Jill Soukup
images | biography | press | video

I was born in Buffalo, New York, and shortly thereafter my family moved to Colorado, where I still reside. I’ve been interested in art for as long as I can remember. As children, my brother and I embarked on many creative projects including large-scale dinosaur cut-outs, life-sized snow ponies, sculptures made of casting gauze from our parents’ veterinary clinic, and clay animation captured on 8mm film. My affinity for horses resulted in countless drawings and studies of them, which led to a solid drawing foundation and an understanding of animal anatomy. As a teen, I started a pet portrait business, acquired jobs painting murals, and designed logos for my high school and a local daycare center. My early art experiences consisted of school classes, much self-determination and learning, and abundant encouragement from my parents and teachers.  I’d known all along that art was my life’s path, yet I also recognized that I thrived in a well-rounded environment. I was keen to the fact that athletics and academics fed and often synchronized with my creative work. I chose Colorado State University for its traditional graduation requirements and strong design program. I received awards for illustration and design and worked as an illustrator for the campus daily newspaper and as a graphic designer for the Residence Hall’s programming team.  After graduating from CSU with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1991, I pursued a career in graphic design.  I immersed myself in this field for 11 years, cultivating the principles of good design, computer proficiency, and business skills. Working in this environment also emphasized the importance of critique and how to apply it to my artistic growth. Although most of my creative development during this period focused on graphics, I maintained a connection with fine art by taking classes at Art Students League of Denver.  By the time I’d reached age 30, graphic design had lost much of its vitality for me, and I began the process of a career change. After three years of juggling both design and oil painting, it became economically feasible for me to leave the commercial art world to pursue fine art full time. Since then, my work has continued to gain recognition as I receive awards, appear in national publications, and show in important juried and one-woman exhibitions. My work is also included in many private, corporate, and public collections. As for the future, I look forward to refining the fundamentals of a good painting and continuing to explore other mediums including sculpture and printmaking. For me, life and art are inextricably bound, and the coexistence of all aspects of my life—creativity, spirituality, philosophy, and non-art activities—remains at the core of my work and continues to inspire curiosity.

Jill's work is shown & discussed in the book Landscape Painting by Mitchell Albala, page 108, copyright 2009. For more information visit http://mitchalbala.com/book/index.html

She has been invited to have a 1 woman show at the Longmont Museum (Colorado). The title of the exhibition is Industrial and Equine Architecture. The show runs March 26 – May 22, 2011.