GROWING up in a family of women where creativity was always encouraged, Rana Jordahl’s path to becoming a professional artist seemed almost laid out from childhood. After beginning her career in advertising and graphic design, she transitioned to fine art upon moving to Charleston in 2002 and has built on her inherent talent using the principles she learned in graphic design. “Graphic design has aided me well in terms of conception, design, composition, drawing and color harmony,” she says, noting that she has honed her painting skills by taking many painting workshops and studying locally under the tutelage of Elizabeth Bronson in McClellanville for years.
She describes her style as contemporary impressionism and loves to capture her subjects in a mixture of abstraction and representative form, using thick, expressive brushstrokes. She keeps a multitude of tools in her kit, from brushes and palette knives to paint shapers and brayers. “I have a love for painting the animals that I grew up around from my Midwest upbringing as well as from the Lowcountry, including herons, egrets, pelicans and other shorebirds, cows and chickens,” she says. “I also enjoy the creative process and flexibility of setting up still life arrangements. Throw in a pinch of landscape, and those are my favorite muses.
“I love art for its infinite possibilities and how many ways I can choose to express a subject and its form. A bird’s wings in flight, the cast light of an object onto another in a still life, the motion of water and the sparkling light on its surface. There is so much inspiration to be found in the world around us, from natural beauty in our landscape to ordinary, everyday objects that are suddenly elevated when arranged perfectly together in still life. Whatever I want to convey about those subjects—softness, drama, light and shadow, energy, color—it is endless, and it inspires me to paint every day.”
The artist keeps a dedicated studio space at her home on Daniel Island and is a member of Oil Painters of America, American Impressionist Society, National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society, American Artists Professional League, and Society of Animal Artists. Her work is represented at Gallery By SEWE (Charleston Place Hotel) and Anne Neilson Fine Art (Charlotte, North Carolina). Jordahl exhibits in various annual juried shows and exhibitions such as Southeastern Wildlife Exposition and Piccolo Spoleto Outdoor Art Exhibition (Charleston) and Western Visions (Jackson Hole, Wyoming).
You can see more of Jordahl’s work on her Instagram page: @ranajordahl_fineart.
