Janet Palin has lived in New England since 1964. She graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in 1968 with a BFA in Painting. Since then she has been a working artist and teacher. For 25 years she was an oil painter, mostly working from the figure and still life. In 1997 a trip to Iceland shifted her focus to working on landscape in pastels, which she has done exclusively since then. From 2001 to 2018, she has made annual trips to the American southwest to paint and teach. Janet divides her time between on site painting in summer and fall and studio work the rest of the year.

She has had many shows in New England and New Mexico. She has been a member of the Oxbow Gallery now in Easthampton, MA since 2011.