MEET JESSIE
Hi there!
I’m Jessie, an artist living and working in Surrey, in the south of England, with my husband and our dog Eddie. I’ve been a lifelong artist, but a full time painter since the tail end of 2022.
Previously I worked in a number of creative fields, spending over a decade in film and video. After earning a BFA in Contemporary Media Practice at University of Westminster in London, I spent a number of years heading up a my own video production company, making short films and documentaries, music promos and corporate videos. Later I gained an MFA in Cinematography from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Following that I continued to work across multiple disciplines in film, including as an editor, a colourist, and as a producer.
Alongside this I have maintained a keen love of photography, with landscapes, botanical and macro photography being pet subjects in recent years, as well as a being a hobbyist woodworker, gardener and baker.
MY PROCESS
Sculpting an image with light and colour, adding depth through texture, and creating an atmosphere are all parts of my cinematography background that I bring to my painting practice. When I feel ‘stuck’ on a piece, I travel inside the painting in my mind’s eye, peeking around corners, looking for where the light sources are and understanding the depth in three dimensions, almost like wandering around a film set. It always happens suddenly - the moment when a painting goes from 2D to 3D - and it’s thrilling every time.
My cosmic landscapes are a meditation on what it means to be human in the unfathomable vastness of our universe. As Carl Sagan so eloquently put it, we are all made of stardust, and I hope my paintings can provide a portal to that place of interconnection, offering some sense of awe and oneness with the more-than-human world.
Elements of our terrestrial planet inform the abstract landscapes I create: mountains, canyons, and roaring rivers (reimagined as rivers of light) all find their way on to the canvas.
I also want to allow the medium to shine through, with the brushstrokes, drips and spatters of paint adding movement, creating a dynamic energy. The result is a dreamlike world that draws you close from across the room, rewarding you with its painterly nature in the details.
It is a true honour when one of my paintings connects so deeply with somebody that they offer it a place in their home. Art has the power to elevate the beauty and energy of your space, and in the process hopefully uplift and inspire your own creativity in this one precious life we experience.