I won't even try figure out how to present Jana, because, as her friend, my opinion only may not impress you, so i'm going to present to you what others think of her and her art:
I was not born with a steady hand. It takes years before any child learns to write and read, it's exactly the same with drawing and painting. It is required to exercise your eye and hand to achieve certain technical level, perhaps to be able to see is more important than how you hold your brush. With that being said, my artworks could be easily painted by someone else, no matter what technical level I would have achieved, yet there aren't two exactly the same people and that's why my artworks are original. Also, it's never "just" practice, I've probably wasted a couple of years that could have been productive by searching for an answer to a completely useless question "Am I talented?". If becoming an artist is something we desire, practice is a road that will take us there. There is nothing as important as your need to express yourself.
13-realpeople-42-333: "She makes some of the best art pieces I've ever seen. Really inspiring."
Marts-NZ: "Her work is just amazing, i love coming back to see the immense beauty she creates."
InsomniaSquared: "Her art makes me feel like I've been kicked in the face by a unicorn dancing in a meadow of pansies and fairies. What I meant to say is: really excellent art!" (this is the most original comment i've ever read!)
I come from a family oriented in many directions, most of them are writers and literature experts, but also scientists. With parents working in culture their whole lives, they rather wished for their children to become professional scientists than artists, and so me and my sister both went to study natural sciences. She is now a screenplay writer and I paint, we just couldn't escape it (:
Aside from praising her amazing skills and works, i will add that she's also a wonderful person, kind and involved with the community, always wanting to spread the dA love to everyone she meets.
First, please introduce yourself to those that might not know you yet.
First of all, thank you for the opportunity, it's been a wonderful experience ever since I joined deviantART. I consider myself a painter - painting is what I do most of the time, i enjoy it tremendously and intend to keep on doing it for the rest of my life. Besides that, I do a variety of things such as graphic design, product design and photography (I keep on learning whenever I can).
It will be a while before I consider myself an artist in general, I have the highest respect for the term. I come from a family oriented in many directions, most of them are writers and literature experts, but also scientists. With parents working in culture their whole lives, they rather wished for their children to become professional scientists than artists, and so me and my sister both went to study natural sciences. She is now a screenplay writer and I paint, we just couldn't escape it (:
You are quite successful and you became popular in a very short time, what do you believe are the most important features that made you stand out?
Popularity is a questionable value when it comes to art. I mean no disrespect towards my watchers and followers, of course, I solely think that it's hard to base quality of an artwork on the number of views or favorites it has. There are some objectives that I think make a specific artwork talk to its viewers more, people take interest in topics they can relate to - a portraiture would probably have more followers than abstract art, vivid coloring takes lead from black & white. I love portraits and i am passionate about color, just like the majority, and I also work mostly in a very popular medium at the moment - watercolor. However, I do not purposely paint what is "in", 10 years ago I only drew buildings and nature, I couldn't get one face right to make a half-decent portrait and I had no idea how to combine color to make the composition balanced. All these factors had made colorful portraiture a main challenge I wanted to master.
What do you want to express through your artworks? What inspires you?
I mentioned portraiture, people are my main source of inspiration: those around me, the ones I think I know, imaginary characters, or their combination. Painted portraits are very personal, they contain a piece of me along with a piece of the portrayed person. Everything I see, I try to characterize in color, it might have been a thought on your mind that I saw in your eyes and I wanted to capture it along
with your face. My portraits aren't true, they are my opinion.
with your face. My portraits aren't true, they are my opinion.
Does the quality of your art depend more on technique or on its message?
Certain technical level is a necessity but it's not the goal for me. Without technique an artist can easily get lost, it's like wanting to say something and not knowing the language. But technique doesn't guarantee success either, if I want to walk on a rope and not to fall down, I'll need to find balance. However, to incorporate a message in your work can get more difficult than learning a technique, people might have trouble recognizing your message. I do not depend on being understood, audience can appreciate the painting either way, yet it's strangely calming when someone comments on my work, expressing the feeling I had in mind when creating it.
Your works are remarkable - do you believe that what you do requires a particular skill or it's just about the practice? What skills do you consider to be the most important?
I was not born with a steady hand. It takes years before any child learns to write and read, it's exactly the same with drawing and painting. It is required to exercise your eye and hand to achieve certain technical level, perhaps to be able to see is more important than how you hold your brush. With that being said, my artworks could be easily painted by someone else, no matter what technical level I would have achieved, yet there aren't two exactly the same people and that's why my artworks are original. Also, it's never "just" practice, I've probably wasted a couple of years that could have been productive by searching for an answer to a completely useless question "Am I talented?". If becoming an artist is something we desire, practice is a road that will take us there. There is nothing as important as your need to express yourself.
Most of the artists wish for their own style. How would you describe yours, and how did you develop it?
My style shows certain similarities to other painters' work and this is not an accident, people like me, who learn on their own, rely on sources available to them. Last time I was in an art class was 14 years ago, I was a child. I try to figure many things on my own, reading books and using common sense, but every technique has its regulations that is good to learn through the experience of others, and so I study other painters' work and experiment. This influences me very much. Also, time that I've spent painting so far is not enough to develop my own style, I believe it is just a beginning. After all, there is so many media I haven't put my hand on yet.
What are your favorite tools and how were you introduced to them? Did you experiment or someone recommended them to you?
The medium that fascinates me the most is watercolor. I don't remember exactly when I acknowledged its existence but I started to pay more attention to it after seeing agnes-cecile's YouTube videos. That happened about a year ago, I was drawing portraits with pencils when it striked me - it was flowing and dripping, so exciting! (I doubt I'm the only person she inspired this way, she should be proud of herself). A few months later I abandoned oils and pencils, watercolor completely had me. Currently, I try to combine it with dry pastel and chalks. I also miss oil painting and intend to practice portraiture in this medium more often.
What role has deviantART in your artistic life? Do you use it solely to expose your art or you also make friends and learn? Why did you join?
I've formerly joined with the intention to showcase my artworks. That has quicky changed, as I started to discover artworks of others, my perception of art has changed. I've found many people that were just like me, trying to improve and not knowing where to start, seeking encouragement and help... or just wanted to discuss what they do. On deviantART, an artist feels loved and cherished, no matter what type of artwork you make, you will find an audience for it. What you give, you get back, when you comment on someone else's work, they will eventually come and look at yours, too. It's something else than friendship what we form, we become coleagues and learn to respect each other. And yes, I make friends, it does not matter to me that we don't live in the same city, I enjoy correspondence with some artists I've met on deviantART, precious people I would have never met otherwise.
Show us the pieces that you are most proud of. Do they have a story behind them? What is the reason you consider them your favorites?
One of the most important for me is Silent Statement:
There were times when I let everything and everyone influence me and this impact led to partial instability and inner fears. One day it got to me too much and I wished to freeze time, grab the pieces of me and build an iron shield inside me that would protect my integrity no matter what's going on around. I painted Silent Statement with this thought on my mind.
Occasionally, I paint self portraits (just like many other artists), it helps me capture the state of my mind at that time much better than any written diary could, here is the one most precious to me:
Occasionally, I paint self portraits (just like many other artists), it helps me capture the state of my mind at that time much better than any written diary could, here is the one most precious to me:
Also, all the portraits of my friends are my favorites, there is a lot of personal context understandable only by me behind them.
Regarding your own art, what do you think has been your greatest achievement so far?
I had my first live exhibition in May 2012 (Brno, Czech Republic) and I'm getting ready for another one, yet the biggest achievement was to be able to paint a portrait of my grandfather, who passed away last December. It was the hardest painting I've made, I believe quite a valuable present to my mother, when I finished and gave it to her, I really felt this type of work makes sense:
Do you have favorite artists on deviantART? Could you show us some art that you like and/or inspire you?
I currently watch over 300 artists and get to know new ones every day, the list of my influences would be long. But some are really special to me, as mentioned above, agnes-cecile teaches us all how to watercolor, RoryonaRainbow's tutorials are one of a kind, LORETANA has been on my watch forever because of her infectious enthusiasm for painting; looking at takmaj's works makes me want to return to architecture topic, Danny O'Connor (ART-BY-DOC) is a tremendous inspiration when it comes to color and symbiosis of real and abstract, :devBeatrizMartinVidal: and her hypnotizing deep illustrations are something worth seeing as well. I often visit the galleries of Carnegriff, lora-zombie, angora39, yelou, micorl, elia-illustration, Amaria, yag65, nidhaladn, PEHDTSCKJMBA, tuyetdinhsinhvat, Srdce. One of the most inspiring people around, personally, has been SRaffa and jialu, who's work I've discovered only recently - I secretly read their old journals with my morning coffee, such valuable asset they are.
Mature Content
How do you choose your models? Did it ever happen to have a stranger come to you and ask if they can be your model?
It depends on what's the purpose of that particular painting. I often work on smaller watercolor paper to practice my skills or to experiment, for that I search stock pictures, mostly on deviantART. Sometimes I see a face of someone I came in contact with and it inspires me enough to ask them if I could paint them. But more than a half of the portraits in my gallery are of my friends, whom I paint with the biggest pleasure. Yes, haha, strangers did come to me and asked to be painted, sadly, inspiration can hardly be pushed. I am also forbidden to paint my sister and most of my family shoo's me away when I want to draw them - unbelievable! 
What drawn you towards traditional art, paintings in particular? How was your first experience with this kind of art and how long ago was it?
It must be some very basic human instinct to mess around with paint, because that's what I often felt like doing when I was feeling down or lost. It was about 4 years ago when I bought oil paints, someone gave me spare wooden plates and I was able to spend days laying the colorful paint down with my fingers (I disliked brushes back than). It was really relaxing, although oils stink a lot and dry very slow. Ever since I prefer paint and fluid media over pencils quite strongly, even though I sketch and draw regularly.
Is there anything else you would like to add? A few words for your audience and/or other artists, maybe?
I am very grateful for my audience and appreciate every comment you ever left on my deviations or my wall. I did not start to paint out of support, I hardly received any from my background, since there were other things expected from me in life. It only taught me that the right reason for doing what I do is because I want to. That's the message from me, and perhaps I have nothing else to say but this, always be honest with yourself, don't be afraid to spend time alone to get to know yourself, everything you do will than come straight from your heart.
Thank you, jane-beata 
