Whimsical, enchanting, and dreamy. Those are the words we would use to describe the work of Jennifer Stein, a talented acrylic painter who loves creating floral abstracts that will take your mind to another feminine dimension.
Born from two parents who are both accomplished artists in one field or another, Jennifer definitely has that “creative gene”. She took art in high school and dabbled in painting here and there throughout the years, in the mean time raising a family of her own. Jennifer’s artistic career truly began about 10 years ago when her sweet daughter surprisingly arranged for her favorite artist to spend the day with her teaching her his technique. That day was life-changing for Jennifer and, since then, she’s felt a new sense of freedom and the world of creating, painting, and being an artist has become a much bigger, and more cherished, part of her life.
Jennifer, or Jen as most people call her, is married and lives in a small, rural town north of Charlotte, North Carolina with an art studio attached to their log cabin home so she is able to paint whenever the mood strikes. The loud music she plays keeps her heart soaring as she creates one piece after another.
Jen has shared with us that her artistic style has definitely grown and evolved over the years. Some seasons were spent creating works heavy with paint applied with pallet knives and scrapers while others were times of fun collage works. She has experimented with many different styles including abstract, impressionism, modern art, barn art, flowery art, and sometimes even “crappy art” as she shared with us. (You’ve got to love an artist who doesn’t take themselves too seriously!) She’s worked on pieces from very small to very large scale and loves each for its own reasons. This artist is not one to be put into a proverbial box when it comes to what she creates; her personality is made up of many tastes and loves, a wild side, and a quiet side, and one who wanted to experience it all.
Within the passed few years, Jen has created multiple series, one in particular, that is extremely dear and close to her heart. 15 years ago, one of her granddaughters was born with many challenging issues and needed open heart surgery. After a long, grueling surgery, and several weeks of fighting hard to recover, her granddaughter did not survive and passed on to meet her maker. Jennifer, as well as her whole family, was completely devastated needless to say. But years later, while messing around in her studio one day, this beautiful, delicate, flowy floral emerged on the canvas in front of her. It hit a special cord for Jen and she wanted to share it with the world right away. She posted it on social media and immediately, her granddaughter’s other grandma said she wanted to purchase it. At that moment, the series began and is now proudly called “Sophie’s Garden”, named after her departed granddaughter. It definitely was, and has been with each piece she sells, beauty coming from the ashes.
Jen has immensely enjoyed the path she’s been down so far in her artistic journey and is excited to see where it will take her next. She has a deep relationship with God and knows she has not yet experienced all that is in His plan for her, but see it unfolding each and every day. “As people view my work, I hope they are filled with peace, and see love and joy in each and every creation.”
**Editor’s note: This article was composed as a joint effort between the Made By Her staff and Jennifer herself.