Jan McAllaster Stommes is a self-taught artist whose work has evolved through a variety of styles which is consistent with her personality. She is an eclectic person who says she feels that her artwork should reflect the eclectic nature of her personality. Her academic studies provided training to be a research scientist (the University of Minnesota, Bachelor of Science in Animal Science; graduate studies in Reproductive Physiology) while the observational skills she developed proved useful later on for creating art. Like her style, Stommes’ subject matter has varied and her choice of medium evolved, too. Jan Stommes is a Signature Member of The Society of Animal Artists and is also a member of the International Guild of Realism, the Oil Painters of America, the Portrait Society of America, and the American Impressionists Society. In addition to her art, she has written, illustrated, and published several children’s books about science, humorous books with rhymes and illustrations intended to intrigue children about the marvels of science. She has also created a line of children’s books to teach coping skills for young students who suffer from dyslexia and dyscalculia. Jan McAllaster Stommes and her husband, Richard, own and operate an agricultural supply business in central Wisconsin.
Finding Magnificence in the Ordinary: A Second Look at Agriculture and Nature
Capturing beauty is not the only purpose of my art. To commemorate the declining structure of the “old way” of agriculture, which laid a gentle footprint on the land, is also my intention.
August 16, 2021