Artist Statement

My work explores the relationship between the layers of our lives as we connect to time and place. Through the metaphor of landscape, portrait, and non-representational images, I strive to take the viewer on a visual journey of emotional and intellectual reflection. These images invite an internal exploration of how we are compiled of experience that harkens back to the past, embraces the present, and envisions the future. The layers of color, light, and iconography combine to not only express my personal journey, but also the connections to each other.

Biography:

Jaylene Bengtson is a retired art educator who’s teaching experience spans middle, high, and college level students. She holds an M.Ed in Arts Integration and a CAGS in Arts and Learning from Plymouth State University and a Doctorate in Leadership Studies from Franklin Pierce University. She has called Laconia NH her home since 1985 and is married with three grown children who also live in the Lakes Region. Jaylene primarily works in painting, drawing, and mixed media, exploring the complex layers of experience through a combination of color, line, and symbolism that is both real and surreal. Using representational and non-objective imagery to convey emotion, her work invites the viewer to find a connection with their own personal journey, whatever the path and wherever it takes them. Current work may be viewed at the Galleries at 30 Main in Meredith NH.