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

Jennifer , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.

The thing I think my parents did right was to tell me I couldn’t do it . I know it sounds cliche, but that helped me trust and believe in myself a little more harder. Also it was just in my personality that if someone says no I can’t do it , I want to prove that I can . I got a lot of unbelief from my parents but I understand coming from an immigrant family and being the first American generation , you tell them you can follow your dreams here but they might not believe it.

Jennifer , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

For those who have not known or met me , hi my name is Jennifer Jimenez or my artist name Jenny J. I am a self taught artist who has specialized in traditional painting but thankfully has also gotten the opportunity to be a professional makeup artist for Tom Ford in Saks Bal harbor . I got into art actually at a very young age . I always loved art class and even got my first $9 from an art youth fair in Miami at age 6 which Is when I realized i was an artist . I did grow up with immigrant parents who of course never wanted me to be an artist but stay in school and get a “traditional
“ job . I followed that path and ended up getting my license in Dental Assisting but did not fill at all fulfilled in my work. I had an Etsy shop on the side selling all my lasted artwork or things that made me peaceful which were usually sunsets . I even got invited to some Art Basel events in downtown Miami to showcase my art. I sold more than 150 pieces of my work worldwide. Little did I know so many people love sunsets as much as I do. I feel like I got a club or fan base not only just of sunsets but of my life story . Every sunset I saw, I painted it in a heart where my life was in chaos . See the sunset would be the be the highlight of my day so I would paint it. It came from a sense of changing the way you look at the world , your perspective shapes your reality so when I saw a sunset no matter how hard the day was , it made my day a good one . Im also happy I had good work ethics , with my step father being Mexican and my mother being Dominican they don’t know what resting looks like , so I decided to dedicate most of my life working which made having maybe two or more jobs look easy. But something I also want to share with my fans or clients when I do my work , if it’s either painting a picture or doing your makeup to make you feel beautiful is that I want people to love themselves enough to follow their passions and dreams . No matter what that may look like. I feel too many times we let other people decide our future even though we are goin to be the ones to live it .

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The lesson I had to unlearn was to stop thinking you have to be in a negative state of mind to create . I use to think I always had to be negative or depressed to make a good portrait or even have creative juices flowing but I got myself out of the Sabotage loop. I went to church as my escape and learned through unconditional love , faith and forgiveness of my past so I can keep creating and share that healing in my artwork for others to get inspired.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

The funding for my business is always something so scary to talk about but once you realize that every start up has a starting point it makes it easier. I worked with my mom at the flea market on the weekends and would get maybe $40 in tips here and there and even started styling hair on the weekdays after school and made like another $60 per person . lol I was definitely a hustler lol . I would save my money to buy anything I wanted really , i stoppped asking my mother for money at age 15 which in my culture is when you stop being a “girl” and become more of a women but to get my high end art supplies I also strategically had worked at Michael’s , an art store here in Miami that sadly closed down on 88th street near Barns and Nobles t. I knew I wasn’t goin to be there for too long but I used everyday I was there to get discounts, clearance items and just make amazing art friends . I even got a few clients and one of them I ended up being her private art teacher goin to her house teaching her how to paint .

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/JennyJCrafts?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=91e50f1a-4ce1-4593-ac8f-e58125d14756
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennyjart_/profilecard/?igsh=Z2JvNXV5OGdrODVy