Jan Panico

Artist and cat fancier, Jan Panico, gives the term ‘cat lady’ a whole new meaning. She found what would become both passion and life’s work as a young child. According to Jan, the path leading up to her career was paved early on. “The first childhood remembrance I have is of my first set of finger paints. I was hooked and have been involved in artistic endeavors ever since.” she says.

After studying interior design and fine art in school, and life drawing in Paris. Jan took a job in the Display Department at Tiffany & Co. in New York City, then worked for several major retailers after that.

In 1985 Jan and her husband moved to Colorado, where Jan worked part-time doing displays in a local gift shop. The shop owners had found their own success in a publishing business, with their own line of cards and calendars. They encouraged Jan to do the same. She went to the National Stationery Show in New York in 1992 with her first 10 cards and named her company Fat Cat Publishing – after her fat cat, Harold. As Fat Cat Publishing took off, Jan found that running the business was taking too much time away from what she does best – painting – so she sold the company to a family friend.

In her spare time, Jan does commissions on big canvases, screens, furniture and murals.