Jenny Grant

Jenny’s Soul Art Day Interview

What shaped you as an artist?

I have not always been painting mixed media and certainly not faces. I have always been creative and painted, since I was a kid. For many years I painted with almost only water colours. I always had a picture in my mind when I started and I almost always got disappointed that I could not transfer the picture onto the paper in a good enough way.
I have always been very fascinated by mixed media. 15 yours ago I got the courage to start to experiment on my own and I just loved it. When I let go and I stopped thinking about the end result something opened up inside me. The braver I got the more intuitive my process became. I started to let the painting decide what it wanted to be and tried to stop the pictures in my head to decide. I started to see eyes everywhere in the paint. I was very hesitant but decided to be brave and actually draw what I saw. It was a slow but very rewarding process. I used to be very critical to my own drawings and paintings and especially faces that I “knew” I could not draw… but when I started to let my heart and soul steer my creative process and I dared to continue even though I didn’t like what I saw, something magical started to happen.
I am so happy that this transformation took place and that I started to trust the process and be brave enough to let my paintings get into “the ugly” stage without putting me off. What I found was that if I continued, even though I hated the look of it, I could push through and end up with something that I really liked. The more I practiced, the braver I got and the more I pushed the boundaries, the more I loved it.

How would you describe your creative process?

When I start a blank canvas I very seldom have a picture in my mind. I start with adding paper collage as a meditative practice; I write words and poetry that pop into my mind, onto the canvas. These layers and words inspire me through the process. I add each layer based on my feeling at that moment. I am big advocate of Jackson Browns sayings “Don’t wait for inspiration – it will find you”.
I let my feelings and the layers guide me through the process. I might see something in the paint or I get an urge to paint something special. The images might take a major part in the final painting or it may not. I continue the next layer and focus on what I like. This process is hard to describe but when I find my flow I just paint and when I step back after a session in flow I often get surprised by what I have created.
I work in many layers that ad great depth to my art. When I get stuck, I just keep going, I grab a colour and I work a lot with my own stencils and stamps to push through the obstacle and bad feelings. I work hard to concur my inner critique. My imagery and colours grow through the process.
I let my work-in-progress hang on the walls in the studio so that I can see and feel them. When I get inspired or see something I grab the painting and add paint to it, in the middle of something else.
I work with mixed media – acrylic paint, watercolour, ink, colour pencils, wax, fabrics, paper, photos… anything that comes my way. With layers on layers my work becomes very rich with every layer adding depth and texture. People usually find my art very peaceful even though it is quite busy and colourful.

Why do you make art?

I create art because it is something deep inside of me that tells me that this is the right thing to do. Making art stirs my soul! This process is hard to describe but when I find my flow I just paint and when I step back after a session in flow I often get surprised by what I have created. The feeling and energy I get when the painting is taking shape is magical. It fills me with energy and can energize me for several days.