Janis
Commentz is a southern California native who grew up near the coast
and began drawing and painting early in life. As the daughter of an
artist, she was surrounded by art materials and enjoyed trips to
galleries and museums, as well as seasonal trips to Laguna Beach
and Carmel.
Commentz moved to the Mojave Desert in 1977 to teach art and
English at Sky High School, now Black Rock High School. At the
University of Redlands, she earned a B.A. in art and English and
studied printmaking with John Nava, well-known for his tapestries
at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the
Angels in Los Angeles. She holds an M.A. in
Education from California State University at San Bernardino,
facilitated life drawing in Joshua Tree sessions in Joshua Tree for
nearly a decade and teaches art classes at the 29 Palms Art
Gallery, field classes for the Joshua Tree National Park Desert
Institute, and painting retreats at the Campbell House in 29
Palms.
She has exhibited at Gallery 62, Joshua Tree Art Gallery, the
Purple Agave, Rainbow Stew, and the 29 Palms Art Gallery in the
Morongo Basin, T.E. Studios in Riverside, and the Redlands Art
Association, Redlands.
Commentz participated in the Hwy 62 Open Studio Art Tours (ten
seasons), Joshua Tree National Park Juried Art Exposition (six
years), Joshua Tree National Park Spring Art Festival, Art Faire at
California State University at San Bernardo and Art For Heaven's
Sake, Redlands. In 2013, she helped create the “Pop Up” Art Gallery
in Joshua Tree, Six Chicks, which evolved into Gallery 62. Commentz
served as Gallery Director for Gallery 62 during 2016. She
has been the featured artist at the Glass Outhouse Art Gallery and
the 29 Palms Art Gallery.