about janice sylvia brock

Janice Sylvia Brock is an internationally acclaimed artist, and her work hangs in private collections in the Caribbean, Canada, Europe, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and the USA, notably The White House.  Her paintings have changed hands for as much as US$200,000.  In 2010 she exhibited in London's world-famous Saatchi Gallery, and a private showing of her work in the UK was attended by HRH The Prince of Wales.

She will approach a new canvas without the aid of sketches, photographs or preliminary outlines.   From the first touch of colour laid onto the virgin canvas her brush strokes are utterly confident, and this is evident in the result: works which resonate with life, sensuality, and humour.   Her portraits imbue their subjects with a living quality that no camera could ever capture.

Janice was born in Manchester, and now has studio galleries in St James, Barbados and in Cheshire, UK.   Her painting career started in hospital where she spent most of her adolescence, suffering from severe rheumatoid arthritis, a condition which has become her constant companion.  Her illness prevented her taking up an offer of a place at Manchester College of Art, although she has since coached both undergraduates and professional artists in techniques of working in oils, her favoured medium, as well as graphite, water-colour and pastel.  She has tutored guests in painting at Sandy Lane Hotel, Barbados, though she has also held art therapy classes in prisons, psychiatric hospitals and nursing homes, empathising with those for whom survival is a constant struggle.

She continues to work tirelessly to improve the quality of life of disabled people both in Barbados and the UK.   In addition she has herself donated many of her paintings to charities for auction, raising in excess of US$250,000.

In Barbados Janice is a member of the Barbados Arts Council, and founded 'The Artists' Clubhouse', a meeting point for artists.  In the UK she is a member of London's Chelsea Arts Club, and an Honorary Fellow of the North West Academy of Arts.  She was the subject of a television documentary screened in 2007 in the UK, and in June 2011 she was a guest of HM The Queen at Buckingham Palace.  Her book 'Impressions of the Caribbean' is now almost completely sold out, and her autobiography is to be published shortly.