about Jen
Jen Carlson is a painter based in the Tweed Valley, Northern Rivers NSW, originally from Sydney. Before turning to painting she spent decades as a hair and makeup artist in the entertainment industry, studied textile design and travelled through India exploring traditional printing techniques — influences that still shape the textures and colour in her work today.
Her large-scale, abstract gestural paintings are informed by meditation, a practice she's held since her mid-thirties, and by the landscape of the Northern Rivers itself. Lately her practice has been finding a slower rhythm, with more breath and space around each piece — a stillness she's practising in life as much as in the studio.
creative statement
Meditation has been part of my life since my mid-thirties — an anchor, an opening, a guide for both the process and the outcome of my work.
My influences are drawn from the natural world — the ocean, rivers, animals, the sun — and from music, vintage textiles, stained glass, and the Japanese art of Sumi-e.
I love working outdoors: hands in the dirt, sitting amongst the rocks, painting with brushes, bare hands and objects found in nature, letting the textures and marks of the landscape lead the way.
Once finished, a painting moves on — to find the person and the place it belongs.
Group Exhibitions
2026 - Selected works - Empire Revival, Murwillumbah
2025 - Hibiscus on the River - Ninbella Gallery, Bangalow
2022 – Less is More - Art Lovers Australia, Gold Coast
2018 - Flowers in Motion - Cafe Dbar, Gold Coast
Solo Exhibitions
2021 - The In-Between - Finite Art Gallery, Brisbane
Education
2022 – Masterclass – Design Techniques, Firebird Studio, QLD
2022 – Advanced Clay Techniques – A Potters Journey, QLD
2021 – Masterclass – Hand Build, Firebird Studio, QLD
2021 – Masterclass – Wheel, Firebird Studio, QLD
2020 – Design Principals, Nicolas Wilton, USA
2017 – Intensive Colour Relationship Workshop, Merv Moriarty, QLD
2015 – Folk Art Workshops, QLD
2007 – Blocking Printing Workshop, Jaipur, India
2007 – Indigo Dye Workshop, Jaipur, India
2001 – Diploma in Textile Design, East Sydney Tafe