J. L. Fleckenstein paints life, light, and shadow using a creative process that begins with evocative photography and ends with finely executed oil and watercolor paintings depicting her unique appreciation of, and eye for, beauty.

Creating portraits, landscapes, and her sometimes larger-than-life take on floral and still life work, Fleckenstein seeks to endow each piece with the spark of life she perceives in the magic of light and shadow.

"I have a passion for communicating the divinity of light in my work; that is where God resides, in the light. To communicate light you must work in darkness and shadows as well as beautiful colors and graceful highlights."

A self-taught painter, Fleckenstein studied photography for three years prior to studying watercolor and oil painting. She began a professional, part-time career as a fine artist about fifteen years ago while living in Los Angeles as a single parent, raising two children on her own.

Since that time she has completed more than thirty-five portraits in watercolor (many commissioned pieces), and more than one hundred paintings combined in watercolor and oil.

She has been featured in several shows and exhibits in California, Colorado, and New York including:

• "Beginning with Barnum", a one-artist, sold-out show (Appleton, NY 2007)
• Zambistro Collection, a permanent installation (Zambistro Restaurant, Medina NY 2008 to present)
• "Moments", a one-artist show (Shawn's Gate Gallery, Medina NY June 18 through July 28 2010)

Her work may also be viewed online by visiting her website at JLFleckenstein.com.

J. L. Fleckenstein is a professional writer and fine artist living and working on a beautiful and historic farm in Upstate Western New York. She relocated to Western New York in 2006 after marrying a local man she met at the online dating site FarmersOnly.com.

Three months after their online romance began, the couple took a cross-country trip from Los Angeles to New York with a stop on the way to get married at a drive-through window in Las Vegas. Shortly after arriving in New York, Fleckenstein began writing the popular blog I Live on a Farm where (known affectionately by her readers as "firefly") she shares insights and inspiration along with photography, recipes, fine art, and knitting patterns with readers from all over the world.

Her resume includes owning and operating a market research company, literacy volunteerism in the inner city areas of Los Angeles teaching phonics, reading, and study skills to at-risk youth and homeless men and women, digital graphic art, Art Director and Strategic Creative VP of the top-rated Internet site for women (1999), business and educational writing, website development, and Internet marketing and business consulting.

J. L. Fleckenstein is a founding member of Artists of The Oak..

For more information please visit her lifestyle website: ILiveonaFarm.com.

Batavia Daily News "Artist Seeks to Capture 'Moments'"

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