A Gift of Words...

This is John. He is the most unique and interesting person you will ever meet! He is a very intuitive soul who loves art and is a regular here at the show. He is also a very gifted writer. He put together a book with insightful commentaries and photos of his top 15 artists from this show, and presented it to Susan Morrow Potje, the Event Manager. This is what he wrote about me (and he claimed it was his longest narrative):

You must meet Jen. (Right now, grab the keys, climb in the car, and drive to the show. Now!) Once you meet Jen, you will know that plenty of children have clapped their hands and believed in fairies; and plenty of little, lost boys have curled up on her couch to hear her stories. For truly, if anyone in this show is she, Jen is the Wendy-Lady.

She is sugar an spice, the icing on the cake, the cheerleader who skips and smiles, and the girl next door rolled into one. She is a delight. In a world of glass and steel, of recession and depression and collapse, she is a sprite. She is the embodiment, the personification of light.

She is also a maestro with brush and oils. her paintings are visually stunning. They are tactile performances. They interact with light and shadow. They evolve as sunlight changes. They are breathtakingly exquisite revelations of nature. They emote. They live.

Jen has mastered a technique of applying paint in a manner that absorbs, refracts, and reflects light. However precise the science, the process seems intuitive for Jen. In the same way that Descartes so brilliantly observed, "Cognito ergo sum" (I think; therefore, I am), Jen seems unable and unwilling to repress the joie de vi'vre (zest for life). Her zeal is contagious; her zest irrepressible.

As you visit Jen's home away from home, pay attention. You'll see a mini-studio where she works. You'll see several galleries where she displays her paintings. You'll see a sofa where you can relax and imagine that you are home and a "show-and-tell" wall lit by a series of lights controlled by a rheostat so that she can REALLY show you something that you've never seen before: living, changing, dynamic paintings. Once you see the effect, you'll never say, "I want a boat instead." You'll never say, "Let's spend a few days in Telluride." You'll never say, "What we need is a cruise!" You won't, unless you have one of Jen's paintings on your wall. If you do, you're good to go. Otherwise, whatever else happens to the economy, you have a reason to say, with a knowing glance to any college graduate taking a swim in a pool, "Paintings. Paintings are the future. Forget Exxon-Mobil and Dow. Buy JensArt. Remember JensArt.

Words alone cannot describe Jen or her work. Extraordinary, phenomenal, distinctive, and mesmerizing barely scratch the surface. As one man said to his wife after meeting Jen, "honey, if I saw nothing else today, Jen's art was worth the price of admission...and so much more." So much more, indeed. (For anyone who wonders about young people today, Jen is a hopeful talent worth your time and treasure.)