Art Gallery of Newfoundland and
Labrador (AGNL)
Shaped by the Sea
Permanent Collections
To say that Janice Udell simply draws would be a mistake. Although she works mainly in pencil, her artwork is as complex as any painting.
Born in St. John's in 1954, in early childhood drawing became something of an obsession with Udell. However, she was discouraged from spending so much time at it and actually gave it up for a number of years.
After completing high school, she attended the College of Trades and Technology in St. John's, where she earned a diploma in commercial art. Afterwards, like many other young Newfoundland artists, she went to the mainland to study and attended the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD).
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Saturnalia 1983 Graphite on Paper 50 x 68.7 cm 
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Uninterested in the conceptual art style being taught at NSCAD, Udell nonetheless graduated and spent a year teaching art in Halifax before moving to Toronto in the late 1970s. Still unsure of her artistic direction, it was ultimately the picture of a baby in a book that provided her inspiration. It revived her desire to express emotion through her art, and soon she was spending 8-10 hours a day drawing. At the same time she also began studying Renaissance art, an influence that continues to the present.
Udell had her first solo gallery show in Montréal in 1981. This was unusual, since she was still virtually unknown. However, the show proved to be quite successful. Since then she has had over a dozen solo and group exhibitions of her work in St. John's and on the mainland.
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Sphinx Rising 1986 Pencil 63.5 x 45.5 cm
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Using graphite pencil on paper, Udell achieves astonishing detail through a process called crosshatching. She covers the surface of the paper with a layer of lead by using close-knit lines in one direction, then another, over and over. Because the technique is so intricate and tonal, some critics argue that her work falls more into the domain of painting rather than drawing. At first it was primarily black and white, more recently she has begun to add colour. Influenced by the Renaissance, her artwork also exhibits a distinctive surreal feel.
Udell works and lives in St. Michael's, a small community about one hour south of St. John's. Her artwork can be found in numerous private and public collections, including Gleneagles Investments, Fejay Corporation, Air Canada, Seagram's Corporation, and the federal government's Art Bank.
