Letter to Daddy (March 2, 1984)
In this letter to her father, Jill writes about her first experience oil painting in the streets of Aix.
1985-1988 : Early shows
Jill’s father, James Lee Steenhuis, filled Jill’s growing up years with foxhunting, horses, social life, and gave her the wings to follow her path as an artist. In the early 80’s when Jill would go back to Atlanta to visit from France, she would bring her recent work along with her to show her father and his friends. His longtime friend, AJ Land, loved Jill’s work and encouraged her to have her first show at the opening of his new office building at Cumberland Center. Six months pregnant, she journeyed back to Atlanta for her first US show in AJ’s new building and sold 24 paintings. The very first painting Jill sold at this art show was to her mother’s close friend, Martha Wayt. Jill went on to have several other art shows in the real estate offices of her father’s friends until she signed with her first agent, Gail King, in 1988. All of a sudden a new hope came that maybe the starving artist days that Jill had embraced and accepted as part of the choice she had made to be a full time artist were not going to be a permanent way of life.
Click here to read segment four in Jill’s “40 Years in France Series”.
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Meeting Serge
In her book Art, Soul & Destiny, Jill writes about how fate brought her to meet her husband Serge in the streets of Aix on her second day in France.
“Painting the Invisible” Film Release
“Painting the Invisible” is a documentary film that follows Jill Steenhuis as she navigates the landscapes of Provence in search of inspiration for her creative practice. Shot by her son, James Ruffato, over the course of three years, the film gives intimate glimpses into the world of Jill’s prolific, creative, spiritual energy.
