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24 January 14 • 2016

Musical interests continue to be expressed
as she does DJ work, some at local clubs
using the name Jacx.
Schanes often uses “large amounts of
white negative space so the focus is on the
composition and awesome amount of color,”
she says. “[I am] injecting my personal style
into each painting — utilizing brutal-looking
brush techniques and color palettes. So while
the paintings are similar in style and subject
matter, each one remains an entirely unique
work of art. I feel that each painting has its
own emotion and zone.”
Because Schanes works from photographs
when painting cars (“I like to include the
individual license plates,” she says), she often
works through the night. “I have to keep
going. If I stop a painting, it’s hard for me to

get back to it.”
One of the artist’s early car-image custom-
ers was Larry Moss, chairman of the local
Concours d’Elegance. Last summer, Schanes
was commissioned to paint a Ferrari, which
sold at the event; the person who bought
the work later commissioned images of cars
he owned. Moss also hired Schanes to paint
representations of cars he collects and stores
in an Arizona garage, which now displays the
paintings.
“Her paintings are so unique that I wanted
her to do work for the Concours silent auc-
tion,” Moss explains. “Her paintings capture
autos in avant-garde ways with different per-
spectives. A lot of auto artists are purists, and
their paintings seem a lot like photographs.”
Schanes, who drives a white minivan for

“I consider it a holiday of
inspiration,”
artist Jaclyn Schanes
says of the Detroit Auto Show.

PHOTO BY TOM PERKINS

Her auto commissions increased as cus-
tomers learned of her current professional
interests: About a year ago, a person at the
business end of vehicles asked her for murals
to decorate an office wall.
“He wanted a Detroit scene with cars,” she
says. “I brought him a mockup on canvas,
and he loved it so much that I ended up
redoing his whole suite with just paintings of
cars. I posted the project to social media, and
it turned into a business for me.”
Although finding her own artistic direc-
tions that started with childhood drawings,
Schanes believes her career was inspired by
the narrative collages of an aunt, Hope Kroll
of California.
Schanes, who had her bat mitzvah at
Temple Israel, has included religious refer-
ences in some of her work. She exhibited
a glass apple with a chai (life) symbol in a
group show at the Janice Charach Gallery in
West Bloomfield.
Schanes designed costumes for an inde-
pendent art film starring (Michigan-native)
Iggy Pop and has been a designer for retail
clothing. She combined artistic and musical
talents for Show Pony, a 2010 performance
piece at the Re:View Contemporary Gallery
in Detroit.

CLOCKWISE: Vogue Wave was sold during
an exhibition at vintage clothing boutique
Mother Fletcher’s in Ferndale. Detroit Motor
City and Rokteer were private commissions.
Larry Moss commissioned Schanes to paint
his 1971 blue Dodge Challenger. “I sent
her pictures of the cars, and she sent me
renderings before completing the final
paintings.”

convenience to carry her work supplies, has
donated images entitled Corvette and Barbie
Car to raise funds at auction for ORT.
“I’m currently working on commissions to
do a Porsche and a Camaro,” Schanes says.
“People who love their cars want portraits of
them.”

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