And introduction about me....  My name is Jen Bruno, I am married with two grown boys and I have lived in Western, Massachusetts my entire life. I studied commercial design many years ago but wound up working in the travel industry for the past 26 years. I set aside my love of art while my boys were growing up. About 11 years ago when one was a senior in high school and the other was headed to college, I felt the need to pick up the brush. 

 For the past 11 years or so I have been painting and displaying my art locally. It has been a journey for me having to learn new techniques and discover so many new mediums and products that did not exist 25 years ago. But I caught on quickly and I am not afraid to experiment with line, textures, color, value form and space. I love bold statements and I paint from life. Basically, I am a representational artist. I feel that art is subjective, and it means different things to different people. Not everyone is a fan; however, what I learned when I extended my art beyond the canvas and on to a variety of different items and apparel is that I created a broader audience for my art. Some may not love RGB painted on canvas, but they sure do love that painting on a pair of socks!  How I arrived on Etsy:  Last year I decided to take the leap and create a website and offer my paintings, prints etc. I wanted quality prints and researched many different avenues. I also thought about digital downloads. I decide that my best option was print on demand service that integrated well with my website and after many challenges and collaboration I launched the site in December 2019 and promoted it on my IG and FB. Things were going well until Covid-19 hit and around April everything seemed to come a halt. I spent the summer in my garden (my form of therapy). I was completely knocked off my base with my plans. Last August I began to regain my direction and began painting and since I am a "creative" I started to experiment with artisan soap, which then led to gift baskets and soap gifts. I created new designs for apparel. Unfortunately, the soap does not quite fit in with the aesthetics of my store I think I may phase it out after the holidays.  Last September my husband suggested I sign up for Etsy, to gain a larger audience and become a part of a more diverse group of creative people. And that is how I arrived here. It has only been about 3 months and I feel as though I am still working out the aesthetics of my store in terms of the type of "artsy" items that I offer. My number one priority is customer service and ensuring that my customers are happy.    This is my first blog post here on Etsy and soon I will be posting and discussing some of my creative processes and ideas and of course letting my followers know about any giveaways or special promos.  Again, thanks so much for following and reading my blog! :)