Illustrator and fine artist, Janice Fried never knew a time when she wasn’t drawing or doing some kind of artwork.  “My mother is also an artist so I grew up learning to find beauty in all kinds of things like an old piece of lacy rust or a smooth stone or a piece of birch bark.”, says Fried.  As a child, Janice loved to create her own children’s books and so being an illustrator, matching words with pictures was the most natural thing for her to do.  Janice picks three of her favorite images and tells us in her own words why.

Albani

Janice Fried: This piece is one of a series of mixed media pieces I did for myself based on the first volume (A-Ames) of an old Funk and Wagnalls Encyclopedia.  I would find a word or a name on the page and illustrate it.  To date, I have about 25 of these.  Maybe I’ll put together my own encyclopedia one day….Vol.1

Love

JF: The Love Image was originally done as a Valentine’s Day promo for myself.  I then used it for a very early page in Alternative Pick and it earned me a series of three card decks for Hay House publishers.  One deck used this image on the box cover. The Hay House cards were probably the best illustration job I’ve gotten to date.
This image has become a kind of logo for me and people seem to always like it.

The Caring Tree

JF: Trees have always been a favorite subject matter for me.  A dear friend of mine commissioned me to do a piece for her office and this was what I came up with.  She is a lawyer who defends children and I thought what better subject matter than a cozy, protected tree.

To see more of Janice Fried’s work go to her website and Altpick page.