Jennie’s paintings occupy a space where reality, imagination and memory hold equal tenancy, and there’s a tension between realism and abstraction, place and non-place.
Born in England and educated in South Africa, Jennie’s degree in architecture and Masters in Visual Art inform her landscape paintings that explore personal but universal themes of identity, adaptation and meaning.
The painting process has to be fresh and interesting for her own pleasure. Jennie favours oils, builds up layers, scales surfaces, moves paint around, and uses her tools creatively to make marks that remain in the finished painting.
As well as being a successful artist, Jennie is fiercely intelligent and funny. Her honest insights about life, which she shares in her visual diary on social media, are both relatable and inspiring.
Jennie has featured regularly in premier New Zealand art awards, and her works are held in the collection of The University of Waikato, Waikato Institute of Technology and private collections both within New Zealand and abroad.
We’re thrilled to have an artist of Jennie’s calibre taking part in the Waipa Creative Trail. Be sure to visit her rural studio and see works in progress, view finished pieces and to talk with her.
The Waipa Creative Trail is a free community event where local creatives will open their studios to the public on 16 March 2024. To find out more, like ‘The Waipa Creative Hub’ page on Facebook and Instagram or visit our website http://www.waipacreativetrail.com. You can read more about Jennie at https://www.jenniedegroot.com.
The Waipa Creative Trail 