Name: Jillian Bennett
Title: Fine artist
Age: 29
Married/Single: married
Kids: none
City you live in: Phoenix, AZ
A typical day in my life includes…
I wake up, make the bed, then either my husband or I make a cup of coffee and turn on the music while we cook breakfast. I will typically check the news and emails/ messages. Then I take care of my plants and get ready for the day. Lately my husband and I have been sharing a car, so I will drop him off at work, and then I will head over to Papago Park or the gym for a run or swim before I head to The Creative Center of Scottsdale to start working on whichever painting I have on at the moment. On my breaks I’ll check some admin tasks off and spend some time engaging with people who follow my work as well as checking in on other artists I admire. At the end of the day, I will go pick up my husband from work and we will head home. There, I will often do some reading before we start cooking for dinner. We love to cook, so we make it a thing and try different recipes. At the end of the night we will usually watch an episode of our most recent show obsession to wind down before we head off to bed.
I was born…
in Orange, California on November 14.
My favorite thing about Arizona…
is the landscapes. I find the geological formations, the change in lighting throughout the day and the desert plants inspiring.
I’m listening to…
a playlist I have built over time with a mixture of Jazz, Motown, Classic Rock, Reggae, Blues, Acid Jazz etc…basically a load of unrelated music, haha.
My family…
consists of 4 kids; all of us are working in the creative world. My older brother is an art director and graphic designer for a company in California, my older sister is a freelance painter and musician and my younger brother is an electrical engineer who does freelancing in film, photography and editing. My mom has always been the creative one and she currently works in fashion while my dad works with satellites and gps systems but his drawing skills extend to stick figures and a race car he has practiced since he was little.
If I could have dinner with anyone, it would be…
off the top of my mind, Mindy Kaling, because she has a good sense of humor and she seems like a good conversationalist. It would suck to have a one on one dinner with someone who can’t carry a conversation
One thing I cannot live without…
something to draw with.
When I was younger, I wanted to be…
a professional surfer who won gold in the Olympics for a running event and later becomes an astronaut who paints in space…seriously, it’s in an old notebook of mine.
I’m inspired by…
nature and the human experience.
The one person who motivates me is…
people: so many people in my life for different reasons honestly couldn’t choose one if my life depended on it.
If I could change anything in the world, it would be…
people being complete imbeciles when it comes to respect for life.
The perfect day would be…
a good morning coffee, a glassy surf, an inspiring painting session, then at the end of the day, hanging with friends and family for a delicious dinner (and drinks) while listening to good music until we pass out under the stars.
My first job was…
when I was a kid, walking door to door selling bark to the neighbors. My friends and I burnt the neighbor’s names into the bark with our magnifying glass, so they often felt obligated to buy it. We were proud of our business even though the parents weren’t happy about our stripped tree in front yard.
My favorite escape…
is nature with my man.
My life…
surprises me all the time.
I’m currently working on…
charcoal, chalk and acrylic series featuring large landscapes with tiny hidden figures to start a conversation about our place in this universe.
Always…
have gratitude.
Never…
think you know anything.
Favorite Quote…
“Creativity is contagious, pass it on” – Albert Einstein
Biggest Dream…
having my own large studio and sell my work internationally and having time to still live life with the people I love.
My Pet Peeve(s)…
when people are rude for no reason.
More about Jillian…
Jillian Bennett is a fine artist based in Phoenix, Arizona working out of the Creative Center of Scottsdale, a co-working space dedicated solely to artists. Inspired by universal relations between space, man, creature and nature, she creates images that transport the mind to another environment. Wielding charcoal and acrylic she uses a meticulous process of repeated construction and deconstruction to shape her atmospheric landscapes, often with the tiny detail of a hidden figure, for which she is rapidly building a reputation.
More about Jillian…
Jillian is a fine artist based in Phoenix, Arizona. Inspired by universal relations between space, man, creature and nature, she creates images that transport the mind to another environment. Wielding charcoal and acrylic she uses a meticulous process of repeated construction and deconstruction to shape her atmospheric landscapes, often with the tiny detail of a hidden figure, for which she is rapidly building a reputation.
