About Jocelyn

Jocelyn Elizabeth (she/her) is a Massachusetts-based artist, writer and mom. She became an artist after her uncle's tragic brain injury made her question everything, at a time when she felt trapped by the stress of a corporate HR career and challenges of motherhood. Her practice became the place where she can create the freedom she's seeking and the outlet she needs to be the mother her child needs. She creates vibrant and expressive mixed media paintings with a focus on abstraction and modern coastal landscapes, inspired by her surroundings in New England, as well as time spent living in Southern California, and Normandy, France. Elizabeth's work explores what it means to be alive, and she is interested in how we can live differently and better alongside the earth and each other.

She currently lives and works north of Boston, MA. She holds a B.S. in Human Resources Management and a B.A. in French from Fairfield University (Fairfield, CT) and spend 15-years working in HR for Fortune 100 companies before pursuing her creative passions. In addition to running her own art studio, she is passionate about helping other artists thrive andcurrently works as a commercial Art Advisor at a Boston-based art consultancy and teaches art classes locally.

She has participated in numerous exhibitions including at the University of Rhode Island (Providence, RI); Boston Office of Arts and Culture’s Fay Chandler Emerging Artist Exhibit (Boston, MA); Galatea Fine Art (Boston, MA); Silvermine Gallery (New Canaan, CT); and The Rockwell Gallery at The Salmagundi Club (New York, NY). Public art projects and murals include a commission by the town of Wellesley, MA (2022), Cow Parade New England (2023), interior private residence mural (2024), and “We Share One Sky” mural project with Newburyport Art Association (2024) . She was an Artist-in-Residence at Chateau d’Orquevaux (France, 2024), and is a member of Cape Cod Art Center, Cambridge Art Association and the National Association of Women Artists as well as a Click Pro Elite photographer. Her art and writing has been published in Uppercase Magazine, All She Makes Magazine, Click Magazine, Humana Obscura, and the In Her Space Literary Journal.  

Artist Statement

My creative practice centers on the question of what it means to be alive. I view the world with curiosity for the people and places around me and am drawn to techniques that help me relinquish control and the conditioned need for constant productivity.  My process begins outside, where I source inspiration and natural/recycled materials or paint in plein air. Inside my studio, which I keep free of animal products, I paint intuitively, accompanied by curated audio playlists that evoke the feelings I want to convey. I build history with layers of materials including acrylic and watercolor paint, oil pastel, ink, charcoal, glitter, and my own photos and original writing. I can't help but let the energy pour out of me - my use of saturated color and playful mark making allowing each abstract mixed media painting to take on a life of its own. I balance this energy with more meticulous techniques such as drawing, line work and collage. If our stories are proof we were here, my work acts as a mirror that reveals me to myself, and asks me to reflect on my role in creating a collective future where we live better alongside the earth and each other.

A smiling woman with light skin, brown hair, and brown eyes, wearing a dark green top and small hoop earrings, posed against a plain light background.

 CV

  • 2024

    • Artist-in-Residence, Chateau d’Orquevaux, France

    • “First Place in Mixed-Media”, Dreamscapes, Cape Cod Art Center, Barnstable, MA (Juror Dominic Boreffi of Gallery Antonia)

    2023

    • “Best of Abstract - Doris Koch Award”, The National, Cape Cod Art Center, Barnstable, MA (Jurors Karen Blackwood, Marc Kundman and David Mullen)

    • “Best of Show”, Day and Night, Cape Cod Art Center, Barnstable, MA (Juror Amy Sanders)

  • 2025

    • Artists and Collectors Dinner: Botanica, Cultural Center of Cape Cod (Upcoming)

    • Impact of Color, Cape Cod Art Center, Barnstable, MA (Juried Members)

    2024

    • He Said/She Said, Amos Eno Gallery, Online (Juror Ellen Sturm Niz of Amos Eno Gallery)

    • Inspirations, Cape Cod Art Center, Barnstable, MA (Juried Members)

    • 74th A-One, Silvermine Gallery, New Canaan, CT (Juror Lisa Carlson of Jane Lombard Gallery)

    • Being Human, The Arthaus Gallery in partnership with National Association for Women Artists, Allston, MA (Jurors Jennifer Okumura and David Santulli)

    • Light and Shadow, Cape Cod Art Center, Barnstable, MA (Juror Mike Carroll of The Schoolhouse Gallery)

    • 2024 Member Prize Show, Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA (Juror Mike Carroll of The Schoolhouse Gallery)

    • Dreamscapes, Cape Cod Art Center, Barnstable, MA (Juror Dominic Boreffi of Gallery Antonia)

    • Enamored, Alchemy and Art, Amesbury, Massachusetts

    • Emotional Thresholds, Art Fluent, online

    2023

    • Journeying Well: Artistic Pathways, Newburyport Arts Association, Newburyport, MA

    • Fay Chandler Emerging Artists, Boston Office of Arts and Culture, Boston, MA (Jurors Payal Thiffault and Michelle May of Juniper Rag)

    • Blue 2023, Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA (Juror Abigail Ogilvy of Abigail Ogilvy Gallery)

    • National Association of Women Artists New Member Show, The Salmagundi Club, “New Member Show”, New York, NY

    • The National, Cape Cod Art Center, Barnstable, MA (Jurors Karen Blackwood, Marc Kundman and David Mullen)

    • Day and Night, Cape Cod Art Center, Barnstable, MA (Juror Amy Sanders)

    • Dance with Orange, University of Rhode Island Providence and the National Association of Women Artists- MA, Providence, RI

    2022

    • The Big Small Art Show, Alchemy and Art, Amesbury, MA

    • New England Collective XII, Galatea Fine Art,; Boston, MA (Juror Leah Triplett Harrington)

    • Exhibit New England, North Shore Arts Association, Gloucester, MA (Jurors Leon Doucette and Susan Abbott)

    • Peabody Institute Library, South Branch Solo Exhibition; Peabody, MA

    • Light and Shadow, Photography Center of Cape Cod and Cape Cod Art Center, Online (Juror Mark Bowie)

  • 2024

    • We Share One Sky, Newburyport Art Association Murals Project, Newburyport, MA

    • Interior mural, private residence

    2023

    • Cow Parade New Englandpresented by Herb Chambers to benefit The Jimmy Fund/Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, “Belle Beauvigne” at Fairmont Copley Plaza, Boston, MA

    2022

    • Spring FlingPublic Art Installation commissioned by the Town of Wellesley, Wellesley, MA

    • Galerie Diderot, Permanent Collection of Chateau d’Orquevaux, Orquevaux, France

    • Humana Obscura, Issue 10, Fall 2024

    • The Art List Featured Artist of the Month: August 2024

    • Humana Obscura, Issue 8, Spring 2024

    • Uppercase Magazine, Fall 2023

    • Humana Obscura, Issue 7, Fall/Winter 2023

    • All She Makes, Issue 7, August 2023

    • In Her Space Journal, Volume 1, Issue 1, January 2023

    • “Why It Works”, Click Photography Magazine, Summer 2022

    • “Local intuitive artist exhibition at Peabody Institute Library”, Peabody Weekly News, Vol 60. No 72 May 2022

    • “The Traveling Lensbaby Project with Jocelyn Velush”, Hello Storyteller Online Blog, March 2022

    • “Chasing Magic: A Celebration of Women Nature Photographers”, Women Capture Magic, 2021

    • Cape Cod Art Center, Juried Fine Artist Member

    • National Association of Women Artists, National and Massachusetts Chapters

    • Cambridge Art Association, Associate Artist Member

    • Click Pro Elite Photographer

    • minted.com Direct from Artist Program

    • Art2Life Creative Visionary Program with Nicholas Wilton, 2022, 2023, 2024

    • Art & Emergence Learning Collaborative with Heather Bird Harris, 2024

    • B.S. Human Resources, B.S. French from Fairfield University, 2009