Featured Artist Konni Jensen

Artist Konni Jensen’s colorful acrylic paintings use hidden pictures to convey meaning and add narrative to her work. Enjoy more of her art by going to her website.

 

 

I fell in love with painting after living in France and visiting the Louvre and a small Picasso museum there. I developed a fun style of colorful paintings with thin black lines and hidden pictures. My first painting in this style was “Cartoon,” it is of a pharaoh, who is also a Chinese merchant and a pirate. There is a clown whispering in his ear, a redheaded lady on the right, a cowboy hidden in her blouse and her hair is also a snail. In addition, there is a hidden tulip, a bird and a fleur de lis. I made the painting by taking a pencil to the canvas and basically going crazy on it, making quick circles and lines; then I stood back and looked for pictures to jump out—a fun treasure hunt!

 

 

“Life” is part of a huge mural I did in my entry way when I lived in Manhattan. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take the wall with me, so I recreated part of it. It depicted my boyfriend’s and my life at the time and our roots. It shows the following hidden pictures—a guitar (which is also a redheaded girl), a Viking (her breast is also the eye of a goldfish), a bull, a matador, a mermaid, a vase with flowers, a tulip, a couple of birds and a beach.

 

 

“Poseidon” is a huge painting I was inspired to paint while I was reading about Greek mythology. Poseidon is shown riding a hammerhead shark. There is a hidden squid, penguin, Australia land mass and a tiny heart.

 

 

“Life of Roy” I made for a plastic surgeon—I show him wearing scrubs. The woman in the painting represents how beautiful he can make women; the hidden baby represents how he can make his patients appear younger and the bird represents his love of flying. I really loved making this painting; it had such a great story and it made me feel like it pushed me further as an artist.

 

 

“Las Vegas” is such a busy city; I was inspired to tell a small part of the city’s story by using the visual of a face of a man to tell it. You can see the following hidden pictures—a poker chip with a snake wrapped around it (to show the dangers of gambling), a dancer, a champagne glass, a golf course, a diamond, a heart, a shark for Bugsy, and a martini glass with city lights on skyscrapers.

 

 

Another city that inspires me is “Manarola” in Italy on Cinque Terre. My husband and I would love to retire there; it’s a mix of history, old buildings on a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, great culture, food and wine. The painting shows the city through my eyes with colorful buildings and the wild ocean. I put three hidden ladies in the water and a man’s face in the cliff.

 

 

“In Honor of Hillary Clinton” was obviously done due to the election. I was inspired to paint her as she is a fascinating person with a lot of history. It portrays her as the Statue of Liberty, Athena and Lady of Justice. She is holding a tree for life and education and is shaking hands with the world. The all-American family is shown on top of the world. I got a call from Yosi Sergant requesting the painting for Politicon in Los Angeles June 2016—super exciting!

 

 

“Lord of the Manor” is a funny painting I did because my husband wanted a painting of himself wearing a monocle to hang over our mantel. I decided to have a little fun, and made a buck wearing the monocle and a twenties tweed suit. There is a beaver on top of the buck wearing a top hat. There is a hidden fawn in the left ear and a lady in a gown in the right ear. There is also a hunter wearing fur hidden in the beaver. My husband is very pleased with the painting and says it portrays us well.

 

Artist Konni Jensen invites you to follow her on Facebook.

 

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