Meet Jeri

The Artist...

On any given day you may find me seated at the old walnut table where my imagination comes to life on the paper before me. From here , I gaze out the window at the beautiful, lush and colorful green of the Tennessee hillside. I watch as Downy woodpeckers carve their names into the Mulberry tree, bouncing bunnies play leap frog thru the tall grass, and two of my Alpine goats, Opal and Pearl, butt heads in a funny little game. My imagination is fueled by the natural world around me and a slightly off- center sense of humor. My art is an odd combination of folk painting, illustration and realism. I am inspired by the artwork of many: Charles Wysocki, Norman Rockwell and Grandma Moses (for the America in me): the wonderful Beatrix Potter and Cecily Mary Barker (for my Scotch and British ancestry ) and the marvelous illustrations of Dutch artist Anton Pieck ( for the Dutch side of my heritage) I have been utilizing the art of scherenschnitte, otherwise known as paper-cutting, for over 25 years as the basis of my artwork. The cutting offers a magnificent depth to a piece of art when combined with the medium of watercolor. My subject matter journeys from Early Americana, to the precision of European Scherenschnitte, to a fanciful world of critters dressed in pantaloons and petticoats. My new journey is into the world of Children's books. My first book, "Hopalong Jack and the Blue Bunnies" was the winner of 2 International Book awards. And the second book in the series, "The Journey of Bushky Bushybottom:" has just garnered 2 book awards as well . That is exciting for me! Having collected antique children's books for many years has helped me to create what I call an old world illustration style.

Southern Living Magazine has a nice article about Jeri in the August 2008 Issue, Tennessee People and Places.

For over 300 years my ancestors lived in New England and Upstate New York where I was born. My father took to heart the famous words, "Go west young man" and moved his family to Colorado where I was raised since the age of 1. I made my way to beautiful rural northeastern Tennessee 19 years ago. Here on our farm, in a dear old house is where my imagination comes to life. I have a great love of history, and a special kinship with animals and nature which is reflected in my art. My husband and I share our homestead with 5 cats, a Redbone Coonhound, a flock of sheep a tribe of goats , a gaggle of of geese and a bevy of happy little ducks. A few months back, my 2 Tom Turkeys ran away from home... I think they were looking for love and disappeared into the woods to find it, (wild turkeys abound)! News Flash! Yesterday we spotted 7 young turkeys in our meadow and they look suspiciously domesticated, hmmm.... I wonder? My animal friends often show up in my paintings and books because of their unique and delightful personalities.

How dull this world would be without animals! And how much we would miss without the joy of books and art. A a child I spent countless hours studying the beautiful illustrations in our story books. Never were my crayon box and drawing pad far from my grasp. I remember sculpting little animal characters from mud dug up in the backyard, inspired by the little woodland creatures in my picture books. It was wonderful losing myself in "The Secret Garden", "Wind in the Willows" and a book which was handed down from my grandmother, to my mother to me,,,, "The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew". My sons were raised on the stories of Beatrix Potter and I could probably recite many of the lines in her books to this very day... with voices!( "Timmy Tiptoes, Timmy Tiptoes,,, Oh, where is Timmy Tiptoes!") This love for children's books and illustration has fueled my interest in creating story books.

As you travel through my web site, I hope you can see that I try to share my love of nature and animals, country-life, and that of traditional folk art. So welcome to the world of my imagination. Thanks for visiting.

Jeri Landers

Home Sweet Home

This is Fiona my one-eyed goose.,

(This is her good side) Now you know where the expression "silly goose" comes from.

Gus and Woodrow, the security guards of the Barnyard. That is, until they ran off with the wild turkeys! I miss them and their gobbley little voices.

Turkeys are actually quite beautiful once you get past the lumps and the bumps. Their colors are wonderful and they have proud personalities.

Visit the gardens....

This is my beautiful Sophia

Welcome to the farm.....here in Hopalong Hollow

Witness the beauty of this little corner of the world. All of "the girls" are pure pets, I spin the sheep's wool on a 200 year old spinning wheel, I am an amateur spinner but I enjoy it. I recently acquired an old loom but haven't had the time to become any good at weaving.... well. I did weave a very small placemat.

Meet Winston Topknot and his little wife Glenda, who is a prolific layer. Glenda's nest mate ,Trudy WebbyToes, is one of the characters in the next book. We also have a lovely Jemima Puddleduck, Pittypat, Eunice,Taleulah, Jangles,Gretchen, Mia,Eunice, Poppy and Loo!