daughter and her husband bought their home in Ranchester and invited me to come along.  so here I am in Sheridan.  

It is my hope to combine good abstract composition with my perception of the western landscape to create works of art that will share my love of the west with those who view my paintings.  Western landscapes, with a special interest in trees, water and the desert, are my preferred subjects.  My work is done solely with painting knives, which were introduced to me while in school.  I do not use brushes.  The knives keep my colors much cleaner.  They just feel right to me.