Jennie S Jung

Painting + Drawing

Artist statement

I do oil, watercolor, and oriental brush painting. My oriental brush painting A Dream of Venice is my experimental painting. In this painting, I use oriental pigments and thin and medium brushes to make the city of Venice seem like it is floating above the water. In the morning mist, it looks soft and hazy, like a memory or a dream.

Artist Biography

I am a painter who uses both western and oriental styles. I grew up in Seoul, South Korea. From a very early age, I was interested in creating drawings and paintings, and when I was in junior high school, one of my paintings was displayed in the principal’s office. This inspired me to share more of my art with others.

After I moved to the U.S., I did design work for Boeing. One of my tasks was to use a graphics program to create an exterior paint scheme for the first production of the 787 Dreamliner. This was one of my favorite assignments because it allowed me a great deal of freedom to use my creativity.
In 2017, during my first show of oriental brush painting, I made my first sale. Although the creation of art has always been intrinsically valuable to me, it’s affirming to know that it also has value for others.

In June of 2021, I expect to graduate from the University of Washington with a B.A. in Painting and Drawing, and I hope to share what I’ve learned by teaching art to seniors.

Interview

"A Dream of Venice," 2017. Chinese pigment, rice paper. 13 x 7 in. My oriental brush painting “A Dream of Venice” is my experimental painting. In this painting, I use oriental pigments and thin and medium brushes to make the city of Venice seem like it is floating above the water. In the morning mist, it looks soft and hazy, like a memory or a dream.

"Old Korean Tradition," 2019. Oil paint. 15.94 x 18.94 in. I have a special interest in combining traditional oriental materials and techniques with western subjects, and western techniques with eastern subjects, to create new ways of seeing that enhance viewers’ emotional connections with the subject. Another example of this special interest is the painting entitled “Old Korean Tradition.” This painting depicts the traditional Korean farming custom of women working together to harvest fruit, a scene of family harmony. It’s modeled after an original painting which used about half a dozen traditional pigments extracted from plants, whose muted colors seem to float on the paper surface. I painted on canvas, and in order to add a feeling deep joy to the peaceful scene, I used oil paints in glowing jewel tones.

"Diamond in the real world and virtual world," 2019. Oil paint. 28 x 22 in. Among all of the jewels, diamonds are the most expensive. My painting “A Diamond in the Real and Virtual Worlds” depicts a single diamond that appears as two diamonds—one that’s dazzlingly beautiful, refracting light into a multiplicity of colors, and one that’s like a worthless piece of glass, reflecting only flat, colorless light. Each person who views this painting determines the diamond’s value; the stone itself has no value outside of that which is assigned to it by the person who experiences it. This painting was inspired by the thought that, like this diamond, the inherent value of a human life is decided by the person who experiences her or his own life.

Artist statement

Artist Biography

Interview