J A N E T B E R R I E N

I am a painter living and working in Berkeley, CA. I graduated with a BA in Fine Arts from Smith College and continued studies in Landscape Architecture at Radcliffe and UC Berkeley. For twelve years I had a small business working with interior designers and architects creating hand-painted tiles and tile murals. More recently, my focus has shifted to painting what personally interests me, and I find my work is becoming more activist. This began with the Barn Series, conceived as a tribute to small family farms and their struggle to survive. One thing leads to another. Considering the plight of small farmers led to examining the reality of factory farms, which led to becoming vegan. This inspired my new series which examines our relationship with animals, but from their point of view. If Animals Could Tweet... can you imagine what they'd say? As our former Tweeter-In-Chief did so effectively, could they too use this platform to sway public opinion on their own behalf?