Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer McEuen.
Hi Jennifer, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My earliest memories are of myself coloring. Art has always been important to me. A way to play, express and meditate. I was born in Cambridge Massachusetts and lived part of my younger childhood in Northern California, where I had very fond memories of being outside in nature. Moving to Utah at 6 years old, where I mostly grew up; came with a lot of challenges that allowed art to be a space of sanctuary and stability in life.
In high school, I began to consider art as a profession. I took private BYU Art courses with my first real artist mentor Sydney Bowman in Murray, Utah from 2006-2008. In 2008, I received a scholarship to the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, to study Fine Art painting. Living in the vibrant city of San Francisco was incredibly inspiring and eye-opening to what was possible as an artist. In 2010, I decided to take my education into my own hands, left art school, and assisted a San Francisco-based artist name, Hillary Williams. I learned about how she managed her studio practice and business. Motivated and ready for the next adventure, I moved to Salt Lake City, to make peace with the land and go deep into my artwork. I worked with an artist and coach named Shiloh Sophia McCloud, where I learned about creating different bodies of work, creating a more professional website, and launching myself into the creative unknown as a working Visionary artist.
In 2011, I moved back to the Bay Area to Berkeley and began live painting in the City of San Francisco, networking, and building a new body of work. With Europe on my mind and in my view, I found an opportunity to learn with artists that I deeply admired. In 2012, I traveled to Italy and attended the Expanded Visions painting seminar and began to learn about a Renaissance painting technique, called the ‘Mischtechnik’. At this seminar, I learned from artists Laurence Caruana, Amanda Sage, Maura Holden, and A. Andrew Gonzalez.
In 2014, I studied with Philip Rubinov Jacobson and Mantra Cora in Boulder Colorado, deepening my understanding and practice of the Mischtechnik. Living and working in Colorado during this time was enriching and powerful while collaborating with other artists and networking in the area. In 2016, traveled to Austria to study with Phil and Mantra again, and revive my deep connection to the land of Austria.
I’ve exhibited and sold my work all over the world, and find great pleasure now in having the opportunity to teach and mentor other artists. Now, I currently live in Southern Idaho, with my husband Ryan, and our precious four-year-old son, Tyden. Where I am creating my ongoing visions and projects and building my art business.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Of course. It was challenging to begin life within a religion that had (old) lifestyle aspects that were later introduced in my middle childhood years. It led me to completely question everything in my reality, my parents, media, and stories… and gave me the strength to go within and realize that life wasn’t about what someone told me it was about…. it was about my own experience, my understanding of the world around me. Creating art has been a space for me to go deeper within myself, and find meaning that truly resonated. No matter what was going on around me, I knew creating art was always a beautiful and contemplative space for me to reflect. It has led me to incredible relationships and opportunities in my life.
Once I found that I could make it a career path, I knew it was a lifelong journey for me to explore, express, learn, and maybe one day master. Life has definitely had its challenges, from learning and experimenting with different ways to make a living through constant creation in an authentically inspired way, to remaining true to my vision… to remember why I chose to make this my path in the first place. It is truly an amazing time on earth for an artist to thrive in ways that were actually unimaginable at one point. I’m grateful for my challenges, heartbreaks, and resilience. It has all sculpted me into the person I am today. I am happy and curious about who I am becoming and what I will create next.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a Visionary Fine Artist and specialize in painting. I work with multiple subjects, ranging from Realistic portraiture/figures, and animals, to abstract intuitive paintings, also while fusing all of them together. Depending on the intention and process of the work. I do a lot of commissions and have been teaching students online since 2017.
I am most proud of the courage it’s taken to devote so much of my life to creating art, and constantly learning.
What sets me apart from others is my education and subject range. I create realistic and abstract paintings. They are both valued and sought after. Which gives me the freedom and enthusiasm to follow my intuitive nudges and desires while creating in the studio,
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Absolutely. I have learned the art of letting go… and working with what you have. In 2019, I was planning with a dear friend of mine who lives in LA, Valerie Douroux Schultz, An incredible group Art Exhibition that was going to take place in Los Angeles, planned for March 2020. It was my first curation project, a new role in the art world I was excited to explore and had everything planned out with the artists, sponsors, and a graphic designer… and ready for the opening… when the Pandemic hit the USA, we had to cancel last minute.
It was devastating but also propelled me into teaching more online, giving me that space and comfort of my own studio. I’ve found that teaching truly brings me so much pleasure and fulfillment, I’m so excited to share with the world soon what I’ve been working on since 2020 that relates to my art teaching. So, it taught me that even though the world can seem hopeless, and unpredictable, we can still connect with each other, and share delightful and soul-moving inspiration to cultivate our own inner wells of joy, hope, and strength even when it seems the world is falling apart.
Pricing:
- $5,000 commissions
- $1,200 Artist Activation (Intro)
- $6,000 Artist Activation (6 months)
Contact Info:
- Website: jennifermceuen.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennifer.mceuen.art/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheArtofJenniferMichelleLong
