River West Artworks

About Jan Jenkins

I love light and color, word and rhythm. Growing up on an island west of Montreal where the Ottawa and St. Lawrence Rivers meet and maple trees grow tall and sweet was the perfect setting for painting, writing, walking and rock-picking. When I left home, I moved to Alberta and where I worked in the energy industry in marketing. I've taken instruction in oil painting, watercolor and other media. I've also done commission work, painted and sold other works in my spare time. After retiring from a successful corporate career in Calgary, I moved to Dauphin, Manitoba where I now focus on my life-long passion - my need to express my self creatively through visual art, wearable art and poetry.

My visual artwork has received recognition at Annual Parkland Region Juried Art Shows and been in the Manitoba Arts Network’s Rural and Northern Manitoba Art Exhibitions in Winnipeg. My art is regularly displayed in the Dauphin Art Group’s exhibits at the Watson Art Centre's Art Gallery in Dauphin, and been included in province-wide tours as part of the Manitoba Art Network’s Touring Exhibition Program. I've had my work on exhibit at the Dauphin Public Library, at the Library in McCreary, included in the Manitoba Society of Artists Juried Competition Shows in Winnipeg, part of group shows at Wayne Arthur Gallery in Winnipeg, the AGSM in Brandon. I am also a CZT (Certified Zentangle® Teacher).

I am a member of the Dauphin Art Group, the Manitoba Society of Artists, MAWA (Mentoring Artists for Women’s Art), Manitoba Arts Network, Uniquely Manitoba, CARFAC Manitoba, Creative Manitoba, and the Manitoba Printmakers Association. My works are available for purchase through my website, as well as at the Watson Art Centre in Dauphin, Poor Michael's in Onanole, the Wayne Arthur Gallery in St.Boniface Winnipeg and at the Galleria Inglewood in Calgary. I continue to explore and grow my creative expression on a mixed-media level, and support charity through donations of my artistic creations for their use in fundraising.

About Brian Erickson (aka "The Beezer")

Brian is my partner in life and literally the driving force behind River West Artworks, as I'm not able to drive a car. Brian is also very artistic and his creative interests include me as well as poetry, photography - signage on old buildings being his favorite, along with Pollock style abstract painting. That's how we met actually, through our love of writing poetry and belonging to the same writer's group.

"Brief Moments of Clarity", Poems and Writings by Brian W. Erickson, quickly sold out of publication, and for now can be found on the secondary market - another print run is being considered. Brian's facebook page "Beezer Chronicles" is a humorous reflection filled with dry witty observations on life and "The Beezer" has garnered quite the following on Facebook and elsewhere. The "Beezerworks" gallery on this page is being loaded with all of Brian's arty creations!