Contemporary Impressionist Jean Raney worked in oils and felt a strong affinity with the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painters, as is evidenced in her work. Her interiors, still lifes, gardens, landscapes and figures all show a love of color. Admirers and collectors of her work have commented that her vivid colors are reminiscent of Matisse and Gauguin. Her attraction to the effect created by light and the way it plays with the shadows is also seen in her work.
“It may be the brush of bright light coming across a child’s shoulder that reflects on the underside of the chin… or the warm glow of a paper lantern that illuminates the cool night air… or the delicate atmosphere surrounding a scene at a specific moment. Whatever it is, its power pulls me to paint it. I strive to capture on canvas that which my eye sees.”
Raney studied drawing and painting under well known Atlanta artists Claudia Hartley, Alice Edgar Williams and Marc Chatov and portraiture under Atlanta artist Nancy Honea. She participated in numerous workshops, art history and art appreciation courses.
Raney’s artworks hang in both private and corporate collections. She was the recipient of several awards in Juried Fine Art exhibits. Her work was shown in Atlanta, Georgia at the AAC Grandview Gallery, AAC Galleria Gallery, the Brice, Ltd. showroom at Atlanta Decorative Arts Center and the Dunwoody Fine Arts Gallery. She was featured in several one woman shows, both locally and regionally.