Jen Underwood Artist Story
For Christmas of 2018, I had asked for a painting set. A few months earlier, I was just sitting around and the idea popped into my head to start painting. I don’t know where it came from, but it must have been from deep within my soul.
I started painting immediately at the start of the new year. My first painting looked like an arial view from overhead of land, but looked like an Abstract. The style chose me immediately. As far as Expressionism goes, I did not know what it was, I only knew that I painted that way naturally.
When I looked it up, I was scared because it is made fun of by some people, and I honestly don’t know why. It is raw emotion, but trust me when I say there is a strategy that goes into this and it is not just a spontaneous motion. You have to know when to stop, and whether or not you should add certain lines and shapes, or leave it alone. One mess up can ruin the entire painting, it is that delicate.
I finished another painting after that first one, six canvases later. I called it: Distress. As I was painting it, I was thinking of some things that worried me. I used Oil Paints in the beginning. What is interesting is that two of those paintings you see here, actually disappeared into thin air. Yes, you heard that right. I kept them in a closet, and had them briefly in the basement, and one day they were gone. I looked behind things, I have no clue to this day what happened to them.
My Father died in February of 2019, and I had to deal with that, but it did not slow me down. In March, I poured myself into my art, and did several paintings and kept up the momentum that year. 2019 was a beacon year for me, and I painted my most work ever. I counted 23 paintings but there may have been more.
I have been a Landscape/Nature Photographer since 2007, and it was weird for me to paint things instead of photograph them. I don’t do landscapes because it is very boring to me. I love nature so much and the idea of painting what I see does not give it justice. So doing Abstract makes more sense to me as a deep thinker, and a person with great feeling and emotions.
Oddly enough, the Artists I liked for years, did not influence my work. In the 1990’s my friend had Art Books lying around and showed me several big Artists. The one I liked the best was Rene Magritte, the Surrealist Artist. I still like him to this day. I also like Edward Hopper. Below are some of my favorite paintings from both Artists:
What I am saying is…I paint from my soul, and I have no need to be inspired by other Expressionists. I do look at some work when I come across it, but it is always very different from mine and that is just the beauty of art.
I admire Pollock, but I paint nothing like him, There are tiny little similarities here and there in a few paintings, but very few can paint like him.
I do have a massive interest in color when I paint and often pick a wide variety before I even sit down. You will see that in many pieces.
While watching The Karate Kid recently, Mr. Miyagi said something that I agree with. That if it comes from inside of you, it is right. He was answering Daniel’s question on whether or not he knows if he is right.
I try to live my life by that motto and try not to deviate from it. I have done many things in my life, and made attempts at certain things, and if I could not be myself authentically, then I ended up quitting. It was a lesson I have had to learn the hard way. Being myself is important to me, and to be able to paint from who I am matters.
Of course, there is a part of me that is terrified, and thinks that my work will be too much for people but I truly believe the right people will find it, and there is a match for every person.
My work encourages people to focus on what they feel. That is all that matters. Abstract and Expressionism is automatically a feeling and emotions outlet. There is no meaning other than what you give it. It is whatever it means to you. There may be a story behind it for me, but many times I will paint something, and not even know what on earth is coming out of me.
When I look back later on at my work, I am stunned. I had no idea that was in me, and it is all very surprising.
That is why I can’t do commissions. I do not know what I will paint and therefore, I cannot follow instructions and paint certain lines and shapes because I don’t even know what I do half the time. It is all natural and carefree. I can’t emulate something I have done in the past. The closest I can get is the colors and a certain directional flow to the right or the left, but I can’t guarantee anything. It is all straightforward and wild.
I hope to get into more mediums like Watercolor. I also want to try Oil again at some point. I use mainly acrylic and I did a few paintings in Oil Pastels. Charcoal intrigues me also since black is a powerful color.
Stick around and see what I come up with. 
Thank you for being here!