About the Artist
Born in California, Jennifer Sampson is a plein air and studio oil painter who has lived all over the world. Her interest in art began at a young age (she enjoyed drawing Ninja Turtles), and then intensified in high school, when she won a scholarship to attend a summer art camp in Kerrville, Texas. After one year of college in a visual arts associates program, she decided her time was better spent pursuing a residency at a Zen center, where she was surrounded by Japanese calligraphic art. A desire to be able to read the characters led her to take Chinese 101 at Syracuse University, and it spiraled from there.
Jennifer moved to Taiwan in 2007, initially planning to stay only a year, but wound up staying seven and finally finished a bachelor’s degree, in Chinese literature. Throughout her time on the island, she continued painting on gessoed paper taped to the wall of her room and eventually compiled her paintings into a collection that became part of her thesis. In 2015, she moved to Australia to obtain a master’s in translation and interpreting. On Saturdays, she attended a plein air class at the Julian Ashton School of Art, which whetted her appetite.
After returning to the States in 2017, Jennifer took a job in higher education near the Adirondacks, where she remains for the time being, enjoying the quiet of the countryside and the awe-inspiring beauty of the mountains.
Artist's Statement
For most of my adult life, I’ve painted urban landscapes, primarily in the studio, because I’ve found myself in urban environments. While I initially was drawn to subject matter with strong contrasts between shafts of sunlight and shadow, I find myself increasingly interested in the subtler shifts in tones on gray, dreary days. What I love most about urban subjects is being able to translate some forgotten corner or gritty scene into a piece that shows the viewer something they might not have noticed otherwise.
Over the past few years, I’ve been taking advantage of the beautiful location I find myself in to practice landscapes. I struggle more with nature because I esteem it so greatly. If it’s already perfect, how can I hope to do it justice? So I’m working to push past my feelings of inadequacy and instead focus on the enjoyment of being surrounded by beauty, practicing, experimenting, and hoping it turns out.
Recent Exhibitions & Awards
2025
Cape Ann Plein Air Paint Out, MA | Second Place, Non-Juried Artists
RAA&M National Juried Show, MA | Robert Allyn Bosselman, Sr. & Lucienne Marie Sasco Memorial Award
Land & Light & Water & Air, Bryan Memorial Gallery, VT
Salmon River Plein Air Festival, NY | First Place
Sixth Annual Vining Gallery Invitational, IN
Daybreak & Dusk, Bryan Memorial Gallery, VT
92nd Annual Juried Exhibition, Hudson Valley Art Association, Lyme, CT | Georgie Read Barton Memorial Award
North Country Plein Air Festival, NY | Second Place
Wayne Plein Air, PA
Roadside Attractions, Solo Exhibition, SLC Arts, NY
March Artist Spotlight Gallery Exhibition, TAUNY, NY
2024
Land & Light & Water & Air, Bryan Memorial Gallery, VT
2024 All Member Online Exhibition, American Impressionist Society
RAA&M National Juried Show, MA | Charles Movalli Memorial Gold Medal for Excellence in Painting
Exploring Fall Island, Potsdam Public Museum, NY
October 2024 Plein Air Salon | Best Plein Air Landscape
Fifth Annual Vining Gallery Invitational, IN
Crossing Boundaries, Two-Person Show, Downtown Artist Cellar, NY
Three Visions: Friesen, Horne, Sampson; Coldwell Banker Whitbeck Creative Space, NY
North Country Plein Air Festival, NY | Second Place
Nocturnal New England, Bryan Memorial Gallery, VT
Adirondack Plein Air Festival, NY
40 Years Together, Bryan Memorial Gallery, VT
Wayne Plein Air, PA | Best Local Treasure
American Impressionist Society's Small Works Show, Anderson Fine Art Gallery, GA
2023
2023 All Member Online Exhibition, American Impressionist Society
Reflections - Emerging Artist Exhibition, Edgewater Gallery, VT
Fourth Annual Vining Gallery Invitational, IN
October 2023 BoldBrush Award | Honorable Mention, Semi Pro Class
Tupper Lake Plein Air Festival | Honorable Mention
July 2023 Plein Air Salon | Best Plein Air Landscape
North Country Plein Air Festival, NY | Third Place
Land and Light and Water and Air Exhibition, Bryan Memorial Gallery, VT
Adirondack Plein Air Festival, NY | Artists' Choice Award
June 2023 BoldBrush Award | Second Place
Nature's Playground Exhibition, Bryan Memorial Gallery, VT
Associate Member Online Exhibition, American Impressionist Society
Glimpses of Serenity, Solo Show, Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts, NY
The Creative Process Exhibition, Bryan Memorial Gallery, VT
Adirondack Artists Guild 25th Annual Juried Exhibition, NY
NorthWind Fine Arts 2023 Juried Show, NY
2022
GEMS and Giants Exhibition, Bryan Memorial Gallery, VT
Tupper Lake Plein Air Festival, NY | Second Place
Adirondack Plein Air Festival, NY | Nocturne Contest Winner
Vintage Racing Stable Concours d’Elegance Plein Air Artist, NH
En Plein Air Exhibition, Salmagundi Club, NY
Associate Member Online Exhibition, American Impressionist Society
2021
6" Squared Exhibition and Sale, Randy Higbee Gallery, CA
Into Nature, Online International Plein Air Competition, White Bear Center for the Arts, MN
2020
Adirondack Plein Air Festival, NY
Land Acknowledgement
The St. Lawrence River Valley and Adirondacks, where I frolic so frequently on plein air excursions, is the land of the Akwesasne Mohawk, Haudenosaunee, Algonquin, Huron-Wendat, and Abenaki people. This land was never ceded, but was instead claimed by European colonists. The Adirondacks have a long history of plein air artists — namely, the Hudson School painters — but so much of that was all about romanticizing the landscape and exoticizing the Indigenous people, which helped further the narrative of the "lone" or "vanishing Indian" (Melissa Otis talks about this in her book Rural Indigenousness).
