My name is Janna Mitchell. I work as a Marriage and Family Therapist and Drama Therapist. I live with my partner Rick Gable in Northern California. I have two beloved stepsons Jonathan and David.
I was born in the United Kingdom in 1955. As a child I loved to draw and color and spent hours in this activity. I loved art, drama, dancing, playing—but I was a slow reader, and had a terrible attention span. Drawing was one thing I could pay attention to and loved.
When I was 18 yrs old I failed a major exam in Art and Art History. After failing the exam I assumed that I was not good enough to continue with art and stopped painting. In the early 1980’s I traveled to the United States and lived in the amazing city of San Francisco. At this time I realized that I was addicted to alcohol. I was surrounded by opportunities for personal growth and drawn toward recovery.
I read somewhere that children and alcoholics have the most active angelic guides. I had incredible dreams where a beautiful bird woman visited me; she would talk to me, and guide me. I had one very powerful dream where I was with two children. They were looking at paintings on a wall. They told me that I had painted these paintings. This led to me taking up art again. For the last 20 years, I have continually had a painting on the go. I have been sober since 1989.
I believe that art is a channel for the healing love of the universe and that my soul energy paints through me to guide me. When I paint I find a place of peaceful contentment. I am very grateful to be able to share my images.
About the FIG TREE PAINTING (Gallery second page)
I began to paint the fig tree in my back yard at the end of August 2001. After September 11, the painting changed for me. It became a meditation. As I painted, my feelings went into the painting. I grieved as I painted. The colors were my feelings-red: anger, blue: sadness, green: healing, yellow: hope, purple: mystery. My painting became a prayer. Each fig began to represent the unique beauty of each of us. Each leaf had its own pattern, shades of color and personality as we each have our own beliefs and life experience that makes us unique. Although the leaves were all different, they grew from one tree. The tree was our source of unity, all of us on this planet together, no separation, no them and us. “The interconnectedness of all living things” The painting is a prayer for compassion, understanding, and healing.