We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jennifer Kahn Barlow. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jennifer below.

Alright, Jennifer thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

Thank you so much for reaching out to me, it is an honor.  This is such a loaded question, as it depends on the day or season of life. I definitely have many moments when the grass is always greener on the other side: regular job, steady pay, structured reward system, and guidance. I find the highs and lows of being an artist the most challenging. One minute you are thrilled that a piece of artwork sold and the next you get rejected from a show you really wanted to be in. The peaks are high and the valleys are low and long. It is the times when the valleys are low and long that I question if I pursued the right path, would my talents be better suited in another area. I then have to remind myself that a “regular job” has many drawbacks: limited freedom, deadlines, reporting to others, etc. The pros of being creative are rewarding on different terms, such as being part of a creative community and the therapeutic practice of creating art far outweighs the cons.  No “regular” job can compare.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

If the heart of the home is the kitchen, then I am an artist who paints from her heart. I grew up in a food-loving family in the Boston suburbs, but have called Washington, DC home since 1999. My childhood was filled with food-centric family gatherings where it was common-place to praise and photograph the food (with film, no smart phones). For a long time, I did not realize how  those childhood years, with my mom and grandmother cooing over the beautiful dishes, along with garnish for color, informed my artistic eye. My creative brain is now stirred by vibrant, texturally dynamic, and unique cuisine, which leads much of her subject matter to be of confectionary, the gooier and more colorful the better. For me there is no better medium than buttery oil paint to create my artworks of food on canvas.

While I am constantly searching for new bakeries to explore, both at home and on holiday, my main muse is the brilliant, classy, and colorful French macaron. I have painted hundreds of them in the course of my career: stacked, broken, boxed, as flowers, and there will be more to come.

Food, especially sweets, are central to my message of joy. Food nurtures us, connects us, elicits memories, and are works of art in their own right. In this fast paced world we devour before we really look at the beauty, design, and craftsmanship of our foods. I want to invite the viewer to slow down and savor life’s sweetness.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I am equally left brained as I am right, with a degree in economics and a former life in finance. I was taught that logic rules and if you complete certain steps in order you will get to where you want to be. {Insert cruel laughter here}

I had to unlearn that logic rules and learn the meaning of “subjective.” It is embarrassing the number of times over the past 15 years of my artistic journey that I thought an article on my art was going to be my big break or an exhibit was going to sold out show. Artwork is totally subject to the viewers eye and preferences, it moves someone or it doesn’t. A judge loves your work or passes it up for another canvas you extremely dislike. Social media “follows” and “likes” are just as fluid and unpredictable.

I want to say I have moved beyond logic and go with the flow, but I will leave it as, “I am still working on that.”

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I love this question. I am also the President of the Montgomery Art Association, a nonprofit supporting the visual arts and artists in Montgomery County, Maryland and the D.C. metro area.  My goal is to inspire, educate, and provide opportunities for local artists, in addition to showcasing their talents in our society.

The best thing that society can do to support artists is to first, incorporate art into their lives, especially local art. Go to art openings, buy art from local galleries or art festivals (lower price point, art prints count), listen to live local musicians, visit open mic nights, etc. Developers should be including artist studios into building plans. Empty store fronts could open up for an artist “Pop Up” shows. Business with wall space could ask local artists to curate special shows to share their color and view with their clients and staff.

By starting with these type of measures, it demonstrates that society values artists and creatives and admires their unique view of the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jkb-art.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jkb.art/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenniferkahnbarlowart
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-kahn-barlow-b0b39997/