Local artist Jen Walker accomplishes something in her work that is a rare gem in today’s art world. It manages a perfect balance between being conceptually clever while also being well executed at a distinguished skill level. One of the charms of her work is its ability to seem simple and cute enough to bring a smile to your face, while also having a deeper root in science and the intent to bring our attention to all living things around us—big or small.

“My work is light-hearted and fun,” she explains, “They’re simple images, but I hope to bring awareness to some of the more common creatures that we share the world with by featuring them as my main subjects. It’s easy to forget about the little guys and the ones that we see so often we take them for granted. We all have unique experiences and histories, tiny ants and giant giraffes included.”

Walker says that she fell into art accidentally. Having mostly concentrated on science, math and English throughout school, she had dreams of becoming an engineer or writer. However her focus shifted just in time when she took a drawing class during her senior year of high school.

“It was the perfect combination of science, math, and creative problem solving, and I was instantly taken by it,” Walker said. “The first day of college orientation I made the switch from engineering to painting and I am still just as excited, intrigued and challenged by painting as I was when I first started.”

She built a background in figurative painting and portraiture, but eventually decided to begin painting things that she felt more interested in.

“I’ve found that painting animals and insects really fulfills my love for science, art and even English—there is a more narrative element to my work now,” Walker said.

Science remains a big part of Walker’s life and does find its way into her work.

“In my paintings, that influence is more direct sometimes than others, but oftentimes if I’m painting something it’s because I’ve researched it or spent time observing it.”

She also spends a lot of time outside, crediting her environment as a huge inspiration.

“If I see something (especially something alive!) I put effort into finding out more about it. Sometimes I’m inspired by just seeing a bug crawl a certain way or by watching a crow interact with a piece of grass,” said the artist.

Books and essays influence her art work as well; Walker lists Bernd Heinrich, John Marzluff and Robert M. Sapolsky as some of her favorites.

Walker and her equally talented fellow artist and husband, Drew Camino, moved to Tennessee from Miami, but they don’t plan on making this their permanent home. So you should definitely make a point to check out Walker’s work in person before they move elsewhere, as I expect they will both go on to do big things in their art careers. When I first visited their in-home studios, I was shocked that two of the most talented artists I have ever seen working in this area rarely showed their best work publicly and instead had all of it stored away in closets. But since then I have been pleased to witness Walker’s work exhibited at Earthsoul Gallery in Smyrna. You can currently find Walker’s work at Art and Invention Gallery in East Nashville (1106 Woodland St, Nashville). Although ever since she first began exhibiting there at the Tomato Art Festival earlier this year, buyers have been snatching her work up almost too quickly for her to create enough to keep up with the demand. But her refusal to compromise the quality of her work for the sake of achieving a higher quantity is a part of the integrity in what she does that can be so rare to find. It should also be inspiring to other artists to know that in our sometimes discouraging local art community, hard work and skill do still receive the attention and respect it deserves.

You can also view Walker’s work on her new website, thepudgybug.com.