I work with colors and gestures that make me feel empowered and alive. My art evolves from the seeds of my imagination and culminates in energetic expressions of my emotions. Each mark of paint is a step on the journey to an unknown destination. The final piece is imbued with my energy — a subconscious gift to inspire the viewer.
Because plain walls don’t change lives.
Jen Sterling was born in Wisconsin and primarily grew up in Northern Virginia. A graduate of George Washington University, she holds a BA in Visual Communications with a minor in Psychology. She has been creative all of her life. She was an entrepreneur in design and branding for 30 years and founded three creative agencies. Jen sold her last company and now focuses on her fine art full-time.
Among Jen’s influencers are Jasper Johns, Joan Mitchell, and Mark Rothko. Her work was awarded an International Grand Prize and has been shown in numerous galleries and festivals throughout the mid-Atlantic. Her colorful abstracts adorn clothing, skateboards, private homes, and several commercial buildings.
When Jen first started painting, she said it was purely for selfish reasons. She had emotions inside that she needed to let out. Colors that needed to be free. She has always been artistic and creative but she was not formally trained in how to paint. So in the beginning, she feels that her work was very clunky and immature. Over time she learned to react to what she was applying to the canvas with more refined layers and brushstrokes… to add depth and sophistication to her messages.
Like many artists, Jen finds a blank canvas to be paralyzing. She needs to mess it up… get some marks and color on it as quickly as possible in order to make it feel approachable. Once that is out of the way, she is in the flow of mark and response. Each stroke or shape leads her to the next one on the path. She has had paintings where she knew before the first mark was made exactly what it would look like at the end. But more often than not, she is as surprised as anyone at the final result. It is almost like getting to your office and not remembering actually driving there. Her brain goes into a flow state and she follows the path the painting provides. Sounds crazy… but it works for her.
Jen maintains a love of business and is an active mentor for emerging businesses and fellow artists. Jen lives with her husband and multiple dogs in Annapolis, Maryland.
