Jane Seymour

Perhaps best known for her role as Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman and a Bond girl in Live and Let Die,
multiple Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning Actress, Jane Seymour is in Mississauga this November
for a reason she may not be as well known for—her artwork

	story MAUREEN SCOTT photographs STEVE UHRANEY The 2010 Canadian Exhibition of the Art of Jane Seymour comes to the Art Trax Gallery in Port Credit until November 19 showcasing Jane’s paintings, watercolours, sculptures and limited-edition giclee prints, wearable-art scarves and handbags, as well as books. Jane Seymour will be in attendance at various events from November 4-6. “I have always loved to paint even as a child. It’s what I did,” says Jane, speaking to me by phone from the movie set of Life with Prudence, being filmed in Michigan. “My parents would take me to the museums and art galleries (Jane grew up in Wimbledon, England). I studied ballet and had the credentials to go to art school, but after an injury, I threw all that away and went into acting. I didn’t touch a paintbrush again until I was in my 40s. It was after a very difficult divorce where I lost everything.” Jane spent the last of what money she had left on a drawing of her children, by artist Tom Meilko. Ironically, that purchase lead to Jane’s introduction into the art world. “Tom came to my house to deliver the drawing and he noticed my art—finger paintings and little drawings—and he told me they were good and suggested that I take lessons. I told him that I did not have the means to pay him—I was about to lose the house. He offered to give me the lessons for free.” Jane said those lessons in watercolour, and others that followed by other artists in other mediums, helped to save her both financially and emotionally. “I had a lot of anxiety, and when I paint, I am put into a Zen state. Painting helped me to function and to move on with my life. Now, it’s my favourite thing to do when I’m having a tough time. I find any excuse at all to paint. It puts me into a whole other world.” Jane encouraged her husband (actor/director James Keach), their six children, friends and even her 90-year-old mother to paint. “We throw painting parties,” laughs Jane. “Art connects us—all of my kids are very artistic. When my mum was almost blind and had arthritis, she started sculpting.” A highlight in Jane’s life was a rare opportunity to paint at Giverny - Monet’s home and gardens in France. “I got to paint on a day when it was closed to the public. My husband filmed me painting there and we took a million photos, which I still use for inspiration.” The result was a series called Giverny Revisited. Jane now owns an art gallery in Los Angeles and has exhibited her work in galleries across the U.S. since 2000. In 2005, she was selected as one of the official painters of the Torino Winter Olympics, the official artist of the 2006 Naples Winter Wine Festival, the 2008 Beijing Olympics and most recently the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Jane often donates her art to children’s charities. She and her husband started the Open Hearts Foundation to benefit children in need. Jane’s painting of open hearts inspired a popular line of jewellery, several books and a philosophy for living. In 2008 Jane teamed with Kay Jewellers to design a special collection called Open Hearts by Jane Seymour. “I found I kept drawing a heart with an opening. Then I drew another and linked them together,” explains Jane. “My artist friends asked me how I came up with something that no one had ever done before. I feel that I was meant to pass the word along. It came from something my mum mentioned. She told me if I keep my heart open, love would find its way in. With an open heart you will let go of painful experiences and share them with others. It goes beyond a painting. It’s becoming a culture. It’s a phenomenon, actually.” Jane keeps an open heart and an open mind when it comes to accepting acting roles. Although she has starred in several dramatic roles, like Kate in East of Eden, she says she loves doing comedy. “I am really pretty zany and wacky!” laughs Jane. Seymour’s latest feature film teams her with James Brolin, Mandy Moore and Kellan Luz in Love, Wedding and Marriage. She appeared recently on Dancing with the Stars and on the highly rated television movie Dear Prudence and joined Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn in The Wedding Crashers. Jane’s daughter Katie Flynn plays her daughter in her current film Life with Prudence and her husband also has a role in the movie. Her son Sean Flynn is a renowned photographer, her twin boys paint, and son Johnny Keach writes music and plays in the band PT5. “I think they are going to be the next big thing!” says the proud mum. Art Trax Gallery owner Sue Black says it’s a dream come true for Jane Seymour to be visiting her gallery. Sue met Jane last March at the Art Expo in New York, where she purchased several of Jane’s paintings. Sue, a former lawyer, turned-art-gallery-owner, seems surprised by the effect Jane Seymour has had on her life. “Meeting Jane and reading her books has changed my life,” admits Sue. “This is a rare and wonderful opportunity to share Jane’s art and ‘Open Heart’ philosophy with Mississauga and that’s what it’s all about. It captures you and makes you rethink how you are living your own life.” GL	Jane Seymour She and her husband started the Open Hearts Foundation to benefit children in need.