Meet Jennifer
From the earliest of age, art has been a medium of self-expression for me. The canvas and palette are my song and voice and color has long been my symphony.
From art classes in school, to collaborating with my family’s art collection to sitting on arts councils and volunteering for the arts, art has always been a fundamental part of my life. It was not until 2016 that I reunited with brush and canvas and began to create once more. The ability to create and express brings an inner joy and peace and abstract art becomes my channel to other’s self-interpretation. My art becomes an intensely personal process that allows viewers to experience my abstract impressions with their own interpretations. Color and texture are my means. Layers of colors and textures excite the senses and elevate the emotional and physical mood. The use of many different mediums and paints make each color explode on the canvas with the rise and fall of each stroke. My paintings are expressed and captured to create a new and unique experience with each viewing.
Q+A
How did your business come to exist?
In 2016, I was on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster. I needed something to help relax me and I started painting again. I had just started to post them on social media when I would try something new and people started inquiring how to purchase my art. I was flattered and thrilled and I have been selling art ever since.
What are you known for?
I think what I am known for is the texture of my pieces. People seem to be drawn to the pieces that have a 3D effect. My husband and I have built a house together and I have even started experimenting with different mediums from his work mixed with my own. I try to make each color a new and exciting layer that you want to look at and feel!
What are you working on right now?
I am currently working on pieces with bright colors, fluffy textures as well as a few delicate layers. I have left the city to start a fresh cut flower farm and all of the colors of the flowers and the textures of nature have quickly become my inspiration!
What is the best piece of advice you ever received?
The best advice I have ever received is to not give up. Anything you are doing that you love or are passionate about, DON’T GIVE UP! I have learned that there will always be trials and tribulations, successes and failures, highs and lows. You have to allow yourself to learn from the failures in order to succeed. If you give up, you will never know the true feeling of success. It is hard, but it is so worth it!
What are your thoughts about Oklahoma’s creative scene for artists, designers, crafters, makers, and/or small businesses?
I was born in Oklahoma, but grew up in a small artsy town in Colorado. I was fortunate to grow up in an area that celebrated art and its culture. Moving back to Oklahoma, I have seen such an amazing growth of the arts in Oklahoma. Between the resurgence of arts districts, the mural projects around the city and the growth of the city and the demand for new art, I think it is an amazing time to be an artist in Oklahoma. I am in love with and inspired by the growth of the arts here.
What do you like to do outside of work?
I have always been an avid gardener. When I lived in OKC, I took pride in my gardens and was part of historic homes garden tours yearly. When we decided to move to my husband’s family homestead in Guthrie, I took my love of gardening one step further. I have been working on opening a fresh cut flower farm. I will sell to farmers markets, provide CSA subscriptions, and plan on growing large enough to sell wholesale flowers to florists. Follow my progress at Ladybug Lane Flower Farm.
What was the best day at work you've had in the past three months?
The best day I have had at work in the last few months was the day my first beautiful JFK roses started to bloom and I received the request to show from West + Main! Double win!
Do you like to win or hate to lose?
I think it is human nature to enjoy a good win. But it has never bothered me to lose. I feel like with each loss you have a chance to look at how you could have done something better and you learn from it. I will take a win any day, but I do not see losing as a bad thing necessarily.
Who/What are your biggest influences?
Biggest influences… In art? Life? Work? There are so many! There are so many amazing artists around the city who are great inspirations to me! Jack Fowler, Ty A. Kelly, Sara Kay, Jamie Nickles… the list goes on and on. I love to watch the growth of an artist over the years and it inspires me to take my art further and explore different techniques.
What is your biggest challenge?
My biggest challenge is time. As an artist who has a full time job other than art, finding time to be creative is hard. Everything in life is a balance. I have been striving to make time for art a priority now, and I am excited to see all of my thoughts and ideas for new pieces come to life!
How did you arrive where you are today?
I am where I am today with the support of friends and family. I am often overwhelmed at the amount of support I have received for my art from people I know all over the country. Something I started to do for me, to help me personally, has in turn brought joy to others. I am so fortunate that I have a network who has helped me gain more exposure with my art and I will forever be grateful.
What is your dream project?
What is my dream project? I will be completely honest, I am not sure. I am in the process of dreaming bigger right now. What started as a hobby has led to different exhibits in locations around the city, my artwork in local magazines, hotels and restaurants, and the best part, my art in people’s homes. I am living my dream right now.
What is your favorite part of your job?
My favorite part of my job is to see people’s reactions to my art. I want to see what they like and how they want to display it. I want to know what makes them drawn to my work. I want to see if they get excited the same way I do, or if it makes them feel something that I have not yet felt. That is what my favorite part of the job is. Making people happy.
Where do you find inspiration?
Lately I have been finding my inspiration in nature. The sky, the clouds, flowers. The colors of nature are so absolutely amazing. Sometimes it is hard to recreate! I am a huge fan of interior design as well. I enjoy seeing new and exciting color palette’s and how design changes over time. Sometimes I like to look in a room and try to come up with something funky and exciting to the senses. I think anything with exciting colors can get my mind going.
If you had a choice between two superpowers, being invisible or flying, which would you choose?
A superpower? I would want to be invisible! I would want to watch and learn from great people. There is always so much to learn and exciting things to try. My thirst for knowledge is what drives me. I would love to be a little fly on the wall and soak it all in!
Get in touch with Jennifer
Instagram: @jenniferhussmanart
Email: jenniferhusmannart@gmail.com
If you are a local artist/crafter/maker/indie business owner and would like to be featured on our blog, please fill out this form or contact Ashley at ashley@westandmainhomes.com with questions...we can't wait to learn all about you!
