Jennifer received her BFA in Printmaking from Moore College of Art in Philadelphia in 1990. Upon graduating, she moved to New York City where she worked for Christie’s Auction House, while studying painting at the Art Student’s League of New York. Settling with her family in Chapel Hill, NC in 1998, she opened Sanctuary Gallery and Antiques. She was accepted into the Orange County Artists Guild and the Durham Art Guild as an exhibiting member. She has also participated in the OCAG annual open studio tour, a juried show of art studios in Orange County. Jennifer has had solo exhibits at the Horace Williams House in Chapel Hill, and the Hillsborough Arts Council, has a painting in Duke Children’s Hospital and very recently completed a large canvas commissioned by the Trinity School of Durham; among other projects.
She currently lives in Durham with her husband, two boys, two dogs, and a hedgehog named Reggie. Her brand new studio on 10 acres in Orange County will soon be hosting exhibits and open houses.
Jennifer‘s paintings are generally not of specific places; rather they are allegorical. As writers “journal” in personal diaries, Jennifer journals on canvas about her relationships and current circumstances. Her compositions describe in her mind a relationship with a person or persons, or an emotional state. She creates a mood to further describe the relationship and emotion through the use of color and the drama of the sky. The landscape is representative of herself and other people she relates to. In this way, Jennifer works out a conclusion of thought, feeling and faith through the painting process and gives them a voice for others to hear with the finished canvas.
For Jennifer, the paintings also serve as a reminder of the journey that is her life. Her paintings allude to a metaphorical place; more than they represent a specific location.
The importance of painting for her is to elevate her level of personal awareness by remembering the relationships and feelings that have contributed to her personal development, to always seek to grow through them, and to use her voice to draw people into the beauty of art in a world that needs more of it.
Jennifer has generously donated an original oil painting to The ArtsCenter’s Silent Auction, on display throughout the month of June in the Nicholson Gallery. To place a bid for this landscape painting, visit our box office or call us at (919) 929-2787. Bids starting at $500 will be accepted until 5PM on June 28th.
