Shortcut to America

"How do you recreate a magical moment such as seeing the sun rise over the Grand Canyon?

During the summer of 2007, artist Jan Gay journeyed across western America with her family. Their road trip took them through the vast landscapes, remote communities and major cities that make up California, Utah, Colorado and Arizona. Along the way they encountered huge skies, dramatic storms and the raw beauty that makes up this beautifully complex land.

Such a powerful landscape impressed heavily on Jan, who had not expected to find the scenery quite so moving and had never before worked in response to a rural landscape. Yet she found herself unable to resist sketching and photographing on a daily basis, and on her return to England immediately set about trying to recreate her experience.

By no means has she tried to achieve this by copying images she collected on paper, by camera or in her mind, as to capture such an awesome scene within the confines of a canvas would be an impossible task. Instead she combined the deep layers she observed in the landscape with the emotion it evoked. The resulting mix of rich distorted colour and fluid semi-abstract pattern, captures the very essence of the landscape in its all-consuming sun-drenched glory." (Helen Foster, Curator the Richard Attenborough Centre Leicester)