About the artist behind the art with Jenna Garcia

I have recently posted on social media asking what is it that people want to know about the artist behind the art. I wasn’t even sure I was going to get a response, but was pleasantly surprised when I started receiving questions. So, thank you beautiful people for wanting to know more about this artist and inspirations behind my work. I apologize for not getting your answers sooner. I’m jumping online from my upstairs bathroom (don’t worry its not what you think) I’m supervising my 2 yr old in the tub while sitting on the toilet, lid down, and laptop ready. The joys of multitasking with a toddler haha! I’ll just go through the questions and answer below.

Q: How do you decide what colors to use to portray emotions?
A: Colors for me have always had a feel to it emotionally and physically. Everything is like one huge mood ring, constantly changing and setting tones. I have always related colors to emotions or even sometimes physical feelings. You may have heard me say this before but one of my earliest memories of tying color to a feeling or emotion was when I was elementary age. I got a painful whiplash and asked the person next to me if my neck was green. They laughed and said no, but I remember being really upset. I really thought my neck was green from the pain. For me green represents physical pain, not any green but more of a light lime green. A darker hooker green for me represents more of a sad emotional painful feeling. There is no real color chart to match emotions, but for me I guess I’ve always had one. There were days I felt purple (deep thoughts weighing on my mind) or bright yellow (peaceful and calm) which is different from dark yellows (friendship or farewell to a loved one). One color for me can have multiple meanings like blues and reds. I guess I rely not only on the painted color but the body language of my painted figure to help portray everything I’m trying to express.

Q: Why is red a predominate color in background for most of your pictures?
A: I will use red to represent anxiety, feeling of pressure or a high intense energy good or bad.

Q: Why are the figures in your paintings like hot metal?
A: I’m not sure if I understand this question completely, but I am assuming your questioning the multiple colors I sometimes, or most times, use on one figure. The paintings with multiple colors are to help express not just one mood but the transitioning of moods. For example; My painting titled Detoxed (pictured below), I used red to represent my anxiety, purples to represent the many thoughts that won’t quiet my mind, and the blue is to represent calm. So, in this painting I’m trying to focus on calm, and balance my moods so the anxiety can exit my body.

Q: Why do you focus on yoga and dance?
A: I initially started painting dance because I love the art form and all its beauty. Dance is a very expressive art itself. So, while I’m watching a dance, I can feel it stir up some emotions. I use colors and dance poses to express my connection between the two telling its story.
I started my yoga series when I first started to really appreciate yoga practice. I’m no yogi, I’m very much a beginner and don’t practice yoga on a regular basis. I’m a curvy mom who struggles to find enough time in a day. However, when I’m able to, I do love a quick 15 min yoga class on a youtube channel or my phone app Daily Yoga. It helps with my anxiety and moods. Also helps me with muscle tension. I started following yogis on Intsagram and I can see how certain positions may help release certain moods. It’s all inspiration for more paintings! I hope to one day be able to master a few positions myself.

Q: Do you do yoga or cirque activities yourself? Do you find that muscle memory work helps with your art?
A: I’ll do a little yoga during the week, but not daily. Not enough to advance to different levels just yet. Maybe when my toddler is a little older, I’ll be able to put more time into it.
As for cirque activity I don’t practice but I really appreciate its performance and beauty. I see Cirque as another form of expressive art. It draws out wonder, inspiration and excitement. I’m having a lot of fun painting these performers. Definitely brings out the playful, fearless side. Challenging the viewer to be more daring and maybe do the impossible while having the most fun.
As far as muscle memory work, it helps me stay focused and I end up getting more work done.

Q: Does painting make you happy do you love your job?
A: Painting as a hobbyist on your free time, is stress free, therapeutic and fun. But if you are painting to build a career as I am, it can be these things and more. Just like any other job it can be stressful. There’s pressure to perform your best, meet deadlines, self-promotion, to stay relevant, and always be seen. It’s a skill that must be practiced diligently. At times it requires working many hours. There were times when I worked 17 hours straight. Surviving off of coffee and energy drinks that were kindly delivered by close friends. Times when no matter how exhausted, I would be up painting at 3am. Wanting to finish a piece or just come to a good stopping point. There were weekends I missed out on family time with my wife and girls to stay at home and work on my paintings. With this job there is sacrifice, but it is driven by passion and love for what I do. Not everyone wants to work everyday and make a career out of painting. I do it because I love it, because I have that passion and because I want to be known in the art world. I want people to connect with my paintings, to feel something, to acknowledge emotions, embrace them, and grow from them. I love what I do, and I’ve never been happier.