She started painting in her youth, and picked the practice back up in 2019 as a companion to her journey in therapy. Since then, she has relearned that her Tia Eulalia spent time as an oil painter in Atotonilco el Alto, Jalisco, Mexico, where her family was born. Jess’s work is blossoming, as she sorts through the robust sketchbook practice she’s had over the past several years. She feels that painting is an experiment, observation, and love song to what is — a spiritual practice of surrender, and a safe container to explore internal growth edges.
Jess’s practice is rooted in play and focuses on embodiment as a tool for grounding and emotional processing. With a multifaceted practice, she’s less interested in perfection, instead working towards feelings of resolution and appreciation for the quirks of painting along the way. Jess is currently exploring what she wants to say, and how she’ll do that—playing with abstraction, figuration, and developing a symbolic language that is uniquely her own. All while making room for joy, exploring the endless fun of color, making friends, and delighting along the way.
Jess has taken several classes with Jolyn Fry at Ulna Studio. Her primary teachers thus far are Jolyn Fry and Cole Alexander Lyons, both of Ulna Studio in Portland, OR, as well as internet-based artists that are generous with their offerings, both free and paid: Sandi Hester, Peggi Kroll Roberts, Emma Carlisle.
CONTACT
portland, or
san jose, ca
jessicamoceguera@gmail.com
Jess / Jessica Oceguera (she/they) is a painter, writer, sister, nanny, forever student of life, Mexican-American, and current grad-school applicant.
Sneak peak into her process…
Jess’s process is part chaos, part compulsive passion. This process resembles a tornado at times — an explosion of material, sketchbooks, papers strewn about the floor, books cracked open and scattered like breadcrumbs, color swatches everywhere, ideas abound. Other times her practice is slow and deliberate, especially towards the end of a piece.
She tries to limit the barriers between theirself and art-making. This looks like a prepped palette with pots of paint ready to go, sketchbooks of all shapes and sizes, loose papers, gelli plate, and a variety of mixed media supplies, ranging from paint sticks to artist grade acrylic paints or crayons. Nothing is off limits in Jess’s book, and she finds that working with more material lends less room for preciousness about any one way of working.
