Jenny Raveling

Artist Statement

I am a born-and-raised Montanan who loves to adventure. In the spring of 2016, I received life-changing news of a tumor in my femoral neck. Over the next eight years, I underwent four surgeries, each requiring significant recovery time. As an avid mountain athlete, I found myself searching for any way to stay connected to the rugged beauty I loved so deeply.
Painting began as therapy—a way to soothe the depression and anxiety that came from losing the body I was used to. What started as a coping mechanism slowly grew into something more. As my skills developed, so did my desire to paint and create full time. Art and painting healed a part of me that was broken long before my leg ever was, and it continues to fill me with deep joy.
My original tagline as an artist was Recreating Nature’s High Through Art. There is a feeling I get when I stand in front of a landscape that feels like a surge—powerful enough to be overwhelming. It lives in the subtleties: the contrast of shadow and light, the collection (or absence) of color, and the humbling feeling of being so small within something vast. Painting allows me to recreate that feeling and hold onto it longer than a fleeting moment outdoors.
My work is inspired by real adventures in the mountains and grounded in lived experience. Through textured acrylic landscapes, I aim to translate not just what a place looks like, but how it feels to be there. It is my greatest joy to share that experience and to know that others can connect with the same sense of awe, wonder, and belonging through my art.