Honoring the Artist Jen Brown

by Marion Wolberg Weiss

Although it’s almost February and we’re well into winter, we still haven’t had our first big snow storm. But that doesn’t stop most people from remembering how they coped with the cold weather and various inconveniences. One thing we recall most is staying inside on a snowy night, bundled up by the fireplace.

Cover artist Jen Brown has different memories of a snow storm: she, too, gets bundled up, not in warm clothes, but in a ski suit, mittens, foot and back warmers. In a word, she looks, by her own admission, like a character from “Star Trek.”

And why shouldn’t she? While most of us are inside our cozy homes, Ms. Brown is outside, often in her backyard, painting as the storm rages around her. And despite the fact that she calls painting “under these circumstances downright painful because my hands are so cold,” and the fact that she has to throw away her gloves monthly because the spilled oil paint makes them combustible, she loves painting in adverse situations. As she herself puts it, “You can’t convey the same mood from a photograph. You have to be ‘in it.’ In this way you capture the spirit of life.”

This week’s cover image (painted last winter) effectively captures Ms. Brown’s emotional feelings about snow. It also proves her belief that snow is a fascinating subject because it changes color the more you look at it. The painting suggests Ms. Brown’s affection for her wild cherry tree as well. “Most people on my street have a wild cherry tree in their backyard,” she says. “In fact, the street is called Wild Cherry Lane. These are good trees to paint because they have such character. You can also see the moon through their branches.”

Speaking of the moon, Ms. Brown loves painting the full moon rising as well. And yes, that requires her being outside, at night, often at 3 a.m. She relies on her moon-rising charts and at times even her father, whom she will call with her concerns when the moon is nowhere in sight.

Most of the time, however, Ms. Brown is in control. “I prepare the day before to do my moon paintings,” she explains. “I arrange my colors in the same way so I can paint in the dark, although it’s not pitch black because of the moonlight. I may start looking for the moon at 8 p.m, then take a nap, then get up at 3 a.m to see it. You only have one chance to get the moon. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. Waiting for the moon is like waiting to go on a date.”

Ms. Brown doesn’t always sit around until the time is right, however, particularly when she’s gathering diverse images for her drawing collection: “I do studio pieces, too, based on Renaissance geometry,” she explains. “I design my canvas based on sizes and shapes of the complex drawings that I have made. I insert elements from 15-20 different images. For example, these drawings may be figures or landscapes from Italy, France, or my own backyard. Or a cloudscape seen on Long Lane in East Hampton.”

Despite Ms. Brown’s diverse interests and commitments, chances are when the first snow comes this season, she’ll be out in her backyard, braving the elements, “loving the thrill of the wind in my face.”