PENDLETON — “I always knew I should do art; it just took me a while to get back to it,” said Jane Langdon.

She and her husband, Brad, moved to Pendleton from Colorado last July in order to be closer to her mother. She recently opened the new Left Hand Gallery located downtown.

“Whether it is capturing an idyllic street scene, the way sunlight kisses a pear, or an amusing peek into some aspect of our human nature, I love to communicate what is in my heart with my paintbrush,” she said.  

Langdon purposely chose to open her small, relaxing, second-floor studio at the corner of State and Main streets so she could meet and connect with people.

“I love to paint scenes which portray sense of community, which is something I think people long for,” Langdon said. “Art is therapeutic as much as anything. I want people to find inner peace when they come here.”

Her colorful work uniquely captures details of everyday life that are unique to whatever town or area she decides to put on canvas. Whether it’s a lobster fest, a pancake breakfast, or a local auction, all are views of slices of life she’s seen or experienced. Most recently, it was the sunny side of Pendleton’s busy, historic downtown business district that came alive on her canvas. Now, the print is for sale at locations around town, including Arts-Antiques of Pendleton and Barista’s EmPOURium coffee shop.

Langdon said she’s in and out of her studio a lot during the week because she enjoys painting outdoors when the weather is nice. But, she keeps regular hours on Saturdays from 1 to 5 p.m.

In the gallery where she creates and sells her work, she displays some of her most fun projects. For example, there is the series of 20 humorous illustrations she completed in 2003 when she became the first licensed illustrator for the Red Hat Society. Purple Mountains Majesties depicts several red-hatted, purple-clad ladies with their rumps in the air. Dangerous Curves is another reflection of her fun and imaginative spirit.

She doesn’t keep track of the number of hours it takes to complete her works of art. More importantly, she said she wants to convey a sense of spontaneity— an immediateness or freshness in her artwork, which is both oil and watercolors.

Langdon lived in Colorado for 39 years before moving to Pendleton. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the University of Denver in Colorado, and later obtained an elementary education teaching certificate. She taught school in Denver and worked a few other jobs before she returned to her original love — art — 15 years ago. She owned her own art business in Colorado, and said art has always been a big part of her life because her mother is a portrait artist.

When the Langdons decided to move to Indiana last summer, they knew they wanted to live in an historic town. “I said to Brad, ‘You find a job and I’ll find a house,’” she laughed.

They’d previously driven through Pendleton on their way to Dayton, Ohio and liked the area. So, while her husband was interviewing for a job in Anderson, she drove up and down the streets of Pendleton. “I found a ‘For Sal’e sign, looked in the window and knew it was the house I wanted,” she said.

On their way back to the airport, they called the real estate agent and made an offer, and now the house is theirs.  “I honestly felt guided,” she said.

They experienced their first Christmas in Pendleton celebration last November and loved it. “I tell people I feel like I’m living in a Norman Rockwell picture,” Brad said. Langdon accepts a limited amount of commissioned work and said she strives to live a balanced life. “Painting for my own pleasure — that’s the first thing,” she commented, adding that she likes to listen to meditative music when she paints. “I love to do it. I love to teach it, and I love to share art. Painting is like meditation. It is a way to quiet your mind. You have to slow down and be present to do it.”

“When you learn to draw or paint, you learn to see all over again,” Langdon said. “From the time we’re a child looking at picture books, we’re filling our minds with symbols and stereotypes. So, if someone asks you to draw a chair, you draw the symbol that’s in your mind.”