Uniquely, Jane combines the white-line woodblock technique with a contemporary grid format and her special sensibility for color. White-line woodblocks were developed in Provincetown in the early 1900s and used by B.J.O Nordfeldt, Gustave Baumann, Blanche Lazzell, Ferol S. Warthen, and others. Those familiar with these prints will see in Jane's work, the connections, as well as, her particular modifications to this historic technique.

When looking at Jane's prints some colors meld together, while others pop forward and back. They appear soft or intense, quiet or raucous. Viewed together what emerges is an awareness of the astonishingly limitless qualities of color. Jane uses a carved Shina plywood block, Kochi paper and gouache paint. Each print is based on one selected color and then rigorously expanded in 36 one-inch squares. Within each print there is a pair of identical color squares. The two are positioned side by side, horizontally or vertically. The placement of the pair varies so as to invite the viewer to closely examine the differences between colors. Color interaction can make the pair surprisingly challenging to identify.

Colorblock prints are created as a single print, a diptych, or a series of four:

A single print explores one color as titled and printed pure in the border. This subject color exists in each of the 36 squares.

Moss Green

Yellow Ochre

Diptychs are two prints of 36 squares each, framed together so as to have a conversation.
The matching pair in each is the same color.

Brilliant Pink - Sepia

A series consists of four separate prints using the same color: #1 Hue, #2 Value, #3 Temperature, #4 Chroma. Displayed as an installation they will provide the viewer with an opportunity to compare and contrast the elements of color relativity.

Small diptychs consist of two grids of 9 squares each.
The matching pair is separated so the identical color is in a different place in each grid.

The Provincetown Print

The White-Line Woodcut or Provincetown Print, as it is also known, is a uniquely American art form developed in the early 1900’s in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The popularity of the Japanese woodblock prints, Cubism, and Abstract Theory all contributed to the development of this new technique of a single-block method of color printmaking. Although only one block of wood is used, the design and color scheme must be simplified in order to create the perfect print. After carving out the design using a tool that cuts a V-shaped wedge, one shape at a time is covered with watercolor. The use of watercolor instead of ink gives the print a translucence incorporating the grain of wood into the design. There is a great variety of color possible. The same design takes on a different character with each subsequent printing. Each print is an individual work even though the same color scheme may be used.