“Make Every Day a Holiday” was the tagline for Jill Banks’ parents’ early business venture, Holiday Florist in Chicago. “It was exactly how they lived as well,” says Banks. “Growing up, each day truly was celebrated.” Bank’s tagline, “Capturing Life in Oils,” aptly describes her mission to celebrate everyday life by sharing its beauty in her work.
Last Lavender, oil on linen-lined panel, 18 x 24"
Banks has always been a people watcher so, when getting a late start in fine art as a second career, she naturally gravitated to portraiture. “I was granted permission to stare all I wanted,” she says. In 2011, she took on a "crazy" project to paint 100 faces in 100 days of anyone who agreed to sit for her. "I adored this project.," she says. "I’d climbed out on a limb, got to know 100 humans better, and enjoyed having all their stories running around in my head.”
City Blooms, oil on linen, 30 x 30"
When the project was over and people stopped coming to her studio on a daily basis to be painted, Jill stepped outside to find them—taking the leap to plein air painting in urban settings. “There’s an energy and joy being right in the thick of things truly immersed in the life around us,” she says. In July, she spent her annual overseas painting trip in the South of France. “Sixteen days there sprouted 30 paintings now in my French paintings collection on my website,” says Banks. “Wander around in that collection to witness the joys of those days and previous trips to France.”
French Corner, oil on linen, 24 x 24"
Jill Banks’ Virginia studio will be open to the public during the annual Great Falls Studio Tour from October 20 through October 22. For details about this event and more upcoming festivals and exhibitions that Jill will be a part of, visit the events page on the artist’s website. —
Want to See More?
www.jillbanks.com
(703) 403-7435
Instagram: @jillbanks1
Facebook: /JillBanksStudio
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