Jayne Reid Jackson

As a printmaker specializing in etching, mezzotint and monotype, I create still life images to express my interest in depth and light as I try to capture what is special about everyday objects.  As a lover of drawing and painting, I turned to intaglio as a way to explore line, shape and shadow and I concentrate on the techniques that require drawing and painting skills as opposed to photographic or digital techniques.

I began my work with monotype to explore object, ground and pattern and moved into multple plate color etching to further work with layered color.  My work with light and shadow has led me to the process of mezzotint, a technique that is experiencing a rebirth among printmakers for its rich velvety blacks and its nontoxic process.  My mezzotints are an examination of light and dark using primarily the still life as vehicle to study how glass and simple objects can create mystery and visual poetry by manipulating the shadows and reflections of the objects and their surroundings.

Jayne Reid Jackson is primarily a printmaker specializing in mezzotint.  In addition to her formal art training at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and Madison and the AGB Graphics Workshop in Madison Wisconsin, she is self-taught in the mezzotint technique and is known internationally for her mezzotint work which uses still life elements to study how glass and simple objects can create mystery and visual poetry by manipulating the shadows and reflections of the objects and their surroundings.

She is a member of several print societies across the United States and internationally and has exhibited regularly in member exhibitions with these organizations along with numerous juried shows and invitationals.  Her mezzotints are included in several international public collections.  She is currently Director of the International Mezzotint Society and Chair of the South Central Chapter of Wisconsin Visual Artists.