Check Out Janell Mithani’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Janell Mithani.

Hi Janell, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Hello, and thanks so much for asking me to share my story. I grew up in a very small rural town in the northwestern United States and spent a lot of my childhood playing in the forest and drawing on the chalkboard at school. Picking wildflowers and hunting mushrooms with my sister are some of my fondest childhood memories. I was the youngest in a family who loved gardening, music, and the great outdoors. My grandparents had a large garden, grape vines, fruit, and nut trees. My grandmother, aunts, and mom grew the most beautiful flowers that I loved to draw. As a teenager, I sold my violin to buy my first 35MM camera and I took drawing and painting lessons from two women artists in the evenings. I learned so much from both Pam and Helen, and I am so grateful for their willingness to share their knowledge and talent with a very shy and quiet teenager. They both encouraged me to attend art school. I received a BFA from Southern Oregon State College in Ashland, Oregon in 1984. After spending a year in central Oregon working for a photography studio, I relocated to Los Angeles with a national photography company. Shortly after arriving, I met my husband and we made our home in Altadena, a small town just north of Pasadena.

My love for the intimacy of the human face drew me to portraiture early on in my career. In 1990, I opened a photography studio and spent 25+ years specializing in portraits, pregnancy, and newborn photography. It was such an honor to photograph women during this special time in their lives and to photograph their sweet babies. I worked in my garden studio behind our home. I remember one day when I was photographing a sweet little two-week-old baby and singing (very off-key 😊) a little lullaby, and her mom looked at me and said, “You have the greatest job in the world.” After many years of creating commissioned portraits for other people, I began yearning to paint again and create art from my dreams and imagination. My business slowly transitioned to fine art.

My daughter and I fell in love with the beautiful art from manga books and anime movies when she was about eleven. My sketchbooks began filling up with characters and faces influenced by this style of art. I began teaching Manga art to teens and teaching art and crafts classes to teens and adults in community libraries throughout the San Gabriel Valley. Today, I continue to paint in my garden studio and share my art through exhibiting, community events, and mentoring.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Separating myself from my art has always been a struggle. I know a lot of artists who struggle with this, too. When you create as a business, it is hard to not take reactions to your artwork personally. It can be challenging. I have learned to keep focused on the positive and realize my art doesn’t have to appeal to everyone.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a visual storyteller who creates vibrant paintings to inspire courage, celebrate nature, and encourage imagination. I work with water-based paints on canvas, pastels on paper, recycled tea bags, and natural wood substrates. My vibrant art celebrates my love for dramatic color and the journeys of my past. What do I specialize in? When I paint, I create groups of paintings called series, sub-categories of different artwork based on subjects or specific supplies. At this time, I am working on two long time series, as well as collaborating with other creatives on other projects…

“Wildish Spirits” was the first series I began in 2012 and still inspires me today. I strive to evoke a powerful message of the shared spaces between nature and humanity in my art. Reflecting on the fragile that has radiant inner strength. This is an ever-evolving series of mystical and whimsical art inspired from my childhood. These memories come to life and bring a sense of child-like wonder to my contemporary, imaginative art.

I love to drink tea and to recycle. After my mom passed away in 2019, I started painting a tea bag a day as a relaxing therapy and to honor her memory. I soon realized how much I enjoyed the process. I chose dresses as my subject as I have lovely photographs and memories of my mom and aunts in beautiful dresses from the 1950s and 1960s. In 2020, I began adding flowers. This past year, I have explored creating sculptural dresses out of tea bags and adding details with paint, natural dyes, and beads.

Last year I began offering products with my paintings on them. Many of my paintings are very large and I realize not everyone has room for a large wall piece, but they truly love my art and would enjoy having it in their life.

What sets my art apart is how it makes you feel. What emotions it evokes when viewed. A successful piece of art evokes emotion from the viewer, engaging them to ask questions and build upon what they see with their own thoughts and emotions. According to my collectors, they feel uplifted, mysterious, fearless, and surreal. The pieces really resonate with them. It brings a bit of beauty and whimsy to their day.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I have been fortunate to have mentors at different stages of my career. When I was younger teachers took the time to mentor me. Above, I mentioned two artists I took classes from in high school who mentored me. In college, I was a TA for my photography professor, and he taught me a lot about working with people and the ins and outs of freelance work. In my twenties, I joined a professional women’s organization to network and joined their mentoring program. My mentor became a lifelong friend who I still seek advice from on occasion.

Also, your mentor doesn’t need to be in the same field as you. I have learned a lot about business from women who aren’t artists. I had an antique dealer whose business was next door to my studio in Pasadena and she taught me many things about the retail business.

Another great way to find a mentor or to a network is to collaborate with another business. It can be a local business or someone you have gotten to know on social media. Anna, from Anberc Candles (who I met on Instagram), referred me to VoyageLA. We also collaborated on a special “Wildish Spirits” candle last spring. I have collaborated with other artists from all over the world that I met on Instagram, some were simple one-time projects and others elaborate ongoing projects. And the best part is it has been totally fun!

I encourage you to collaborate with another business. A business that is not in your field can expand your reach and create even more opportunities to grow your business. Working with others on a project can give you insight about their creative process and you may even adapt a few of their tools or procedures into your own process. I believe in lifelong learning and look forward to learning and stretching my creativity and having fun collaborating with other like-minded people.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://janellmithani.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janellmithani.art/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JanellMithaniArtist/

Image Credits
Janell Mithani