Jill Bennett Studio
Biography of Jill Bennett
I was born and raised in the Peachtree Hills community of Atlanta, Georgia. I am a direct descendant of the
Blount family who came from Slain Ireland to pioneer Atlanta. One of my ancestors built the first brick house
in Atlanta. I currently live in Marietta where I raised my family for the past 20 years.
I always was and still am a dreamer. I enjoyed drawing and painting as a child and discovered my real
passion for the arts in high school. I took art classes under the direction of Deborah Eaton and took a
workshop at the Woodruff Art Center in Atlanta. I attended West Georgia College (The State University of West
Georgia) and earned a B.A. degree in Art Education in 1977. I received further formal training at Kennesaw
State University from 1998 to 2000 where I studied 2 dimensional studio art. I have attended painting classes
at Shane McDonald’s Studio for about two years. I also attend figure drawing sessions with a sketch group at
this studio. I am a member of The Marietta Cobb Museum of Art, North Cobb Arts Alliance, Roswell Fine Arts
Alliance and the Atlanta Artist’s Center. I have been included in several invited or juried exhibits over the past
six years and have received several awards. The award that has been the most significant to me thus far is
the “Member’s Choice Award” which I received from the Roswell Fine Arts Alliance in 2005 at the Genesis
Juried Show for my painting “Sunshine Friends.” It’s quite an honor to have your work recognized by your
peers.
I have been working on an oil painting series titled “Garden of Life”. I am doing a technique called the
grisaille method. Oil color glazing over a monochrome under painting was developed during the
Renaissance and Baroque periods. It was used by Master painters such as Rembrandt and Vermeer. The
color glazes are a mix of transparent oil colors with an oil medium added. Carefully working with value
changes on the under painting creates a strong sense of form and dimension which subtly shows through
the transparent color. The under painting phase is very timely and must be exact before the color is applied. I
enjoy working in this method. I have continued to grow with each painting I produce. I hope to complete about
a dozen paintings in this series. I have simultaneously started a new series, which is titled “Spirits of the
Night.” It is a still life series of cocktails and other spirits. My technique for this series is loose and
spontaneous. I have completed my first painting in this series, which I have titled, “Repose for Swirling
Emotion.”
I have also been painting in other methods and working with other mediums, pastels, conte and charcoal. I
like the discipline of painting in grisaille but also enjoy being more spontaneous. It is challenging to work in
two opposite techniques. It keeps me fresh and rejuvenated and I have grown as an artist as a result.
Jill Bennett
jill@jillbennettstudio.com
I was born and raised in the Peachtree Hills community of Atlanta, Georgia. I am a direct descendant of the
Blount family who came from Slain Ireland to pioneer Atlanta. One of my ancestors built the first brick house
in Atlanta. I currently live in Marietta where I raised my family for the past 20 years.
I always was and still am a dreamer. I enjoyed drawing and painting as a child and discovered my real
passion for the arts in high school. I took art classes under the direction of Deborah Eaton and took a
workshop at the Woodruff Art Center in Atlanta. I attended West Georgia College (The State University of West
Georgia) and earned a B.A. degree in Art Education in 1977. I received further formal training at Kennesaw
State University from 1998 to 2000 where I studied 2 dimensional studio art. I have attended painting classes
at Shane McDonald’s Studio for about two years. I also attend figure drawing sessions with a sketch group at
this studio. I am a member of The Marietta Cobb Museum of Art, North Cobb Arts Alliance, Roswell Fine Arts
Alliance and the Atlanta Artist’s Center. I have been included in several invited or juried exhibits over the past
six years and have received several awards. The award that has been the most significant to me thus far is
the “Member’s Choice Award” which I received from the Roswell Fine Arts Alliance in 2005 at the Genesis
Juried Show for my painting “Sunshine Friends.” It’s quite an honor to have your work recognized by your
peers.
I have been working on an oil painting series titled “Garden of Life”. I am doing a technique called the
grisaille method. Oil color glazing over a monochrome under painting was developed during the
Renaissance and Baroque periods. It was used by Master painters such as Rembrandt and Vermeer. The
color glazes are a mix of transparent oil colors with an oil medium added. Carefully working with value
changes on the under painting creates a strong sense of form and dimension which subtly shows through
the transparent color. The under painting phase is very timely and must be exact before the color is applied. I
enjoy working in this method. I have continued to grow with each painting I produce. I hope to complete about
a dozen paintings in this series. I have simultaneously started a new series, which is titled “Spirits of the
Night.” It is a still life series of cocktails and other spirits. My technique for this series is loose and
spontaneous. I have completed my first painting in this series, which I have titled, “Repose for Swirling
Emotion.”
I have also been painting in other methods and working with other mediums, pastels, conte and charcoal. I
like the discipline of painting in grisaille but also enjoy being more spontaneous. It is challenging to work in
two opposite techniques. It keeps me fresh and rejuvenated and I have grown as an artist as a result.
Jill Bennett
jill@jillbennettstudio.com
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