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Jenny draws much of the inspiration for her work from the area where she grew up. Raised on a farm in northeast Kansas, she has always been fascinated with animals and would endlessly explore the fields and woodlands around her home. Needless to say, one of her favorite things to do was to track deer, coyote, and raccoon, or keep an eye on the nearby bobcat den. She developed a strong connection to the land and wildlife. As a child, she also loved to draw and paint, and credits her parents for encouraging that love. She was never without a sketch pad and pencils.
After high school, she attended college and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science, which has furthered her understanding of animal behavior and anatomy. She did not take any art classes while in college and is truely a self-taught artist.
Now married, and with three children, she continues to live on a dairy and beef farm that she and her huaband own and operate. She works in a small studio in her home which sits on several hundred acres of fields and woodlands. Her paintings reflect what she knows best: the animals and nature she enjoys every day.
Jenny has shown her work at many shows and exhibitions which include the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston, SC; the Phippen Western Art Show and Sale in Prescott, AZ; and the Paint America Exhibition. She recently has been invited to participate in Cowgirl Up! Art From the Other Half of the West Art Show and Sale at the Desert Caballeros Western Art Museum in Wickenburg, AZ.
She has garnered many awards along the way including 3rd Place in pastels at the Phippen Western Art Show and Sale, the “People’s Choice” award at the Mulvane Mountain/Plains Art Show, “Best of Show” at the Operation Wildlife Art Show and Sale, and several honorable mentions in the Pastel Journal’s Pastel 100 Competition. Jenny recently won the 2008 Wyoming Conservation Stamp Competition. Her winning painting of a black-footed ferret will appear on the 2008 Wyoming Conservation Stamp and the painting itself will be on permanent display in Cheyenne at the Wyoming Fish and Game Department headquarters.
Jenny maintains membership in the Society of Animal Artists and the Pastel Society of America. Her work is represented by Westboro Fine Art in Topeka, Kansas.
With meticulous attention to detail, she strives to capture a “softness and realness” in her beloved subjects. “My joy in painting is the details. I love the thought of someone feeling as though they could reach out and actually feel the fur on a bison, think they could actually hear the soft snort of a horse, or swear that the ‘owl just blinked it’s eyes!’.”
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