My name is Valerie Jane Thompson. I make art as Jane the Stranger.

From 2018 to 2025 I worked as a tattoo artist. I loved it, not just the craft, but the access. Tattooing put me in a room with people at their most vulnerable and most hopeful, and I got to watch a single image change how someone carried themselves. That experience shaped everything about how I think about art.

Now I'm asking a bigger question: what can art do for a whole community?

I don't have the full answer yet. What I know is I want to work with color, with people, and in spaces everyone can share. I'm open to collaborating, teaching, and building something alongside communities that are ready for it.

My current work is surrealist mixed media — figures, emotion, the human body. Original pieces are available at The Collective in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. I'm based between cities and currently in Europe.

New projects in progress. Collaborations welcome.