Artist’s statement
"My passion and enthusiasm for art were ignited in early childhood by my architect father and art teacher mother making artistic expression an essential part of my life. A background in art and theatre mixed with a love of inspiring others to believe in themselves has led me to create a unique method of teaching which allows anyone to reach a clear understanding of the fundamentals of art in a very short space of time. I love the sparkle in a person's eyes when they realise just what talents they have and what they are really capable of. I aim to convey messages of freedom, openness, adventure and possibility in both my lessons and artworks."
Jeanni’s Biography
Jeanni Grant-Nelson is a Cornwall-based artist, teacher and the artist behind Art At The Beach and Visual Awareness Ltd. With around 46 years of teaching experience in the UK and Australia, her work has always brought together art, education and a fascination with how we actually see and understand the world around us.
In 2016, Jeanni established Art At The Beach at Mawgan Porth, where she ran her own gallery for around eight years. It became a place to paint, teach, exhibit and share not only her own work, but selected work by artists she had taught. Although the gallery has now changed shape, Mawgan Porth remains very much part of Jeanni’s working life. She continues to paint and teach there regularly, with a local display at Betty’s Surf Shop and her wider collection of originals, prints and selected artists’ work available online.
Jeanni is also Artist in Residence at The Nare Hotel at Carne Beach, a role she has held for around 20 years. Cornwall’s coastline, its changing light, weather, landscape and sea continue to influence both her painting and the way she teaches.
She trained as a teacher at St Luke’s College, Exeter, from 1975 to 1978, before going on to teach art and drama in both the UK and Australia. Since then, her teaching has moved far beyond the traditional classroom. Jeanni has worked with individuals, families, schools, businesses and organisations including UK Sport, the Discovery Channel, Oxford University neuroscientists, the Eden Project, BNP Paribas, GiffGaff and British Basketball.
At the heart of Jeanni’s teaching is the belief that art is about understanding, not simply copying. She teaches people to really look, to understand what they are seeing and why it appears the way it does. Her approach brings together perspective, colour, light, mathematics, psychology, physiology and the physics of the world around us.
Rather than teaching people to paint like her, Jeanni gives them the knowledge and practical skills to make their own decisions, solve visual problems and gradually develop a style that belongs to them.
Alongside teaching, Jeanni continues to work as a professional artist, creating original paintings and commissions inspired by the places, landscapes, structures and changing environments that capture her attention, particularly Cornwall and its coastline.
