| Jane Seymour is a woman of prolific talents, like a gem with many sparkling facets. Her penchant for self-expression in the creative arts has been manifested in numerous ways throughout her life. As a teenager, she created her own clothes and enjoyed knitting and doing embroidery. She planned to become a ballerina, and were it not for a knee injury at the age of 15, her life would have taken a very different course, that of a dedicated dancer. Having acted out various plays at home with her sisters, Jane Seymour (Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenburg) turned to acting, and was in her first film at the age of 17. Her acting career has spanned over 35 years, including Broadway, film and TV. She became an author and has written several books, including a series of children’s books. While her acting career was in full swing, Jane took to designing clothing, initially a line for women, and then for kids as well. Next, her design skills brought her the opportunity to create a home decor line, including fashions for bath and bedroom...first inspired by her castle in Bath, England, then her home in Malibu, CA, and most recently by Grand Hotel.
Beyond all those outlets for expressing creativity, however, it is her passion for painting that has brought Jane the most intense joy and satisfaction. Born out of a deep low in her personal and financial life, painting
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was the means by which she lifted herself and renewed her spirit. It happened rather by accident. Having lost her father, and making the shocking discovery that her (former) manager-husband had been cheating on her for a long time, as well as squandering her fortune, leaving her “beyond bankrupt,” Jane lost her home and moved into a small cottage with her two young children. They “lived on the bed,” rarely going out. They played games, read books and did some finger painting for fun. Shortly after this spontaneous dabbling, she discovered the artist whom she would approach to paint her own children’s portrait. When the artist came to visit, he noticed the finger paintings, and encouraged Jane to take up painting. He showed her some techniques. Before long, she was enthralled with painting and couldn’t stop. She finds it odd that at that critical juncture of her life, in deep depression in loss and grief, she was painting happy and vibrant still lifes of flowers. It was a rebirth and renewal, paving the way for a new, brilliant chapter in her life, as she details vividly in her book, “Remarkable Changes.”
Jane paints wherever she travels--that is, if at all possible. It is her desire to paint every day, though with her intensely busy schedule, that is not possible. She has boundless enthusiasm for it, and has turned many of her friends and family onto the fun of painting. Her twin boys, John and Kris, enjoy it too.
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