Jenn Chemasko

Artist Statement

Throughout the entirety of my life, I’ve never lived in any place long enough to put down what most people would call roots. My art is what I would call roots.

My paintings, my drawings—they locate me in this world. I create tangible, permanent mementos of the vistas I’ve loved, the souvenirs I’ve acquired, and the light I found along the way. This is the home I bring with me wherever life takes me.

Although I prefer to work from life, I occasionally work from imagination or my own photos. I revel in the fleeting nature of changing light, vibrant colors, and expressive marks. I choose to work with oils, acrylics, charcoal, pencils, chalks, and ink. Because my foundation in art is drawing, I relish the unrefined power and unfiltered nature inherent in drawing. I often leave traces of line work in my paintings as a subtle nod to my background in drawing.

I aim my creative force toward a feeling of home and belonging; doused in resplendent light, vivid color, and fresh points of view. I believe art can be a solid space of sanctuary, a particular kind of home to return to through life’s wandering, tumbling, meandering adventures.