Hi there, I'm Jen. :)
For 25 years of my life, I called Tampa, Florida my home. I spent my early childhood carrying around a pink, tattered 5-Star folder with printer paper, drawing fairies, mermaids, and castles on the bus ride to school.
My career as an artist began when I was 16, and won first place prize in the Student and Emerging Artist Competition in Ocala, FL. I was awarded free entry into the first Friday art market, where I found my first customers and clients for illustrations, mural paintings, and yes... watercolors.
I graduated art school from the University of South Florida, and have been serving clients through my artwork since 2016,
But this isn't a traditional story.
After graduating art school, I lost my creative spark.
I stopped painting for two years, stuck in the daily grind of a corporate 9-5 life.
I didn't realize how bad it had gotten until I received a message out of nowhere from a friend from high school. She asked if I still paint. I said "yes, of course!" too embarrassed to say I hadn't touched a canvas in... I couldn't remember how long.
She commissioned me to paint her something to decorate her space at work, and I immediately came alive. I fell in love again creating this figure painting for her office space.
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My amazing partner, Joseph, whom I had been dating for about two years at that point, said:
"Wow. You're completely in your element. I've never seen you paint before." He'd never... seen me paint before? I can't tell you what a gut punch that was. Until he'd said that, I didn't realize how far away I'd drifted from who I was, who I've always been; back when I was sitting in the top bunk of my bedroom at home, up late one school night, sketching a self portrait on my 2nd grade reading paper. |
I know firsthand what it feels like to lose joy for life.
I told myself never again.
I quit my corporate 9-5, moved across the country to Columbia, SC, and restructured my life to prioritize being creative again. I set out on a mission to discover what exactly makes life worth living, how to avoid becoming another numb spirit, carrying out the motions, breathing, but feeling nothing.
I set out to find the small joys.
I told myself never again.
I quit my corporate 9-5, moved across the country to Columbia, SC, and restructured my life to prioritize being creative again. I set out on a mission to discover what exactly makes life worth living, how to avoid becoming another numb spirit, carrying out the motions, breathing, but feeling nothing.
I set out to find the small joys.
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I learned that joy is always accessible to you, should you just remember to look. These warm, delicate watercolors represent a doorway into romanticizing your life-- The small moments with your pets, morning coffee, or the flowers that grow outside through the rain, thunder, and wind. I realized something very important that day, leaving the "traditional" life behind: Joy doesn't have to be big. |
A special thank you
to those who feature and exhibit my artwork. . .
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Irmo City Town Hall (2024)
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Meeting Street Artisan Market (2024-2025)
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Nuu Muse Gallery (2024)
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Artistic Aspirations (2024-2025)
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Partager Home and Gifts (2025)
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The Collective on 3128 Carlisle St (2025)
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