Today we’d like to introduce you to Jen Niles.
Jen, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I am a self-taught artist living and working in Paxton, Mass, right next to Worcester in Central Mass. I’ve been drawing all my life, and for many years concentrated on pen & ink illustrations including commissioned house portraits.
In 2001 I began experimenting with acrylics, inspired by the comical antics and effortless elegance of my two cats, PK and Nellie. From there, I developed a recognizable, whimsical style usually featuring bold color and cheerful subjects from everyday life. Whether it is my cats, my son or my surroundings here at home in New England, I never fail to find inspiration.
Has it been a smooth road?
The journey has been mixed. I have been very fortunate to have the support of my husband while I expanded my art efforts. He has backed me up while I went from pen & ink house portraits, to acrylic paintings, to murals, wholesaling cards and gifts, and now teaching.
Not everybody’s as lucky as I am in this regard! But find that financial pressures can present a real challenge to a maintaining a creative spirit. Being a stay-at- home homeschooling mom means that there are always a variety of demands on my time and attention.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Jen Niles Art – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Over the years I have tried many things, but recently I realized the need for a cohesive mission statement. Looking back at all that I have done and love to do artistically, my mission statement is: To help people celebrate the people, pets and places that they love. That sums it up, really. With my paintings, cards and gift items, people see their own life with pets reflected, and when I am at art or craft fairs I love to see the smiles on their faces as they nudge their friend and say “doesn’t this look like our dog?” or “our cat does this all the time!”
My house portraits and custom ornaments are the same way. People love to give custom portraits celebrating their home or pet. It is their happiness that motivates and encourages me. When I teach, I can share the happiness even more widely because I enable people– many of whom don’t think of themselves as artistic– to paint the pets they love. Though my activities are diverse, they all revolve around that key idea of connecting people to the things they love through art.
What sets me apart from others is two-fold because my business is really two businesses: the art side and the teaching side. With my art, my ability to tell stories through my art sets me apart. While I do many paintings that are just the animals’ faces, my most popular designs are paintings that tell a story. Something is happening in the painting that is either funny or sweet, or that people can identify with.
With my teaching, what sets me apart is the incredible amount of personal attention I give to everyone. I am not your typical “paint party” person. I pre-sketch everyone’s pets with great care and prefer to keep my class sizes small so I can give lots of individual attention. The idea of standing in front of a class merely demonstrating a painting is not at all fun to me. I find myself caring about each and every person and their pet as we work together on the portraits.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
My first love is pen and ink. What I’d like to do this year is try doing my designs with pen and ink, but this time with color and texture added, or perhaps continue to use acrylics but on watercolor paper with mixed media. I haven’t decided, but I always like to experiment and improve.
Regardless of which medium I use, I will continue to explore and honor all that inspires me.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.JenNilesArt.com
- Email: jen@jennilesart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennilesart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jen-Niles-Art-67683909947/
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
