Jann Harrison is an accomplished painter with a unique sense of humor flavored by her deep southern roots. Considered by many to be a humorist who paints, Jann’s humor appears in her work, but never more prevalent than when she probes the whimsical side of life. She enjoys combining realism with elements of fantasy and tossing in an unexpected touch of the surreal for flavor.

“Searching through the archives of my childhood, I can not remember art not being a part of my life. I was absolutely fascinated by portraitists, whether it be a picture of Little Lulu in the funny paper or sketching my mother on a little note pad. These early portraits were the very beginning of my training to see the reality of what was in front of me, not what was supposed to be there.”

Harrison began her love affair with art as a young child when she began her formal training in painting. She went on to receive a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, with a minor in Art History, from the University of Tennessee. She has studied with Whitney Leland, Carl Sublett and the late Byron McKeeby. She resides in Nashville, Tennessee.

“I had learned to actually see in a very different way from what people usually see. So, one thing led to another. My artistic vision started to develop which then led to observing people and their mannerisms and body language, different cultures and different age groups”, Jann says.

As Jann’s interpretation became more complex and more personal you see paintings with great emotion and passion, pushing the boundaries of the obvious characteristics of her subjects to the limit. In her later work, you see her distinctive qualities become more evident as she takes you beyond the obvious. Jann will take you to what can be, not necessarily what is.