biography

She studied initially at Aberdeen College of Education whilst attending classes at Grays School of Art. On completing the first year of study under the influential tutelage of William Burns, she was disappointed at the sudden loss of inspiration, decided to drop out and make her own way in London whilst pursuing independent studies.

In London in the seventies, she took up a career as an architectural administrator, pursuing independent museum and gallery studies and drawing and painting in her spare time. She attended classes at Putney School of Art and life drawing classes with Tony Tribe in Wandsworth. From an early age, she had been a keen singer, and was a member of The Putney Choral Society from 1978-1980 and then sang with The Addison Chamber Choir until 1982 when she left to concentrate on piano lessons. Following a further move to Brighton in 1985, Cartney concentrated on further life studies, embracing the techniques taught by Jo di Giovanni at the Tech, as well as exploring some techniques of sculptural life work. She also devoted time to in-depth art historical studies. During this period, Cartney was also studying music and developing her talents as a singer and performer. In 1988 she gave up her career in London and in 1992 she made her professional debut as a contralto soloist and recitalist.

Whilst pursuing art history, she was offered a place to study at The Courtauld Institute in London, and made several independent study visits to Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Ghent and Paris. However, a protracted illness halted her ambitions as an art historian and her art studies ceased for several years.

She concentrated her energies on music and in addition to performing, she qualified as a music teacher in 1997, and built up private teaching practices in Hove and Worthing, established The Worthing Chamber Consort and conducted the choir in a number of notable local concerts. Following intensive specialist studies with jazz pianist Terry Mortimer, and at Benslow, she made her jazz debut in 2001 in Worthing, Sussex, fronting her own band, The Jane Cartney Jazz Quartet.

Jane relocated to Weston-super-Mare with her husband and their animals in 2003. The first priority was to create a sanctuary garden, to form a new band, Cartney Jazz (www.cartneyjazz.co.uk), and to establish a new specialist teaching and coaching practice for singers.

In February 2006 a new window opened up to allow Cartney to begin painting again. The inspiration was an early morning walk on Weston Beach with her digital camera on New Year's Eve 2005, followed soon after by a week spent at Shepherd’s Cottage in Devon with her family. She has since produced a substantial body of work inspired by architecture, colour, and sculptural form, and has exhibited regularly over the last year, most recently mounting a solo exhibition at The Winter Gardens during the launch of the Weston-super-Mare 2007 Arts Festival.

In 2007, she moved to new work premises in the town centre, where she set up a new studio, and Regent Gallery (www.regentgallery.co.uk), to exhibit modern, contemporary British fine-art and sculpture.

Cartney's subjects are diverse with a distinctive individuality, from St George's in Buchanan Street, Glasgow (the Obelisk paintings); Abbey Bridge End, Jedburgh, Scotland; Pheasants; The Constitutional Club in Weston-super-Mare (The Boulevard Series of paintings and prints from The Weston-super-Mare Series shown in its' entirety at her solo show at The Winter Gardens during the 2007 local Arts Festival), and rock formations on Wadham Beach in Devon, in a series numbering six works to date. Very recently she has produced a short body of work, The Cat Series – simplified black and white oils in small format, developed from her initial designs, which she produced for family and friends on small hand-made Christmas cards in 1986.

In 2007 she has been invited to send work to the USA and to Jersey.

December 2007