Janae Lehto

Janae Lehto Fine Art
Pastels, colored pencil, mixed media

As a young girl, I used to draw spiders. Everywhere and on everything. At 10 years old, I wanted to be a starving artist, free-spirited, out in nature, and creating whatever came to mind.
As free-spirited as I thought I was, I do like a bit of control in my creations. My art is realistic without going beyond what we naturally see. Most of my art comes from photos I take and edit, zooming in to see the details, but letting some of those details, the edges, the background, melt away.

Colored pencil lends itself to detail, which I gravitate to when working on flowers or reptiles. I defer to pastels for any animals with fur or feathers, mimicking tufts of fur with each pastel stroke.

Artist Bio

I grew up in Durham, NC and studied art at UNC Greensboro before receiving BAs in both Art and History from Meredith College in Raleigh. I continued to take many classes at the ArtsCenter in Carrboro while working full time, but it wasn't until 2007 when a local gallery opened in Mebane that I became serious in creating for the purpose of selling my art to the public.
I’ve been a member of the Pastel Society of NC, Colored Pencil Society, and the Orange County Artists Guild, and currently a part of the Alamance Artisans Guild. I've shown my work in studio tours, juried shows, exhibitions, and galleries throughout North Carolina.