The Usual Way (2025)
610mm x 910mm on canvas
Acrylic and charcoal
610mm x 910mm on canvas
Acrylic and charcoal
Hi there, I'm Jen Olson.I'm a contemporary figurative artist in Cromwell, New Zealand.
There's something beautiful about the moments we usually look away from: the pause before someone speaks, the weight of unspoken words, the tenderness hidden in our most guarded gestures.
My work lives in these spaces between comfort and revelation. Working with mixed media, I create portraits and scenes that turn our inner feelings outward. Each piece is a conversation between the vulnerability we carry inside and the masks we wear in real life. I'm drawn to making what we keep hidden, visible – those soft, unguarded parts of ourselves that connect us most deeply to our humanity. Melancholy fascinates me, not as sadness but as a doorway to authentic feeling. I find myself enchanted by those perfectly imperfect human moments: The stumbled greeting, the lingering glance, the way someone's posture carries their story. These awkward, sublime encounters become the heart of my work. I invite viewers to recognise themselves in these fragile, gloriously human connections. To find beauty in our shared vulnerability and strength in our tender imperfections. |
Murals.
Goodly Creatures lives inside the fabulously industrial Alexia Urban Winery in Greytown.
Click on any image to find out how I made the mural and what's (literally) behind the illustrations.
Photos by me and Lucy Cooper Photography.
Click on any image to find out how I made the mural and what's (literally) behind the illustrations.
Photos by me and Lucy Cooper Photography.
Weirdo Wings adorn Karahui Wine Bar & Eatery's tasting room in Martinborough.
Click on any image for the story behind the mural.
Photos by Lucy Cooper Photography.
Click on any image for the story behind the mural.
Photos by Lucy Cooper Photography.
