Blog
Blog —
Summer workshops in 2023 have been joy-filled, inspiring experiences shared with wonderfully creative, beautiful people. Grateful for each person who has taken the journey to paint with me in Provence. You have all climbed your own mountain within you and joined me in the dance.
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Exhibits
This spring I set out on another journey from France to America, exhibiting my work in 9 different shows (Orlando, Amelia Island, Atlanta, Saint Simons Island, Chattanooga, Orlando & Columbus). I am so grateful for all of you whom I met at a show, workshop or talk and especially for my hosts and those who helped along the way.
News
Looking back at the past year I am reminded of how infinitely blessed I am by each person I meet - a flicker of light that touches my soul and changes the darker shades into light. May you be blessed in this new year.
La version française de cette lettre se trouve en bas de la page! Bonne année!
Exhibits
My fall tour was another poignant journey reminding me of the extraordinary joy and blessings that come during my tours on the road. It was an absolute gift meeting many of you along the way, and I am ever grateful for those who hosted me, and those who came out to meet me & Sergio. I hope you enjoy some of the photos and reading about the highlights of my tour.
Exhibits
In August of 2022 I stepped out of the sizzling heat of Provence into the cool highlands of northern Scotland for an artist residency at Skibo Castle, The Carnegie Club. What a wonderful, unforgettable experience!
Exhibits
What is the meaning of life? I am finding it out more and more as each day comes. Each person I meet is a gift and what I receive from each person is a flicker of light that touches my soul and changes the darker shades into light. I am back from another wonderful tour. My heart is full and my energy high after connecting with friends, family and my roots back in the US.
Life in France, News
I send you my greetings for the New Year with a heart full of gratitude and my most sincere wishes to you all for a year full of love, joy, good health - and creativity!
Workshops
One of my favorite new experiences has been connecting with people to paint together virtually. Over the past two years I have been working to develop my online oil painting classes. Today I am pleased to offer a course that includes ten hours of live instruction, painting demonstrations, art critique and video tutorials. Now you can meet me in my studio and paint with me from anywhere in the world!
Life in France, Nature
The story of an unlikely friendship formed between my horse Danilo and a wandering pig named Georgette.
Art & Inspiration, Exhibits
From France to Atlanta, to Texas... and back! On this five-city tour, Jill Steenhuis, her sons Sergio, Jimmy were hosted for art receptions, film screenings, painting workshops and keynote lectures. The tour featured recent works by the artists including oil paintings, lithographs, silks, metal sculptures, jewelry and a full-length documentary.
Life in France, Nature, Workshops
Summer workshops in Provence are back! This was a week of exploring Provence and walking in the footsteps of Cézanne and Van Gogh. We experienced the creative process, learned to mix a harmonious palette of colors and spent lots of time painting plein air. Not to mention the culinary and musical delights shared with new friends.
Art & Inspiration, Exhibits
A long-awaited, jubilant journey back to America after this exceptionally long travel hiatus... Jill Steenhuis recounts her most recent exhibit in Jackson, Mississippi for the "Art, Soul & Bloom" event organized by the Garden Club of Jackson, hosted at the Mississippi Museum of Art.
Art & Inspiration
In her annual newsletter to friends and family, Jill Steenhuis sends greetings and wishes for the new year. She takes us on an inner journey, into her time of meditation in which she explores the gift of time, and the abundance of time that has been given her this past year. She shares her daily prayer: “Please, Lord, give me time to be silent, to listen to You, to listen to my soul rather than to the world. Give me time to paint so intensely that I will find my way to that unknown beauty that is there waiting to be revealed. I know I cannot perceive the mystery if I do not allow time to contemplate it.”
Art & Inspiration
Today is my birthday and I wanted to thank everyone for your presence that I have felt throughout the year. You have applauded art and that makes me happy.
Art & Inspiration, Creative Process
It was unexpected - I felt my father's presence as I cleaned off his riding boots and prepared them for a painting session. I had thought about doing this many times before, but had never actually taken the time to do it. A flood of memories and sensations washed over me as I painted his boots. I lived and remembered and loved.
40 Years in France, Creative Process
In this letter to her father, Jill writes about her first experience oil painting in the streets of Aix.
40 Years in France, Life in France
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.
40 Years in France, Creative Process, Life in France, Nature, News, Press & Publications
"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.
40 Years in France
Samuel Bjorklund taught Jill to always draw, focusing on the process rather than the outcome. François de Asis challenged Jill to paint quickly in order to achieve a spontaneous, fresh and authentic brushstroke. Both artists inspired Jill in her artistic journey and helped shape her into the artist she is today.
Creative Process, Nature, New Works, News
Home, happy and with plenty of space to create, Jill has been working on a new body of work with the vibrant colors and textures of Provence in the springtime. She shares some of her inspirations, images of new work and a link to the full collection.
40 Years in France
Jill recounts some of the challenges and doubts that she was confronted with as she charted her course as a full-time artist. She describes her determination, discipline, but above all her blind faith - trusting her insticts that the path she was on was guiding her to exactly where she needed to be.
Art & Inspiration, Creative Process, Nature
Jill highlights the importance of stepping away from her to-do lists in order to enter a creative, meditative, soulful state. She explains how pre-mixing her palette helps her in this process.
Life in France, News
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jill is cancelling her spring tour. Stay tuned for further updates.
40 Years in France
Meet the very first person Jill encountered when she arrived in Aix-en-Provence (and no, they are not sisters if you can believe it!)
Art & Inspiration, Creative Process, Nature, New Works
Jill unfolds her recent meditations on the practice of receiving and being silent.
