Growing up in a small town, Jen remembers while in church at a young age  when she watched quietly a few seats away from an older girl who drew a picture of a face with crayons. She was amazed at how someone could portray a person with just a few sticks of color. She was hooked at the challenge of exhibiting the same thing.

She convinced her mom in her early teens to let her paint a mural in a basement bedroom and began doing spontaneous jobs involved with art. From spray painting magician props, to sketching caricatures at the local fairs and even drawing on stage at her towns local Miss America pageant. She earned a two year scholarship to college through the Veteran's of Foreign War scholarship competition where she was then able to study for two years at BYUI.

Jen majored in Illustration and went on to work as an Illustrator for 10 years creating mostly children's themed illustrations. She has done illustrations in a variety of magazines as well as creating a published children's book.

​

However Jen's life would take an unexpected turn for the worse. In 2009 right after an emergency surgery, Jen started to experience severe debilitating migraines that continue to this day. In 2011 she started to have other serious health issues that affect her ability to breath and cause her to react to many foods and chemicals. She wouldn't find out until later that these symptoms and problems were caused by autoimmune disorders. With no cure Jen and her husband made the decision to make the best out of life as they possibly could. They moved into an RV and set off to find a place where she could breathe with her little family.

Although there was not a place to be found, Jen's experience while living near the ocean in the RV gave her a new found love of painting from life. Through a multitude of works Jen creates art out of love for life, personal pain and compassion for other's struggles with difficult life challenges. She is passionate and exemplifies raw and real experiences through her paintings and sculpture work.