Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jenn Joslin. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jenn, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you wish you had started sooner?
If I could go back in time knowing what I know now, yes, I would have prioritized nurturing myself and my creative work as early as possible. I loved drawing and reading as a kid, spending hours at the library laying in the aisles copying images from all sorts of books. I loved animation and went to school to pursue it but something about formal art education felt tedious and oddly lackluster, so I explored many random majors – British Literature, Environmental Law, Printmaking – you name it, before a newfound hyperfixation with environmental ethics and birds led me to settle on a Conservation Biology program.
Being surrounded by lab specimens and dissecting various creatures inspired me to pursue scientific illustration, so in my mid-twenties I started a creative career and found success developing a sort of science art/pop culture crossover niche. At the time I was not yet mentally prepared to fully commit to a creative career, so chose to pursue environmental education after college instead. I needed to experience a lot more of life to gain a deeper understanding of myself and discover a bigger sense purpose from which my creative work could unfurl. Now I realize much of my early struggles with both school and work stemmed from undiagnosed AuDHD and trauma-based anxiety and depression, so it took many years and a lot of mental heath support to practice building the confidence and drive it takes to run a small business.
Although stepping back from pursuing creative work after college felt like a failure at the time, I was still exploring life to the fullest and all of those adventures have enriched my creative work in ways I am incredibly grateful for now. So while I don’t actively wish I’d been a creative professional from the get-go, I do wish I had found the support I needed early on so I could have engaged with creativity more consistently, simply for my own enjoyment.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am an artist and naturalist based in Portland, Oregon. My current work explores the rich biodiversity of the western US through detailed, emotive fine art and illustrations that blend scientific observation with poetic personal narrative. I believe that emotional connection is essential to meaningful environmental change, so create visual art that translates the intricacies of wild ecosystems into images that invite folks to pause, observe, and reflect on their relationship with the natural world.
My creative process begins in the field, often on solo hikes across the Pacific Northwest and the broader Western U.S. where I observe and listen to the gifts and stories the land offers, gathering sketches and photographs that later become the foundation of my studio work. I typically paint with acrylics on wood panel but also draw in Photoshop for illustration purposes. Much of the inspiration for my work also comes from reading lots of environmental non-fiction, speculative fiction, and fantasy, as well as doing frequent deep dives into the internet to research whichever theme or species I’m working on at any time.
I am originally from California’s Central Valley and I think the lack of natural spaces, devastating drought, and ravaged landbase in the region instilled a deep fascination with how the land shapes us and how we shape it. In an era marked by resource exploitation, biodiversity loss, and a population largely disconnected from the more-than-human world, my creative work serves as an accessible means of deepening our connection to the wild.
Over the years I’ve worked with galleries, local businesses, private collectors, and local nonprofits as an artist, illustrator, writer, and educator, creating artwork and experiences that deepen public engagement with nature. Between 2018 and 2022, my senior pup Charlie and I hiked over 345 trails throughout the Pacific Northwest, a journey that has been greatly transformative and deeply integral to my life and work. Charlie will enter his 17th year of adventuring soon, and we still take every opportunity we can to get outside together!
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My work is deeply driven by the self-trust, acceptance, and peace I’ve cultivated during years of learning to live in reciprocity with our natural world. Western culture forces a mindset of scarcity and individualism on us that is extremely self-destructive and unstainable, and it’s obvious we need to expand our thinking beyond the confines of capitalism. I put so much love and thought into each piece, especially the ones that focus deeply on conservation issues, endangered species, and human-wildlife interactions. Some (most) of the research I do is incredibly heartbreaking and often I feel overwhelmed by the pressing weight of existential grief. However, people never fail to show up in my inbox or at shows and markets to talk about micromoments of joy they’ve found through nature, and by sharing the burden of grief through these connections we are all a little lighter, a little more resilient, a little more empowered to protect who and what we love.
A couple of recent hope-giving moments: Someone purchased my wolf drawing, “Once There Were Wolves”, to gift to their uncle who is a fierce political advocate for protecting gray wolves in Washington. The next week a man shared his adventures protecting hummingbird nests at his workplace and his whole face lit up with pride and awe while he talked about how he teaches customers about the birds every chance he gets. This is love in action. This is why I create, to be like “Hey, this planet is magic, do you see it too? Let’s learn and love and delight in the awe of it together”. In fact, when I go through dry spells and can’t bring myself to create, it’s almost always because I need to get out of my head and onto my feet, to be an active participant in my community through connecting, playing, and appreciating the world around us.
Speaking of community, I work on a lot of pet portraits, especially before the holidays when I offer them at an accessible discounted rate, and I swear nearly every single one makes me cry. It’s beautiful to see people love their pets enough to memorialize them this way or to love their friends and family so much to commission a portrait of their pets as gifts. Like wow, in a world where there is so much abuse and suffering, here are humans who go out of their way to support their pets, their loved ones, and my creativity. It’s profound to see that love in action and to get to facilitate it through my work.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I am much more at peace overall as a creative, mentally and physically. Of course self-employment comes with a litany of its own struggles, it’s not just drawing pretty pictures all day. Learning to own the title of <i>artist</i> was no small feat, and sometimes I still struggle with feeling like I’ve “earned” it. I also have practical fears about being a small business owner during this uncertain, and frankly scary, economic and political hellscape, but what job is actually truly safe? Some days it seems easier to fall back on a 9-5 but then I realize it would just be a scapegoat: if I couldn’t pay bills, then I could blame the company for not paying living wages or complain about my boss being unfair. Let’s not kid ourselves – often both of those things are very true – but I know from having tons of vastly different jobs over the years that they all demanded blind obedience, to abide by rigid expectations, tiptoe around hidden hierarchies, and answer to authority even when their requests were objectively unjust. There was no room for creativity or self-care, and not only did the resulting anxiety take a physical toll on my body, but my energy for creative work was zapped. Most notably, I earned less at most of those jobs than I do as a creative, so despite the starving artist trope society still loves to toss around this work can be a practical and sustainable path.
The satisfaction of being able to support my modest lifestyle. build a creative and empathetic community, and add a little light back into the world that gives so much joy to me is indescribable. I truly couldn’t ask for more. So despite the struggle and uncertainty that has come with choosing the unconventional path, embracing the risk wholeheartedly (and throwing in a dash of delusion for good measure) has been the most fulfilling adventure yet.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jennjoslin.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/jennjoslinart
- Other: www.jennjoslin.bigcartel.com
