jan fontecchio
Jan Fontecchio was raised on a horse ranch in the low desert, growing up on horseback. She spent her childhood riding in the wilds of the washes and hills, where her interest in wildlife and western life began. As she’s naturally an artist, these are the scenes that inspired her first drawings...and her first sculpture; a rearing horse made entirely of baling wire. "Baling wire was always in plentiful supply" she says.
“I’ve done art since my first memory,” Fontecchio says. “My parents say I drew a three-dimensional wedge of cheese when I was three. I don’t remember that, but my book covers at school were covered in sketches. A pencil was always in my hand, and if the teacher didn’t grab my tests quickly enough, there might be a little horse drawn in the corner of the paper.”
When Fontecchio was ten, a family friend who worked as an artist for Disney drew a horse portrait in charcoal for her. “I think it took him two minutes or something. That little demo solidified my desire to be an artist. It changed my life.”
“I’ve done art since my first memory,” Fontecchio says. “My parents say I drew a three-dimensional wedge of cheese when I was three. I don’t remember that, but my book covers at school were covered in sketches. A pencil was always in my hand, and if the teacher didn’t grab my tests quickly enough, there might be a little horse drawn in the corner of the paper.”
When Fontecchio was ten, a family friend who worked as an artist for Disney drew a horse portrait in charcoal for her. “I think it took him two minutes or something. That little demo solidified my desire to be an artist. It changed my life.”
