Brushstrokes of Bliss

Every artist has a special source of inspiration, a particular passion behind the melody, movement or design of a piece. Jane Duncan Stogner’s vibrant oil paintings are a clear tribute to one of the greatest influences on her life and career: the rolling, lake-bordered countryside of Franklin County.

            “Franklin County is one of the best kept secrets in the world,” said Stogner. “We’re so lucky to have mountains, so much water, views, and with all the colleges in the area, we also have cultural advantages. I want my legacy to be painting this area.”

            Stogner’s home studio and private gallery in Ferrum are a clear testament to this desire, brimming with expertly crafted oil paintings capturing some of the area’s most bucolic scenes.

            “Within a 20- to 25-mile radius of my home is all I need. I have fallen in love with mountains. I prefer to paint small streams over large bodies of water; I love rocks, fields, trees and the sky,” said Stogner. “I take responsibility to document the beauty of this area. If you’re not careful, you’re in your car and you pass it all by. I fear I won’t have enough years to get it all done.”

            Frequent drives on the Blue Ridge Parkway and through nearby remote locations provide constant inspiration for Stogner’s work.

            “I take pictures, and I take notes and study the place, and sometimes I have to go back to it a couple of times,” she said. “I’ll meditate there and write down how it makes me feel, the spirit of the place. Then I stand in my studio and paint.”

            Stogner has been putting brush to canvas for as long as
she can remember.

            “Art goes back to my earliest memories, even before first grade. I loved to draw, use crayons, make marks, paint. It has always been a driving force in my life,” she said.

            A North Carolina native, Stogner earned an art degree at the University of North Carolina. She started work on her master’s at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., completed it at Radford University after moving to Virginia.

            “In 1971, my husband got a job at Ferrum College and I began teaching there the next year,” said Stogner. “I realized education was a way I could make an impact. It never occurred to me to do anything else.”

            In addition to her formal degrees, Stogner has participated in many workshops and seminars throughout the years, some of which were led by well-established artists such as pastelist Daniel Greene, author and former instructor of painting at the National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts in New York.

            Fortunately for lake lovers, Stogner’s pieces featuring Smith Mountain Lake are sold exclusively at The Little Gallery at Bridgewater Plaza.

            “I’ve been with The Little Gallery since the beginning. I have a very large presence at the lake,” said Stogner. “When I do demonstrations there, I get a lot of very positive comments. ‘Your work is peaceful and serene.’ Or, ‘I’m always seeing new things in your painting.’”

            Gallery co-owner Carol Swain said Stogner’s artwork
has had a major impact on the business during 22 years of working together.

            “She has been one of the best in quantity and sales from the beginning,” said Swain. “Once we saw her work, we loved it and wanted to carry it. Smith Mountain Lake’s peaceful, soft beauty of the mountains and water and sky is in her paintings. We couldn’t imagine the gallery without Jane Stogner.”

            Another group that has greatly benefited from Stogner’s artistic passion is the Bald Knob Artists. The club, initiated by Stogner, has grown to nearly 70 members in just three years.

            “I wanted to start the group after I noticed all the counties surrounding Franklin County had artist groups except for it,” said Stogner. “I am very, very proud of what Bald Knob [Artists] is doing. There are people from all walks of life in it.”

            After surviving a bout with cancer and retiring early from Ferrum College, Stogner continued pouring her passions for art and education into the community through workshops at the W. E. Skelton 4-H Educational Conference Center.

            “I’m more into educating than impressing people. The people I’ve taught [at the 4-H Center] are life-long learners. Life-long learning will keep you young,” she said.