Where I've Been, and an Invitation

The last time I wrote here was June 2023. That is a long quiet, and if you are reading this, thank you. Thank you for still being here, or for finding your way back.

For a long time, this was a place for conversations about change. About loss and starting over, about self-worth, about the hard seasons that ask us to grow whether we feel ready or not. Again and again, we came back to the same idea: listen to your heart, and trust what it is quietly asking of you.

Somewhere along the way, I had to take my own advice.

My heart was asking me to paint.

Coming home to the easel

Painting has been the through line of my life. I trained in classical realism years ago, learning to draw carefully and see light honestly. Then life moved in other directions, and the easel waited.

When I came back to it, I found I wanted more than accuracy. I wanted the paintings to hold what I felt standing in front of something, not only what I saw. That search became the heart of my work, and I have a name for it now: animating the unseen.

Today I paint expressive, atmospheric oil paintings of figures, portraits, horses, coastal wildlife, and the natural world. Whatever the subject, I'm looking for the same thing. The stillness before a gesture. The quiet energy underneath the surface. I sometimes call it the moment beneath the moment.

The thread between then and now

It might look like a big leap, from talking about inner growth to painting egrets and portraits. To me, it feels like the same conversation in a different language.

When someone stands in front of a painting and feels a slight stir, something that reminds them of a person, a place, or a part of themselves they had almost forgotten, something real is happening. I believe art can lift us, steady us, and remind us of what matters. That is what I hope my paintings offer, and it is the same hope I always wanted to share with you here.

What I've been busy doing

These past few years have been full and humbling. My paintings are now represented by Xanadu Gallery in Scottsdale and by 33 Contemporary Gallery. I was selected for the Arts to Hearts Project International Artist Award, and this fall my work has been part of an online juried exhibition called Art Inspired by Nature.

Mostly, though, I have been in the studio, painting in the morning light and learning to trust my own hand again.

An invitation

This Wednesday, I'm giving a live artist talk for artNXTlevel, the artist community led by Sergio Gomez, and I would love for you to be there.

Animating the Unseen: Finding Your Own Story in the Paintings 

Wednesday, November 11, 2026, 11 am to 12 pm ET, live on Zoom

Join here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85228840944?pwd=dqhj4G9HU08rIbPsT5xBfe6NXs1XJ1.1

I'll be sharing my story: what drew me back to painting, how I work, and what it means to look for the unseen, in a painting and in a life. You don't need to be a painter to come. We'll close with a live Q&A.

Where to find me now

My paintings, and the stories behind them, now live at jennroyster.art. If you would like to see new work as it leaves the easel, you can join my studio list there. You can also follow along on Instagram at @jennroysterart.

The older posts and podcast episodes will stay here for anyone who still finds comfort in them. This little corner of mine will grow and change over time, and I'll share more when it's ready.

For now, I'm simply glad to be writing to you again.

Warmly,

Jenn