Sun City resident receives recognition for her painting passion

Janet Schipma has always loved art, starting at a very young age. When she was in junior high, she enrolled in a correspondence course.

“I would send in a drawing and get graded on it,” she remembers. “I was almost done with it, but then I started working part-time and dropped out. I felt really bad for my parents that they sent me through that course and I didn’t get the certificate.”

But even as Schipma’s life got busier with work, then marriage, then a family (she and her husband, Herman, raised a son and a daughter), art was never far from Schipma’s mind.

“[My art supplies were] packed away until my children graduated,” she said. “My son went to the military, my daughter was working full time. I needed something else. I needed to do artwork again.”

Schipma is a long time member of the Illinois Prairie Painters, and since moving to Del Webb with her husband three years ago, has been active in Sun City’s Art Club, too.

“One of the biggest things that pulled me to Sun City was the Lodge with the Art Club,” says Schipma.

“I’m very involved with them, and I’m taking as many art classes as I can afford!”

Schipma’s art is now a public fixture of Sun City’s landscape: she recently painted the Little Free Library located at 12950 Meadow View Court, just outside the Meadow View Lodge. The tiny lending library, built as an Eagle Scout project by Jarrod Khoo of Troop 927, was installed in 2017 and registered with littlefreelibrary.org. To date, there are more than 70,000 registered Little Free Library book-sharing boxes in 85 countries worldwide. Visitors to the sharing boxes are invited to take a book they want to read, then leave a book they want to share — in effect becoming a tiny literary “town square.”

“The little library was painted white, and the bottom was bare wood,” explains Schipma.

When the Art Club was approached by Khoo’s grandparents to embellish it with a more colorful painted design, Schipma jumped at the opportunity.

“I wanted it book-oriented, so I based my design on books and gardens,” she said. It took three weeks for Schipma to complete the project. “As I was painting it, people stopped by to see what I was doing,” she said.

Now that the Little Free Library is freshly painted, Schipma hopes more people will take the time to stop by, visit, and pick up or drop off a book. But Schipma’s paintbrushes won’t stay dry for long — she’s already got her sights on her next few projects.

“There’s always ‘something else’ I want to try or do,” she laughed. “Right now, my favorite is working with acrylics, but I’ve done ink work and drawing, too. I painted in oil, and I really like that, too. And I just finished a pencil portrait class.”

Schipma also dabbles in fused glass and her latest challenge — acrylic pours.

“With acrylic pours, you buy acrylic paint, then add a pouring medium,” she explained. ”You layer all the paints that you want into a cup. When you pour it out, the layers all diffuse and create cells, like alcohol inks.”

While Janet experiments with different art techniques, her husband Herman is just as enthusiastic about learning new skills: His background is in carpentry, and he’s already built beds for the Schipma’s grandchildren. But that’s not all.”

He’s a soapmaker, candlemaker, and now he’s making his own wine,” she said. “He’s handy to have around the house,” she said with a smile.

Regarding her art, Schipma says she will be “a forever student.”

“There’s so much to learn, and you’re constantly striving to be better. It’s where my passion lies,” she said. “Any time I can do art, it’s a good day.”

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