Most of us only daydream about making a living from our passion.  Six years ago, Jan Heaton began putting her 20 years of experience in the advertising industry to work making her painting passion her next career.  In June 2008, after years of juggling her two full time jobs in advertising and painting, Jan 'retired' to focus solely on building her career as a working artist.

Her watercolors are uniquely abstract and color rich.  We've included a few of her lovely images here, but she currently has a show running at Wally Workman Gallery in Austin, Texas from June 28 to July 30, 2008. 

When is the last time you dreamed of making a living doing what you love?  If you’re like most of us, maybe it was yesterday.

It’s an undeniably seductive notion, isn’t it?  It’s oh so easy to daydream about the delightful aspects of it.  And tempting to overlook the hard work and sacrifice it takes to move it from passion to full time, paying pursuit.

It isn’t a transition very many people make successfully but Jan Heaton is a woman in her midyears who has used her considerable professional skills to turn the daydream into reality.   

As you might guess, making a living as an artist is a big challenge.  That’s exactly what Jan is doing, however.  She paints in watercolor.  Beautiful, abstract, color rich images that are nothing like the pale, delicate washes most of us think of when we think of watercolor.

Jan looks ten years younger than her 61 years.  And, just a few weeks ago, she left her long time advertising career to become a full time working artist.  At last, she’s reached the payoff for several years of juggling her career with her desire to paint.

Jan was born with a paintbrush in her hand, so to speak.  Both parents were artists, and all she ever knew growing up in Michigan was art.  The weather of course often meant the kids had to be inside, so Mom kept Jan and her brother busy by setting up still lifes to paint.  Paints, clay, pastels, all were available, all the time.  She wasn’t even really encouraged to become an artist, it was just in the air she breathed, it was fun!

She ended up going to an arts and music high school and when she was 17, she had a two person show in a Detroit gallery with her Mom.  As Jan puts it, “I’ve just always done this.”

Then, as often happens, life intervened and she took a detour.  She entered the advertising world, was married, and had children.  The advertising business can be quite intense, and working 50 to 60 hours a week with two children and an Air Force pilot husband who was away quite a bit didn’t leave time for painting.

“I was still drawing, but I stopped painting for probably a good ten years,” Jan remembers.  Then, about eight years ago, something moved her to take a couple of painting classes with, Malou Flato and Isa Catto, two well-respected artists whose work she admired.  It certainly got her in the painting groove again, but more importantly, both artists questioned why Jan was taking classes.  “You need to show your work to someone,” they both encouraged her.

Jan appreciated the acknowledgement, but didn’t really consider taking their advice or selling her work.  After all, her advertising work and children were still keeping her very busy.

Life once again, intervened.  Six years ago, the advertising firm she had been working at for the previous six years began  going through some transitions.  She had just come back to her job as Director of Creative Services after a well-earned 5 week sabbatical.  She had begun painting during that time, and entertaining the notion of showing her work to someone.   Shortly after her return, in a third round of lay offs at the company, she was also let go.