contact: jesse@jessenarens.com

I create art through an intuitive process with basic materials, and without formal training on any tool or technique.

With no attachment to preconceived ideas, pieces begin without sketches, and progress is made with or without reason. While most elements are placed with intention, everything is open to change until meaning is found.

Pieces are called finished based on feeling, but as life is fluid, so is my process, and any piece that remains in my possession has the potential for its story to be continued at any time.

Beyond just subject matter, my process and life are all heavily guided by the recurring feelings that I, along with others, have experienced through Nature in moments found only when not looking for anything, but being open to what the universe has to offer..



some friends and places to check out...

Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition
"In Oregon, the beaches belong to the people. As part of Oregon’s tradition of environmental stewardship, the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition serves as a guardian of the public interest for Oregon’s coastal region. Oregon Shores is dedicated to preserving the natural communities, ecosystems and landscapes of the Oregon coast while conserving the public’s access. Oregon Shores pursues these ends through education, advocacy, and engaging citizens to keep watch over and defend the Oregon coast."

Teagan White
Teagan is an artist and outsider naturalist devoted to the flora and fauna of a planet in decline. Their delicate gouache and watercolor paintings and intricate line drawings lament the fraught relationship between humans and the rest of the Earth, and explore the tenderness and brutality that coexist in all of Nature.

Portland Child Art Studio
"PCAS is deeply committed to the enriching process of making art over the product that is created. A teacher at PCAS does not direct the children to make art in any specific or 'right' way, nor do we pass judgment on what the children create. A teacher's role at PCAS is to be a resource to the students...With a growing knowledge of the studio materials and tools, and using the magic of their imaginations, students are able to bring their own stories to life in their art practice. It is this connection between information, exploration, and imaginative directive that creates a powerful learning experience, leading the children to become knowledgeable, confident, and independent both inside and outside the studio environment."

Ben Soeby
Ben is a folk artist from the Oregon coast.