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Jessica Rhys
Jessica Rhys is an illustrator who has studied painting at the masters level. She lives and works in Portland, OR and on the coast of Maine. She studied ecology and natural history as an undergraduate and has worked for many years as an educator. She is an avid gardener and birdwatcher. Jessica is deeply appreciative of all the animal presences in her life.
Artist Statement:
My strongest spiritual connections in life have been found while spending time in nature and in contemplating the beautiful interconnections of all beings through the study of ecology, biology, botany and natural history. I have always been artistically inclined and painted and drew for my own pleasure. While traveling in Eastern Europe in 2000 I found myself deeply aesthetically drawn to Eastern Orthodox iconography. Then while traveling in Mexico in 2005 and again studying iconography I felt called upon to begin painting a series of icons reflecting my own spiritual experience, and I began to take painting seriously for the first time in my life. The theme of the sacred in nature still drives most of my work in 2017. I have expanded my spiritual practices since 2005 by studying buddhism and shamanism, which have also come to influence my work. My art is all created as a prayer, a devotion, a giving of gratitude, and ideally an inspiration for humanity to honor our interdependent relationships with the other beings of this world. Most of my paintings are inspired by dreams or real life encounters that I have with animals, and I also draw upon archetypal knowledge of animals spirits from Native American and international shamanic teachings. When describing my work to people I usually say that it looks like a cross between an ecology textbook and a religious icon. I work in watercolor, and in oil on raw panel or found wood.
My strongest spiritual connections in life have been found while spending time in nature and in contemplating the beautiful interconnections of all beings through the study of ecology, biology, botany and natural history. I have always been artistically inclined and painted and drew for my own pleasure. While traveling in Eastern Europe in 2000 I found myself deeply aesthetically drawn to Eastern Orthodox iconography. Then while traveling in Mexico in 2005 and again studying iconography I felt called upon to begin painting a series of icons reflecting my own spiritual experience, and I began to take painting seriously for the first time in my life. The theme of the sacred in nature still drives most of my work in 2017. I have expanded my spiritual practices since 2005 by studying buddhism and shamanism, which have also come to influence my work. My art is all created as a prayer, a devotion, a giving of gratitude, and ideally an inspiration for humanity to honor our interdependent relationships with the other beings of this world. Most of my paintings are inspired by dreams or real life encounters that I have with animals, and I also draw upon archetypal knowledge of animals spirits from Native American and international shamanic teachings. When describing my work to people I usually say that it looks like a cross between an ecology textbook and a religious icon. I work in watercolor, and in oil on raw panel or found wood.