by Mary Ann Marino

New York has become like a second home to me lately, since it is not only the home of several of my friends but it is also usually one of Jane Seymour's main stops on any promotional tour. So it was that I found myself once again this weekend (Feb 27th) back in NY for a 'get together' with some friends, which would involve attending Jane's art show at the Javitz Center.

This was the second time our group had attended one of Jane's art exhibitions at the Javitz, the first being 2 years ago. As I entered the hall my eyes scanned the entrance for the poster that had been there of Jane the last time we had been here, announcing her appearance, finding none, we descended downstairs to rid ourselves of our coats and returned to search for Jane's booth. Although the hall was lined with exhibition booths on both sides filled with paintings, we barely noticed them, as we were focused at that moment on finding one particular booth- the one that said "Coral Canyon" (the company that handles Jane's art.) Unlike the last time, when her booth had been located in a rather isolated area toward the rear of the exhibition hall, this time it was more centrally located. In fact you couldn't miss it if you tried, as in lieu of the missing poster at the entrance, there was now a huge poster of Jane in front of her booth announcing that she was making a personal appearance there. There was also, we realized to our dismay, a crowd of people so dense that at first we couldn't even enter the booth! As I stood there observing the crowd from the entrance, I noticed James Keach nearby talking on his cell phone. He glanced up, saw me, and winked, then after concluding his conversation, came over and greeted me with a warm hug. Since our DQ Times interview, James and I had developed an easy rapport, I had found him incredibly easy to talk to and I was delighted to see him again, especially since I hadn't expected him to be there. We chatted for a few minutes and then James was claimed by a couple and their son who appeared to be friends of the Keach family, so I withdrew.

Peering inside, I caught a fleeting glimpse of Jane standing towards the back discussing her paintings with a patron. Our group hung back not wanting to intrude and took in all the wonderful new pieces displayed on the walls. This was something else I hadn't anticipated- so many wonderful new additions to Jane's collection. It was almost like an entirely new exhibit. I commented as much to James later in the afternoon and he agreed with me assuring me that that is exactly what they had wanted.

On a table to the left as you walked in, was a dvd player on which Jane and James's "Journey to Impressionism was playing.  After watching for a few moments, I realized that much had also been added to this film, as it now included photos of all of Jane's new paintings as well as some additional footage. Also on the table, was an art magazine called 'Naples' displaying Jane's image on the cover and two albums full of samples of Jane's art which I now perused hungrily. I couldn't fathom how she had had time to do so many paintings since the last time I had been to one of her exhibits. There were colorful florals, mothers walking on the beach with babies in their arms and even, I noted with pleasure, a few 'Michaela' images- one of Dr. Mike with hair down wearing her cowboy hat and another based on Michaela from the Dr. Quinn episode 'Portraits'.


Eventually during a 'lull' Jane saw me standing to the side and approached. Greeting me warmly, as James had, with a friendly hug, she exclaimed, "You came!" I replied, "I wouldn't have missed it." I told her how impressed I was with all the new pieces in her collection. She smiled, pleased, and we chatted for a few moments then I stepped aside as more admirers descended on her.

Sometime later, Jane was standing a few feet away from me speaking to two women about a painting that hung on a nearby wall.  I had noticed it immediately on entering the booth- it was the most beautiful combination of autumn colors I had ever seen- a floral bouquet in a glass vase. To my astonishment as she was explaining how the painting had come about, she turned to me suddenly and said
'This is the bouquet that the DQ Times sent us, then turning to the women she added, and as a matter of fact this (pointing at me) is one of the ladies from that group. " I couldn't believe it! On learning of the death of Mary Keach, the staff, along with a small group of DQ times members, had sent Jane and James a flower arrangement as a memorial gift. This had taken place several months ago. We had received a thank you note from James and Jane but had certainly not expected to hear any more about it.  Ironically a friend had called just before we set out for the art show, to tell us that Jane had been on TV that morning discussing this same painting. She had apparently been talking about how the painting had been based on a gift sent to her by 'fans'. Little did we know at the time that 'we' were the fans she had been referring to! I was incredibly touched and so thrilled to learn of her pleasure in the gift and to see what she had done with it. I told her that when Pam had ordered the flowers she had deliberately stayed away from a 'funeral' type of arrangement opting instead for something colorful , which she thought perhaps Jane might want to paint.

Jane smiled at this, pointed to the painting on the wall, and replied," Well there it
is!" The painting was titled ' Dr. Quinn Bouquet' and in a sense, in addition to being a thank you to those of us who had contributed to the gift, it almost seemed to me to be a symbol of her gratitude to all her Dr. Quinn fans for their continued support and love. Later, James informed me that Jane had originally done the painting as a gift for him, in honor of his mother. I thought what a beautiful way to preserve the memory of a loved one.

The discussion then turned to Jane's other collections, one of them being her Signature Collection. She informed us that she would soon be ending her relationship with Crossing Pointe and would be entering the 'retail market'.At this point, noticing what I was wearing, Jane pointed to my embroidered jeans and announced to the two women she was talking to that I was wearing something from the collection she had been speaking about. Both were quite impressed. We talked about Jane's new Coral Canyon collection and I mentioned how much I was looking forward to seeing it in person- how much I loved the light and airy feel and beach- like colors. Clearly interested, the women asked how they could learn more and Jane directed them to Janeseymour.com, which as she noted, linked to all her projects.


Shortly afterward, a film crew arrived from Fox network to interview Jane and
we made ourselves scarce, not wanting to interfere with the filming.

The rest of the afternoon was spent chatting intermittently with each other about Jane's art and with James Keach who made himself very available and seemed to quite enjoy chatting with us.We good naturedly teased James about his new nickname' Mr. James Bond (given to him by a sweet little Chinese woman earlier in the afternoon) and about an appearance he had made more years ago then he cared to remember on Starsky and Hutch. James cringed at the mention of the program and we all laughed. At one point, James and I were alone and I asked him about the 'rumor' that some of his own paintings were on display in the booth. He gave me a sheepish smile and said yes and took me over to see them. I was quite impressed, as the style very much resembled Jane's own. I joked with him about providing competition for his wife and he laughed and assured me that it was for him more of a spiritual thing, that painting with Jane was something they now did as a 'couple' and was one more thing that brought them closer.

A bit later, I rejoined my friends who had gone to lunch and had just returned. They were discussing the painting Jane had done of herself as Elise McKenna and Chris Reeve from the movie Somewhere in Time. It was in sand tones (sepia colored) and reflected the moment in the movie when Chris's character first kisses Elise. Appropriately, the painting was titled, 'The Kiss'. Wouldn't it be wonderful, one of them suggested if Jane were to do a similar representation of Michaela and Sully? We began to fantasize about what such a painting would mean to the Dr. Quinn fans and proceeded to good naturedly argue which one of us should present the idea to Jane, never imagining she might already be considering it. Ultimately, it was decided that I would broach the subject with her.

Jane was leaning against a desk enjoying some 'quiet time,' I was reluctant to intrude on her solitude, but I was on a 'mission'! "Jane, we have a question for you, I bravely began." She nodded, and asked curiously what that might be? I casually mentioned that I had noticed the new images of Michaela in her sample album. I told her how we had all been admiring the painting of Elise and Richard that she had done and had she ever thought of perhaps doing something similar with Michaela and Sully? To my surprise she replied " Oh yes of course, I plan to do one of all my movies." So which scene would you like me to paint? Momentarily taken aback, I offered one scene that for me had captured the romance. To my embarrassment, while describing the scene to her, I realized I had begun to repeat actual lines of dialogue. Jane leaned back on the desk and listened with a look of interest and to me what seemed almost- wistfullness. I stopped myself abruptly and admitted blushing,"Yes, I 'm obsessed, I've obviously memorized the dialogue!" She laughed at that and took me over to her album to point out which Michaela image I had been referring to that had intrigued me. Meanwhile the rest of the group had already stationed themselves around the album and were searching for the image. It was located quickly (it was one of Michaela with her hair down and cowboy hat on) Suggestions then flew thick and fast regarding images for the proposed painting. Jane looked a bit overwhelmed but pleased at what she had unleashed as we assured her we knew of about 700 potential buyers. As if to prove the point, one of our group even offered to write a check on the spot; to which Jane laughingly replied, "Let me paint it first!"  She suggested we gather some images and suggestions and send them to her. 'Ah, homework' we joked. A difficult assignment but we were up to the task. She left us excitedly chatting about the 'project' as she went to greet some new visitors to her booth.

By this time it was getting late and the show was nearing its end. I located James to say goodbye and he gave me another of his 'hugs' and offered me a piece of chocolate from a bag he had in his hand. I had to laugh, earlier he and Jane had been nibbling on sushi- now chocolate? An intrigueing combination!

Everyone had hoped to say a final goodbye to Jane but suddenly she was nowhere to be found. Just as we were about to leave she reappeared behind us. Like a young girl showing off her first prom dress, Jane whirled around before us in the most beautiful full length burgundy fur coat with the tags still hanging from it. She had apparently in the midst of all this gone shopping!! She asked what we thought and we all assured her it was wonderful and she went off to model for James. We watched as she spoke to him fingering the coat lovingly while he looked on with an indulgent smile.

Then it really was time to leave. We thanked Jane and James both for their warm reception and wished them the best as we headed off to dinner. It had been a wonderful afternoon full of friends, fun and wonderful art (well we saw Jane's at least!) and we couldn't wait to do it again.