Jennifer Psalmonds enjoys experimenting with subjects

Jennifer Psalmonds is one local artist who is making a colorful splash. Her art is fresh, energetic and fun — certain to brighten up anyone’s day (and living room!) Psalmonds enjoys using a wide variety of mediums but primarily uses acrylics and oil sticks in most of her work today. Occasionally, she’ll do some watercolors.

“My favorite thing about what I do is that I get to deliver something to people that makes them happy,” Psalmonds said. “The excitement people have when I deliver or when they pick up their art is such an adrenaline rush for me. It makes the long nights all worth it!”

Psalmonds has been married to her husband, John, for almost 20 years, and they have two teenage sons. She graduated from Louisiana Tech with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in graphic design. But that’s not necessarily where the dream began.

“I think I always realized I had some kind of talent, because even as a small child I loved to draw and create things,” Psalmonds said. “I can remember when I was little being in class, and instead of doing my classwork, I would be drawing layouts for houses and doodling pictures of the classroom. I always knew I wanted to do something artistic, but it took a while for me to find a way to what I am doing now.”

Psalmonds is rarely bored, as she and her husband own Rotolo’s Craft and Crust and the Zwolle Tamale Factory. “Thankfully, he takes care of those businesses so I can concentrate on my art,” Psalmonds said.

She’s grateful to have so much loving support in her life. “My family has always pushed me to do what I love. They probably had more faith in me than I have had in myself at times,” Psalmonds said.

Psalmonds was one of the local business owners that not only survived during Covid, but thrived. “People were stuck at home and wanted to spruce up the space they were confined to, so they did a lot of shopping on social media,” Psalmonds said. “I worked so much during that time and shipped all over the country.”

Psalmonds does a little bit of everything when it comes to art, but has her tried and true favorite methods. “My favorite subject to paint is abstracts, but lately I have been painting a lot of figurative pieces with an abstract flair,” Psalmonds said. “I’ve been inspired by the Sicilian Moorish head, so I have been painting my rendition of that. But I really do love to experiment with all subjects.

There are days I may get inspired by a beautiful landscape, and I’ll just need to paint it. That’s the beauty of art — there are no rules!” When considering her influences and favorite artists, Psalmonds struggled to name just one — or two. “There are so many fabulous artists out there, but I’m really intrigued with the Louisiana artists Tony and Tracy Mose,” Psalmonds said. “Tony’s work is so mysterious and unique to me, and I love Tracy’s colors and movement in her pieces. I also love Gee Gee Collins, Marc Clauzade and the Italian artist Marco Klee Fallini.”

Psalmonds designs her own art but also offers individual pieces by commission. “I love to work with clients and talk about their needs and color choices for their home,” Psalmonds said. Though most of her work is vibrant, she can do muted colors to fit people’s style needs.

Psalmonds love dreaming for the future and setting new goals. “I would love to have my own gallery one day,” Psalmonds said. “Also, I’d love to have a fashion or jewelry line that incorporates my artwork, and I would love to do more collaborations … really, the sky’s the limit.” She recently received a kiln, so she’s excited to start branching out into some painted pottery pieces in the future.

Visit Psalmonds at www.Jenniferpsalmondsart.com. You can also find her and her featured work on Facebook at Jennifer Psalmonds Art and on Instagram at @Jenpsalmondsart.