A fresh start
Hello!
Welcome to my brand-new-for-the-new-year blog! Reflecting back on my past year (or so), I’ve done plenty of writing for social media and my email list, but I’ve lacked a permanent home to thread those thoughts together. And so without further ado, the blog is born!
If we’re not already acquainted, I’m so glad to “meet” you! And if we know each other, HI! I’m happy you’re here. My name is Jenna (Landsom) Paulsen, and I’m an artist, wife and mom based in Syracuse, New York. I create modern, impressionistic landscape paintings with a focus on striking color relationships and visual textures. My work is inspired by the landscapes of central New York and the upper Midwestern US – rural Minnesota in particular (as that’s where I grew up). I haven’t always called myself an artist, though I’ve been practicing art throughout my life! It took me more than a decade out in the “working world” to gradually embrace the idea that my passion for creating art could become my career.
I think everyone is born with a natural gift – a “special sauce”, if you will – that makes them uniquely suited for a particular path. I’ve known for awhile that creating art is my “special sauce” – something that lights me up, brings joy, and grows into something bigger and better when I feed the flame. When I was coming up in the ranks of art school, the scene for artists looked very different from what we see today, and the possibilities for becoming a full-time artist straight out of undergrad (with zero money to speak of) looked pretty bleak at best. I focused on landscape painting in college, and continued to paint over the years whenever I found the time amidst full-time work, grad school, and a couple of big relocations. As social media became more widespread, I observed other artists grow their online presences (and businesses) without necessarily having the out-of-home studio space, gallery representation, storefront, or teaching positions that I thought were required of “real” artists.
When I had my first kid in 2017, my maternity leave was the first time I could remember having some real time and space to think. I noticed the ways in which these new (adorable, exhausting) demands on my time and energy actually sparked my creativity — because I needed to get more done in less time, and think on my feet in any given moment based on the ever-changing needs of this new little human. My time was no longer “my” time, so I learned to use small pockets of time each day for something that was only for me – even if it meant I’d have to pivot to something else with no notice! I laid out my watercolors and paper next to my nursing chair, and began quietly painting with one arm while my baby slept in the other. I worked on larger pieces at the dining room table while my baby slept in my kangaroo-style front carrier. I shared with friends and started to accept commissions again, and made it my mission to keep up my painting practice – even as we welcomed a second kid, and endured an all-parents-on-deck pandemic (which was NOT welcome, but came anyway 😂).
One of my first paintings post-baby – a re-ignited spark of creativity!
I launched my new online storefront and art Instagram account in 2021, and made the break from my day job in HR to pursue art full-time in 2022 – a milestone I thought might never come! 🥳 I create and release 4 quarterly collections of paintings each year, along with an ever-rotating cast of prints and gift items.
I’m working on some new things for 2023, so stay tuned! I’m beyond grateful to my teachers, friends, and family who encouraged me to continue creating and sharing my work, and most of all to my spouse for being my greatest source of support. I’m eager to share my artwork in this new blog format, as well as thoughts on all sorts of topics near and dear to me!
Thanks for joining along!