Jennifer Love Artwork BLOG

Updated from April 2014 post... December 2013 I was going to call this “my story,” but it’s really not about me. It’s about us . It’s about me and my husband, Steve, and our life together. Our story begins on January 9, 2004…our first date. At age 30, while young in the grand scheme of things, I was nearly considered for spinsterhood here in Utah, where marriage between ages 18-25 is very common. When you pass that mid-twenties mark, you quickly find yourself in lonesome territory, where most of the men you meet in your age range are already married with kids. By 27 years old, it feels like your odds of finding a date, let alone husband, are almost nonexistent. By 30, you’d better resign yourself to the single life and make your peace with it! Not that I was on the hunt for a husband. In fact, I had settled into my life and reached a place where I was content. I had purchased a house, I had a good job, a cat, and I was able to set up my paints and ...

Last night I had to opportunity to speak to the members of the Utah Watercolor Society (UWS) about using various social media platforms to promote and market your artwork and yourself as an artist. What a great experience for me and such a fun night!  Of course, in all the effort to get my presentation set up, my iPad set up to record a video of my presentation (which, unfortunately stopped recording after 5 minutes - I'll have to figure that out), and getting ready to speak...I didn't think to take a "selfie" with myself and the group of wonderful UWS members who attended the meeting.  DUH! Very UN-social of me! So, I will be depending on the photos taken by others who were in attendance. (Thank you!) What makes me a social media expert? I'm not, really. Just a user who has been blogging, Facebooking, Twittering, and Pinteresting for a while to promote my artwork. I just happen to have a little bit more knowledge and a little bit more experience than many...

Last Friday was the opening reception of Wild in the West at the Utah Arts Festival Gallery .  It was such a great experience to see all 15 paintings I had submitted hanging for the show, and so fun to meet and converse with the many people who came through the gallery during Gallery Stroll that evening. My work was hanging at the back of the gallery near the refreshment area (prime real estate!).  This show featured 5 artists (including me). Mike Beals , a metal sculptor who made some wonderful bells. Kate and Adam Rice , wildlife photographers who had some awesome photos displayed on metal. And, J. Randal Young , a landscape painter (and podiatrist!). So, there was a variety of artwork available for every taste! I really enjoyed meeting the people who came through the gallery, talking to visitors about my painting process and inspiration, and hearing their thoughts as well. It was a great night and I appreciate everyone who came ...

My new exhibition is nearing. "Wild in the West" at the Utah Arts Festival Gallery opens this Friday. I was selected for this group exhibition and have delivered 15 paintings for display.  I am excited for the opening reception on Friday night from 6p-9p during the Salt Lake Gallery Stroll. If you are in the Salt Lake City area, I hope you will join me. I would love to see you there!

I have recently been challenged to "tell a story" about my artwork and my technique. Each painting I create has a story behind it, and I am now in the process of trying to put that story into words (the inspiration behind creating the painting, the techniques used to create it, etc.) and to write an "artwork statement" for each of my paintings. An added component to this exercise is the fact that the digital world is now very video oriented and many people are looking for more than just words and pictures, so my extra step will be to also create a video about each painting. "A Patchwork Fall" ©Jennifer Love Today, I have created a new You Tube channel called Jennifer Love Artwork where I will try to post some videos that give you a little insight into each of my paintings. I started with a video about "A Patchwork Fall." You can click here to watch it. :) As always, thanks for stopping by my blog!

Big winter storm hit us on Monday this week. 25 inches of snow in 24 hours in my area of northern Utah - I believe it set a record. So...basically, all of winter came in a day! I have removed snow from my driveway 5 times in two days (plus my neighbor's driveway once). Thank goodness for my snow blower! Merry Christmas season!

The following is a blog post I recently published on my LinkedIn site - with a few minor changes and updates. I have been moving through life in the past few years in a constant state of stress. I’m sure many of you relate. Not that there aren’t moments of joy, but the demands of my professional career and my personal roles as mother and wife are often hard to balance, let alone try to find a few minutes of serenity and quiet for myself. My brain is constantly buzzing with “to-do” lists: things I need to take care of when I get to the office, things I need to remember to do on my way home from work, things I need to do when I get home from work…and how to cram it all in two the 2-3 hours I have in the evening for preparing dinner for my family, packing school lunches for the next morning, getting my children into PJs with teeth brushed, and (most importantly) story time and snuggles for bedtime. And, let’s be honest, even though I have a huge laundry list of items (and act...