Biography
JENNY BENT
I was born 1974. I live in Hale, Cheshire with my six cats & two Pygmy Goats!
I consider myself to be a self-taught painter. Although I spent three years at college, whilst there, I didn’t really draw or paint. I did not get on well with some of my tutors. I felt that most of the time I could never please them. I was not a lazy student; I was simply working in a different way to how they expected. I found the painting and drawing classes and the methods of teaching very un-creative, un-imaginative, even tedious. I felt dictated to, restricted and as if my creativity was being drowned. Any desires I had to paint were crushed. Consequently, I concentrated on sculpture, metal work, ceramics and anything that involved working in 3D. I also enjoyed photography.
I have been painting constantly since leaving college in 1994
The very first picture I painted after leaving college was the image of a woman draped over the moon with a black cat beside her. I painted this seated amongst ancient grave stones and trailing ivy on a summers day in Southern Cemetery in Manchester. I remember feeling totally excited, liberated and satisfied when I finished that painting!
I have created painted & photographic images of the female form for over 10 years. It is an ever inspiring & versatile subject. The characteristics of “the woman” are intriguing & fascinating to me, almost sometimes beyond my reach, as I still feel I am a little girl. I am now at a point where I want to & feel able to, express my true self through my art & hopefully this will help me to balance some, (but not all!) of the little girl in me.
I often feel torn between freedom and discipline, I appreciate them both but finding that balance is an ever ongoing battle sometimes. I have the freedom to paint what I want, how I want; it is my choice and my discipline to paint the female skin. Now I focus on this probably never ending path to my perfection.
My work is exhibited & sold nationwide. I also have collectors of my paintings in the USA & Spain.