Artist Bio

Jane Graf was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas. You could say, she is a big city country girl. During her school years, weekends were spent on the family farm in east Texas, where she acquired a strong respect for snakes and cattle. She also learned to fish, to shoot and how to drive a standard on the farm.

Her father was a transportation supervisor, of an asphalt company, which transported materials for building projects, including construction of DFW Airport. He was also a cattleman and owned a heard of registered cattle and the family ranch also supported several oil wells. Her mother worked in a print shop and produced things like the TCU and UNT annuals. However, she resigned from the printing business and raising her children became her full time career. Also, her family religiously attended Christian Temple, an Assembly of God Pentecostal church.

Art was always a part of Jane’s life. Her artistic abilities were recognizable, at an early age. By age 8, she taught herself contour line drawing and to this day, it is one of her strongest abilities. Her cats were some of her earliest models. Her mother taught her how to knit, crochet and sew by the age of 13. She attended youth summer art classes, in the mid 70’s, at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. Her elementary school years were filled with piano, violin, ballet, tap and baton lessons. She was active in sports, participating in swimming, softball and cheerleading. In Junior High, she attended art, drafting, wood shop, metal shop and band, where she learned to play the flute. Her high school years were filled with athletics and dance. At that time, a pastel landscape was entered in the local scholastic art contest and she received honorable mention.

She married her high school sweetheart and had three children. However, the marriage ended 5 years later and she became a young, single mother managing to work full time, while attending college classes at night. During this time, she dabbled in photography, cake decorating, floral arranging, textiles and metal. She designed and made clothing and costumes for herself and her children. She took some time off from college, after her father died, suddenly of a heart attack. Soon after his death, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and she became her mother’s primary caregiver.

Following the death of her mother, she returned to college, with a new focus on art and she is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Photography seems to come naturally to her, so she is anticipating taking photography classes, which will add another dimension to her artistic process. She is currently interested in figural and abstract paintings, while evaluating subject matter, experimenting with different media and materials. Currently, she is devoting her time to political activism and is creating graphic images for a national political action committee. She is actively exhibiting her artwork and seeking gallery representation.