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jennybeaumont

@jennybeaumont

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Left tech, wrote a book, thought, “wouldn’t it be neat to illustrate it myself?” Never mind that I can’t draw or paint. I’ll learn!

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ORIGIN STORIES - PART I
“Have you always painted?” My friend who asks great questions inquired.

Well, yes and no.

If you scroll down my feed you’ll find a photo of a large green face smoking…something - a self-portrait I painted in acrylic in the mid 1990’s. Around that time too, I painted another “self-portrait” in oil paint on a piece of wood. The acrylic piece is a cracked mess rolled up in my closet. It didn’t stand up over time and travel. The wood piece is leaning against a wall in my bedroom, waiting to be hung someday.

I was never interested in acrylic or oil paints - in exploring them as mediums or learning them as skills. I found these big boards and was inspired to make something of them. The paints were incidental. That’s how I’ve always operated: I have a vision for what I want to make, inspired from something often random, and I’m happy to work with wood or metal or paint or cloth or yarn or a computer and the accompanying tools to make it happen. I love to build things, I’ve always been creative. But I tend to bounce around.

Fast forward to lockdown, 2021, and in addition to binge-buying seeds for the impending apocalypse, while others were learning to bake sourdough loaves, I decided to learn how to paint with watercolors. I don’t remember where this impulse came from, but I found a course on Domestika, bought a cheap paint set at the grocery store and a watercolor pad from…somewhere. The course was entirely in Spanish. I could pick out a few words but mostly I had to read the subtitles.

This hobby didn’t last long. Work picked up and got really complicated. Then, the following year, I lost my job. And I found art again.

❤️ by @jennybeaumont

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2 months ago

ORIGIN STORIES - PART II

Art was a way to pass the time, a way to get off my screen. Art was (is) also very therapeutic, which if said as a cliché can give the impression of sunshine and unicorns, but anyone who’s done therapy knows better. I do not say this, then, as cliché.

I found myself saying, “I don’t know how to draw. I’m not good at drawing.” And because I’ve always been good at things (not necessarily great, but good), this has always bothered me. And I thought about the dozens of people over the years, all of the clients and collaborators who told me, “I’m not good at technology, I just don’t get it.” And I knew that if they would just give themselves a chance, get over this idea of “can’t” that they’d be able to grasp much more than they thought.

I decided to learn how to draw. Drawing is, after all, a skill. And wouldn’t it be fun (I told myself) to learn something new, something completely different from what I’ve been doing?

Yes, yes it would.

After losing my job I thought about getting a new job, maybe at a different agency. I thought about coaching. A friend urged me to develop an Agile course geared toward frontend developers. But once I had made that decision to learn a new skill, I knew my time in the web industry was over. 24 years was plenty.

I don’t know how much time I have left. I want to spend it exploring new things. Bringing my own ideas to life in the same way I helped all those other people with theirs for so many years.

❤️ by @jennybeaumont

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2 months ago

ORIGIN STORIES - PART III, FINAL CHAPTER

Yesterday, as I was struggling to finish a painting, I realized that perfectionism set me on the path I’m on.

I didn’t leave tech to become an artist. I left tech because I wrote a book (!) and I was ready to give myself the creative life I always dreamed about. The visual art was secondary, an extra-circular, for funsies.

This book, that I first wrote over 20 years ago, was always meant to be illustrated. After dusting it off and putting it through a few rounds of revisions, I reached out to a well-known artist who I thought would be a good fit. While awaiting a reply that I knew might never come, I started to think about the creative brief. And then the fear kicked in.

What if I’m not able to articulate my vision? What if I start working with someone and don’t like what they do? What if collaboration means I have to compromise in ways that will make me miserable?

So I did the only logical thing: I sent a new message to that famous artist letting them know I’d decided to illustrate the book myself (!). I was already improving with my drawing skills—why not learn to paint too and double-down on both? And here I am, a few years in, still at it.

Then yesterday I’m fussing with that painting and all of its complexity and realized that I am in the exact same place I was before. Perfection taunting and teasing me.

What if I’m not able to translate what I see in my head onto paper? What if I never feel I am good enough? What if I hate everything I do?

As the French would say, “Ah la la.” Round it goes.

I can’t say that perfectionism is all bad, because without it, I never would have imagined illustrating my own book. Maybe I will end up collaborating with an artist on this project after all. One way or another, I’m determined to get it out into the world.

After many attempts to record an unscripted video, the blooper reel became the obvious solution.

I’m excited to share this journey with you, bloopers and all!

❤️ by @jennybeaumont

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a month ago

Throwback to my week in Lyon where I happened on this makeshift art installation in an otherwise abandoned shop window. At least the third supermarket-style theme I’ve seen in recent years (CJ Hendry’s Bodega, Lucy Sparrow’s The Beginning of Convenience).

The satire requires some familiarity with French products (and maybe a little French), though everyone can appreciate Tinder (Kinder) Eggs with Benefits, or Mauvaise Mère (Bonne Maman) - and even if you’re not familiar with the French beer 1664 (colloquially referred to as “16”), 1984 jumps out at you. Brilliant. Hope it stays up a while.

Enjoy! What’s your fav? 🥫 by @jennybeaumont

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7 days ago

INKTOBER Day 8 - STINKY

Bunny.

1. Before I over-scribbled
2. After I over-scribbled and took out a beautiful highlight, tried to correct with gel pen (yuck), then white Posca (meh)
3. Might as well keep going!

Scribbling is fun - this is my fav so far. @inktober

Ballpoint pen (and a little acrylic paint) in a Seawhite sketchbook.
#inktober #inktober2026 by @jennybeaumont

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8 days ago

INKTOBER Day 7 - PANIC

Don’t panic.

Micron pen in a Seawhite sketchbook.
#inktober #inktober2026 by @jennybeaumont

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9 days ago

INKTOBER Day 6 - OGRE

Meet Derek.

Derek is the negative voice inside my head. Some days he tells me to give up, that I’ll never be good enough. Some days he tells me I’m doing it wrong. Other days still he tries to convince me that no matter what I’m doing, I should be doing something else, that I’m making the wrong decisions.

This voice used to have a more typically female name until a video suggested that using a man’s name would be more effective. I can confirm the validity of this approach. I find it very easy to say, “Shut up, _Derek_”. It’s super satisfying as well, can give me a real boost.

Today, thanks to this challenging prompt, I played with giving Derek form. I like the purple one best as it was more intuitive to paint and Derek looks extra derpy, which decreases his power and increases the satisfaction of shutting him down. The green one was my first go - more forced, rigid, but I kept at it and his teeny-tiny feet and little T-Rex arm give me great pleasure. The earring is a nice touch as well.

The name Derek was inspired by Ted Lasso where all of the loathsome, incompetent managers throughout are named Derek, which I think is wonderful. I also hear him with Jason Mantzoukas’ voice (iykyk).

I know a Derek in real life - we went to grade school together and he’s a great guy. Sorry, real Derek.

Carbon ink with a dip pen and watercolor in a generic watercolor sketchbook.
#inktober #inktober2026 by @jennybeaumont

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11 days ago

INKTOBER Day 5 - SMACK

Mouah !

Micron fineliner and colored pencil in a toned Seawhite sketchbook.
#inktober #inktober2026 by @jennybeaumont

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12 days ago

INKTOBER Day 4 - CACTUS

Like all cats, our cats love to scratch. They scratch the couches, they scratch the carpet, they scratch the wood flower boxes on the terrace and the wood bench parked just outside the kitchen.

I bought them one of those cheap cardboard scratchers, and instead of scratching it, our cats, especially Bunny, decided to mostly chomp on it and rip it to shreds.

I continue to resist Olivier’s desire to install a cat tree, but one day I stumbled on this cute cactus scratching post and gave in. Do they use it? Nope. Not even a little a bit. Unless I dust it with catnip.

Micron pen and colored pencil, with a smidge of white Posca in a Seawhite sketchbook.
#inktober #inktober2026 by @jennybeaumont

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13 days ago

INKTOBER Day 3 - MINIATURE

Both miniature and a relic, my grandfather told me about the trench lighters they used during the war that produced only a small flame as not to draw attention from enemy lines. The internet tells me that this one, however, was probably made shortly after the war. My grandparents both liked and collected unusual things.

Practicing hatching - much to learn.

Micron pen and colored pencil in a Seawhite sketchbook.
#inktober #inktober2026 by @jennybeaumont

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14 days ago

INKTOBER Day 2 - RELIC

I used to love playing with plastic cameras. I got rid of most of my photo equipment over the years, but held on to this reproduction of the iconic Diana F+, and a Lubitel.

For my first ever #inktober, I’m going to try to stick to drawing from live objects/subjects.

Lamy fountain pen with Carbon ink, and watercolor in a generic watercolor sketchbook.

#inktober2026 by @jennybeaumont

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15 days ago

INKTOBER Day 1 - APPLE

Ça tombe bien (pun intended) because it’s apple season here in Normandy. Our trees are laden, but so far we’ve just been picking up ground fruit, careful to leave some for the critters. Even our newest baby tree, planted in 2021, bore fruit this year, and it looks like the pear trees are more productive than usual. All that heat?

Our most productive tree is also our most sickly, wonky tree. It is deeply bowed and growing sideways, held up with timber and rope. I remember someone telling me once that apple trees, and fruit trees in general, tend to be most productive in years where they’re met with extra stormy weather or other conditions that cause breakage and severe stress. It’s the reproductive survival response: I may not survive so I must reproduce.

I didn’t have it in me to draw that tree, so I opted for the most recent haul, splayed on the kitchen counter.

I feel pretty wonky and tenuously held together most days. I’m not always productive, but I feel like the tree wants to tell me something. Some lovely metaphor about strife and creation.

Lamy fountain pen with Carbon ink, and watercolor in a super cheapy watercolor sketchbook I got at Action (the paper is surprisingly absorbant).
#inktober #inktober2026 by @jennybeaumont

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16 days ago