Active Celebrity Boomer

"Medicine Woman" Jane Seymour,
Accomplished Artist, and Clothes Designer 

By Ken Hall

Jane Seymour, the British-born actress who starred for years in the award-winning TV series Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman, is an artist and clothing designer. In fact, her art often turns up on clothing. Many of Seymour's fabrics are inspired by her own internationally known floral prints. She recently teamed with the Crossing Pointe catalog to launch the Jane Seymour Signature Collection.

Seymour, 55, has been able to combine her passion for art and fashion. When she was a teenager growing up in England, she had to sew her own clothes because her family didn't have the money for new ones. About twelve years ago, she started painting in watercolors as a form of self-therapy when her marriage to third husband David Flynn broke apart (she has since re-married).

"Painting absolutely took me out of any depression I might have had," Seymour told USA Today. "It brought light and hope and fun and joy into my life." She added, "It's almost like a meditation for me. It's something that takes me away from all the distractions of life. It's my stress relief." It's proven lucrative, too. Her watercolors sell for $695 to $3,490, while oils go for $6,000 to $12,000.

"I really like color," Seymour pointed out. "I suppose that's why I do a lot of flowers, because that's where you find the most vibrant color." Sometimes she'll do a wet-on-wet (a traditional watercolor), then come back afterwards and use a pen and ink on top of it. She said her children are her favorite models, and she's recently enjoyed doing self-portraits ("it's a fun thing to do for the fans").

Seymour is even exploring new media. "I've started painting on silk," she said. "I've also done T-shirts, and that's a fun way of wearing art. It's one thing to have a painting on the wall; it's another to wear the art with a pair of jeans." Not long ago, Seymour was asked to design a bottle for Korbel Champagne. She since has learned it's a collector's item. "I was absolutely stunned," she said.

Seymour's work is on display at galleries in California, Illinois, Michigan and Florida (at the Redbone Art Gallery in Islamorado). She has also exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum in New York (1996), the "Angels" traveling exhibition in Japan (1998), the Escada Boutiques in Moscow, Berlin and Dallas (2000), Art 21 in Las Vegas (2000) and at the New York Art Expo (2001).

Titus Fine Art, the noted Beverly Hills firm, has been the exclusive worldwide representative for Seymour's original paintings, watercolors and limited-edition prints since 1997. "Jane is the antithesis of the celebrity capitalizing on her notoriety to sell her art," said Titus director Susan Nagy Luks. "We've had clients who saw and purchased her work before they knew she was the artist."

As for her clothing line, Seymour described it as "affordable chic -- nothing costs more than $100." She personally designed everything in the line, which includes wrap dresses, tailored pantsuits, beaded denim separates and elegant ensembles, plus accessories like shoes, jewelry and scarves. She said the events of Sept. 11 caused women to reconsider spending a lot on clothing.

When she's not painting and designing, Jane Seymour continues to act. She lives in Malibu, Calif., with her fourth husband, actor-director James Keach. Three of the couple's six children live with them. To view Jane Seymour's art online, go to www.friendsofjane.com. Her clothing line is at www.crossingpointe.com.

Jane Seymour has launched a clothing line inspired by her internationally known
floral paintings.

Seymour often paints "wet on wet" (a traditional watercolor), then uses pen and ink on top of it later.

"My children are my favorite models," Seymour said. This painting is titled Twins Looking for Bugs.

Seymour has four children. She lives in Malibu, Calif., with her fourth husband, actor James Keach.

Jane's watercolors sell for between $695 and $3,490,
while her oils range from $6,000 to $12,000.

Florals aren't the only subjects Seymour paints.
This is a landscape titled, simply, Idaho.