JENNIFER GILLEN
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
All artists have favorite subjects. I’m obsessed with rendering things that grow, especially plantlife. Painting in a realistic style gives me a chance to thoroughly explore botanical subjects. The more I paint, the more I realize that my purpose for creating is the exploration and the exaltation of beauty. It’s a journey into the world around me at a deep level. I look closely for the magical and beautiful play of light and color on the different stages of growth in a single specimen. Plants are quiet and patient subjects. That makes them a great choice for realistic watercolor, which is a slow process. The paintings take many hours to complete. After finishing a painting, I am intimately familiar with my subject. It’s a very quiet and meditative process to make a painting that includes every detail of a plant. I enjoy growing my own roses in my garden at home. Watching their growth from a fledgling bare root to a towering shrub is inspirational. Many of these roses make it into my sketchbooks and paintings. I also like to travel to find subjects in gardens both locally and far away.
ARTIST'S BIO
Jennifer Gillen, is an award-winning watercolorist known for her botanically precise floral paintings. Gillen's journey to becoming an artist was not linear. For two decades, she served as a literacy specialist, helping children improve their literacy skills in public schools. Her passion for art never waned. She found solace in sketching and painting in gardens, which eventually led her to botanical watercolor. Working part-time at a local library, Gillen balances her love for reading with making art. She finds inspiration for her paintings from history, gardens and even fictional literature. She admires the work of Pierre-Joseph Redoute and, like him, aims to capture the fleeting beauty of flowers with meticulous detail. Gillen's watercolor and botanical art appears in exhibitions both regionally and nationally. She is currently engrossed in painting a series of today’s most cherished garden roses.