About the Artist - Jan Chandler

I was born and raised in the Chicago area, but have been an Urbana resident since 1979.  A lifelong love of the arts combined with a deep-rooted passion for Celtic cultures led me, in the fall of 2004, to open Celticscapes, my home-based gallery of photos, paintings and other Celtic artwork inspired by my travels.  In November 2005, I opened a short-term cooperative gallery along with nine other local artists and craftspeople, called Artisans Gallery.  Most recently, I was fortunate to have spent an entire semester living in Dublin, Ireland with my husband, John.  In addition to my travels to all 32 counties of both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, I made frequent trips to Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man.

My interest in art developed during my high school and college years, when I had many art courses in different media.  More recently, however, I began studying watercolor painting at Parkland College in Champaign with instructors Don Lake and Jamie Kruidenier.  My paintings, like my photos, are inspired by the enchanting scenes that I want to capture from my travels to the Celtic lands.  I paint both urban and rural landscapes, focusing in particular on the sacred megalithic monuments and medieval architectural sites that have been an ongoing fascination for me since my first trip to Ireland in 2001. My images are captured with a Canon Powershot Pro 1 (8.0 MP) digital camera.  Additionally, I do custom calligraphy work, such as invitations and certificates, as well as poetry and inspirational messages. My photos and paintings are available at my new gallery called Heartland Gallery, located at 112 W. Main St. in Urbana.