Jean Cullinane

“I paint for the sheer joy of it!”
I am a native Californian, growing up in Marin County and moving to Napa in the late 60’s. I draw inspiration from the sweeping western vistas, the coastal tides, the natural light and color around us. I create compositions that explore and express my deep love of the natural world.
At 50, I returned to school and earned a BA degree, with an emphasis in painting and a minor in Art History. I am foremost an oil painter, a glazer, who paints in many layers which create depth and glow in a painting. The process is both time-consuming and rewarding. The first stage of my work is always finding proportion and harmony, sometimes moving from a nature-inspired composition into a purely abstracted design. When not in the studio, I can be found in our garden. On a recent visit to Ghost Ranch I discovered that I shared this gardening passion with O’Keefe. I admit the garden can be a major distraction from painting yet it is my most faithful muse. My work is currently on display at the Riverfront Gallery in Petaluma and at Calamity Jane’s Trading Co on First Street, Napa