Jennifer was raised on a farm in Northeast Kansas and has always been surrounded by wildlife and farm animals. Countless hours were spent during her childhood with a sketch pad and pencil, pursuing a hobby that was supported by encouraging parents. She attended college and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science, which added to her understanding of animal behavior and anatomy. She did not take any art classes while in college and is truly a self-taught artist. After college and starting a family, she pursued her art career for several years, then life happened and she took a short hiatus after a divorce and the recent passing of one of her children. But now, alongside her family, she continues to own and operate her small ranch, with cattle, horses, dogs, and several barn cats, and she is once again following her passion for painting what she knows best: the animals and nature she enjoys every day. She credits her husband, Kevin, and her children with giving her the encouragement she needed, to again, follow her heart. She works from her home studio, otherwise she can be found outdoors riding one of her horses, tending cattle, checking fence, choring, or doing any of the other tasks around the ranch. Jennifer has shown her work in many shows and exhibitions including the Western Associates of the AAW Inaugural Show and Sale in Round Top, Texas; the Night of Artists Show and Sale at the Briscoe in San Antonio; Cowgirl Up! in Wickenburg, AZ; Windows to the West Art Show and Sale in Estes Park, CO; the Phippen Western Art Show in Prescott, AZ; and the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition Art Show in Charleston, SC. She has garnered many awards, including several “Best of Shows”, “Artist’s Choices” and “People’s Choices” along the way.
Statement
I am constantly striving to capture a feeling, the soul if you will, in my subjects in a single moment in time. Painting, for me, is a way to express the life and beauty, the “something” I see worth capturing, in my chosen subjects that others may not otherwise notice.