About The Artist

Hey there! My name is Jessica, and it’s nice to “meet” you.

I was born in Iowa but spent much of my childhood moving around as a Navy kid. In my teen years, my family settled in Minnesota, and after getting married, life eventually brought me to West Texas, where I lived for more than 20 years. These days, I split my time between South Padre Island and West Texas, with plenty of travel and adventure mixed in along the way.

I fell in love with art in high school and have been painting for nearly 20 years, primarily in watercolor and acrylic. I consider myself mostly self-taught, with a little formal schooling tossed in for balance.

If you ask me what kind of artist I am, the easiest answer is mixed media — mostly because I’ve never been very good at putting myself into one artistic box.

I love watercolor. I love abstract art. I love experimenting with different mediums, styles and techniques. Not everything I create is technically mixed media, but the name gives me the freedom to create with whatever speaks to me at the time. Some days that means loose, flowing watercolor; other days it might be acrylic, pastel or something completely different.

I create what my heart feels like creating.

My surroundings, emotions, travels and dreams are constant sources of inspiration. I believe art is therapy, art is an escape and, if you’re paying attention, art is everywhere. I love getting lost in the process and seeing where an idea takes me.

I’m a creative dreamer and an artistic adventurer at heart.

Travel has become an especially important part of my creative life. One of my favorite things to do wherever I go is wander through local galleries, discover new artists and experience the creativity of a place. There’s something incredibly inspiring about being surrounded by other people’s passion and seeing the world through their eyes.

Emergo Arts — Studio + Gallery

Emergo Arts has been part of my artistic journey since 2016, beginning as the name I signed on my paintings and eventually growing into a brick-and-mortar studio, gallery and boutique in West Texas.

In 2024, I closed the boutique and stepped away from the storefront life to make room for something simpler — more time to travel, experience life and get back to creating simply because I love it.

Now, Emergo Arts is beginning its next chapter as Emergo Arts — Studio + Gallery.

My new coastal studio on South Padre Island gives me a beautiful, light-filled space to create, while the gallery is taking on a much less traditional form. Rather than being tied to one storefront, Emergo Arts Gallery is going mobile — allowing my art, travels and creative life to exist together wherever the next adventure takes me.

It feels like the perfect evolution of something that has always been deeply personal to me: a place for creating, exploring and sharing the things I make along the way.

Thank you for being here and allowing me to share my art with you. I hope you find something that speaks to you, makes you feel something or simply adds a little more color to your world.

-Jessica