About Jenny ... The Girl Behind the Art

Hi, I am Jenny James, an artist, illustrator, graphic designer, publisher, web developer and art 'n' craft addict. I can be found in a few virtual playgrounds including Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Redbubble... any time you see my Georgiegirl the Cow or purple logo, you have found me. Don't forget to say hello :)

I'm a Mum of a beautiful amazing person who is kind, generous and patient. I'm so proud of my lil Vegemite who is now grown up and happily living a life filled with happyness, love and laughter.

In my spare time I like to paint, draw, colour, dabble in die cutting, create mixed media, make ATCs (artist trading cards), play with clay, embroider and crochet. Anything that is arty, crafty, colourful with textures! I like to ride my old bicycle too but haven't for a long while. Bought it when I was 17, a few moons ago! Its a tad worn out and rusty but still works perfectly fine :) Just like me.

So you can see, my whole world is immersed in Art - creating, sharing, selling and seeing it all around, everywhere I go. Love it!

Art is incredible - it heals the mind, soothes the soul, whispers sweet nothings to the heart and helps make us all Happy. Plus its just so much fun to play with paint, ink and paper!

Holly Hobbie would have a simpler way of saying it - "Happiness is art!".

To keep up to date with my groovy arty life, share news and see shop updates, visit the Art by Jenny Facebook Page or my blogs - A Life Less Ordinary and the Shop Blog. Want to buy unique gifts like phone cases, tshirts or mugs? Have a wander through my Redbubble shop and gallery at www.redbubble.com/people/georgiegirl.

I love to share techniques, inspiration and ideas with others and so does my Mum, June (she's amazing! June can paint anything and it looks just like the real thing). We're both available if you want a quick lesson or full day workshop. Check out the events category for further details or get in touch with any questions. Please note (Jan 2022), workshops are postponed for the time being.

Life Before 'Art by Jenny'...

The cow on the right is named Georgiegirl. You may have seen her around! I originally designed her for my avatar in Redbubble, drawn digitally in Adobe Illustrator. Many years later, she's everywhere I go online including my shop's social icons and avatar. So wherever you find my Georgiegirl the Cow, you've found 'Art by Jenny' as well as me :)

I've been drawing, colouring and painting since I was really little (Mum says I was 2 years old when I started colouring inside the lines) ... so for a very long time! My parents taught me embroidery, knitting and crochet as a child as well. Knitting I'm not a big fan of because I keep creating holes where there shouldn't be holes, but I absolutely love embroidery and crochet. So nutty about art and my other loves that I used to take my colouring, a book to read and cross stitch with me whenever I went camping with the Rovers (scouts).

While these next "few" paragraphs sound more like a resume, I think its important to know who is behind the virtual shop front selling you treasures and peddling her wares!

I started my working life at The Advertiser Newspaper in Adelaide as an Editorial Messenger then an ENS (electronic newspapers) Compositor. After a year backpacking in UK and Europe, I worked for graphic design agencies, a well loved scrapbook shop, an embroidery shop and craft book publisher, plus I've been lucky enough to work with a variety of wonderful clients needing my design and IT skills, including local primary schools (creating and updating their websites, logos, illustrations, signage and stationery).

My experience and training has included a wide variety of things I love to do -  painting and drawing (traditional and digital), photography (I love macro, getting in close to see all the incredible details of Mother Nature's creations), writing, storyboarding, animating and clay modelling.

I have a Diploma of Multimedia (with credits and distinctions in 2008), a Graphic Design and Printing Trade Certificate (from my apprenticeship many moons ago) and over 30 years experience in the graphic design and printing industry.

These days I use Affinity Photo and Designer to do all my graphic design work. My websites are managed using various software and some templates. Before the past few years, I worked with Adobe Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop. I also have a bit of experience with Adobe Dreamweaver, Flash, Corel Painter, 3DS Max, Maya, Cinema4D, Inkscape, Gimp, Adobe Premiere, Soundbooth and After Effects. Not alot, but enough to show me the basics. Website and online IT, design, development, I find really interesting. They're fun to learn (like puzzles), easy to break and satisfying to create and fix.

Now you've reached the bottom of this webpage, thanks so much for your time and reading my essay! I hope it made you smile :)

If you're in Facebook, Instagram, Redbubble, Pinterest, Blogs and even in the real world, don't be shy! Smile and wave, say hello, show off your latest creation :) I love to see everyone's artwork!

Have a Happy Creative Day!