MTC ART GALLERY

Jill McLennan

Transportation-scapes

Artist Statement

I live in Oakland and work as an artist and an educator. At Hampshire College, in Amherst, Massachusetts, I discovered my need to express myself through the medium of paint. Under the influence of my teacher, I began drawing my images from my experience of being outside in nature. I painted outside in the winter and spring, capturing the relationships and emotions of the apple and pine trees.

Moving to Chicago for graduate school changed my imagery. I began to seek out the bits of the natural world that creep into the city: parks, pigeons and the people who dwell there. My master’s thesis, written at The Art Institute of Chicago, is a framework for learning art, through discovery of place, immediate surroundings and the issues concerning our present world. I explored how children perceive their environment and how making art demonstrates and enhances their perception skills.

My artistic imagery is inspired by my personal observations of Oakland as place, past and present. My classes at the Museum of Children’s Art in Oakland, where I am a teaching artist, incorporate the local environment and emphasize our natural surroundings, with the ultimate goal of instilling global responsibility in our youth. Through painting and teaching, I hope to invoke an awareness of human society’s impact on our planet. The populations I teach provide unique life experiences that complement my work as an artist.

In Oakland, my painting style and subject matter has continued to evolve. I responded first to the massive cranes at the port, framed by the marshlands and the bay. This has led me to a series of pictures contrasting the industrial strength and the natural beauty of the Bay Area. My paintings reflect my personal impressions of living in the city, combined with my history, memories, present experience and continuous observation.

— Jill McLennan
www.mesart.com/jmclennan

Education in Art:

Hampshire College BFA 1996
The Art Institute of Chicago MAAE 1999