Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Heinser.
Hi Jennifer, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers?
I don’t feel like I ever “started” in art because it has been there since I can remember. My grandfather Raymond Heinser owned a sign shop on Long Island called “Nassau Signs”. I used to peer over his work table and watch him and my father hand-letter signs and bend neon. It was amazing to me. I’d ask him questions no other elementary-aged child would ask and I was amazed by things like design tools and gold leaf. He and my grandmother bought me one of those rolling rulers when I was 8 years old, and it is still one of my prized art supplies purely for sentimental reasons.
I would create signs and draw things for people in high school, even designed tattoos for friends later in life, but I never considered art as a career until the rural college I lived next to at the time (Mansfield University) began a graphic design program 8 years after I left high school. So I went from being a dental assistant to an art and design student in 2008 when my son went off to his first day in 1st grade.
Two professors, Michelle and Martha, became unbelievable inspirations to me and I completed college in 2012 with a bachelor’s in graphic design, and a minor in art history, with a concentration in studio art. My senior project was a complete magazine, so it was no surprise that I ended up working as a creative director for a niche newspaper and a designer at a rural magazine in the area. When I moved to Raleigh, I ended up working as a designer for Midtown and Cary Living Magazines all the way up to the beginning of the pandemic. I did everything from covers to organize and direct fashion shoots, to ads and marketing materials.
I’ve been freelancing ever since in graphic design and concentrating on watercolor painting and commissions, as well as teaching a few children ages 8-18 personalized art lessons online. I’ve done a mural recently, and am planning on a few more.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not quite. My artistic career experienced a move from Pennsylvania to North Carolina in 2014. And when I lost my job in early 2020, I knew I had to use the lockdown time to focus on my watercolors.
So that is what I did: I ended up doing quite a few commissions including one indoor wall mural, and had a lot of freelance design jobs that have sustained me; like a really fun food truck branding, editorial work for Durham County, and now editorial work for a national non-profit focused on childhood education. I love the different types of work I get to do—keeps it fresh!
Ironically it seems that it took lockdown to really have some ideas percolate and allowed time for a lot of creatives to network, be inspired, and practice with supplies and ideas that fell by the wayside. I think the time we gained really showed us all what is most important. While it’s taken a few years to refocus, I’m loving every minute cruising down this new path.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in editorial, advertising, branding, and print design. I take commissions for watercolor paintings of all kinds (landscape, floral, animal, pet portraits, “house portraits”, as well as abstracts in acrylic. I also would love any additional opportunities for personal mural work and plan to apply for public work in the near future. I am particularly proud of a wall of sunflowers I just did for a friend.
I believe what sets me apart from other artists is my use of color and typography, and especially the ability to merge fine art and graphic design, either literally or metaphorically through my knowledge of art and design history, and the constant practice of both subjects.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was outgoing and active growing up, I loved (and still love) swimming, and going to the nearby beach I lived near. I loved horses and dogs (still do), and I was always drawing. Most people put down the crayons at some point—I guess I never did. I grew up on Long Island and then spent a couple of formative years in rural PA, truly experiencing the best of both worlds. Now in NC, I’ve found my “Goldilocks Zone”.
Contact Info:
- Email: art@jenniferheinser.com
- Website: http://jenniferheinser.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenniferheinser/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenniferheinser/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jennifer-heinser-watercolor-and-design-morrisville
- Other: https://society6.com/jenniferheinser
