Jennybird Alcantara is a Contemporary Surrealist painter. She received her BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute in 1995 and presently lives and works in Oakland, California with her husband John and 2 black darling dogs, Sailor and Vegas.

 

My work explores mystery, transformation and the sacred.

Existing between a waking and dream state, the archetypal anthropomorphic creatures that are a part of my visual language attempt to illuminate the invisible threads of connection between sentient beings and the environments they inhabit. Depictions of Flora and Fauna integrated with the human  and animal characters serve as metaphor for the connections between all living things; Darkness and light are at constant play and I try to maintain a tender balance between the two.

 

My process is intuitive and a journey which I undertake never knowing the full outcome till I arrive at the end of a painting. My inspirations come from mythological stories, the symbol rich works of the Renaissance period as well as classical fairy tales to name a few; but primarily from the sliver state in-between consciousness and a dream state, most of my visions for paintings come then. When the mind becomes weightless, the veil flutters,when mystery throws out bread crumbs to be followed and eyes can truly see, that’s where inspiration lives; so I try to visit this place, as often as I can, when it will have me as a guest.

 

Jennybird’s work has been exhibited broadly in the US and Europe and is in private collections worldwide.