Jennifer Trevino

My Bio

Jennifer Trevino is originally from the suburbs of Milwaukee. In 2016, she moved to Plano, Illinois with her now-husband, Rick. Jennifer decided to go back to school to complete her bachelor's degree, and she attended Waubonsee Community College where she pursued a degree in Graphic Design. After completing her degree at Waubonsee, Jennifer applied to NIU and was accepted to the Visual Communications program in 2019. During her time at NIU, Jennifer was able to explore a variety of mediums of art, including oil painting, fundamental drawing, and Art history classes. However, in 2020, the world closed due to the pandemic, which led Jennifer to prioritize her health and well-being. She opted out of online schooling and instead dedicated her time and skills to assist in the medical field. During her time working in the medical field, Jennifer witnessed how the world neglected its own people and prioritized sickness. As a result, she made the decision to finish her degree in 2023, after successfully remaining sober for three years. Jennifer aims to use her life experiences to positively impact the world by pursuing a career in Drug and Alcohol Counseling after graduation from NIU with a Bachelor of Science in Art.

Artist statement

Through a Filtered Lens: A Journey of Sobriety in Paint

My art has always been a reflection of my internal world, a space where emotions bleed onto the canvas. This journey, however, is unlike any I've embarked on before. It's a story of peeling back the layers, of rediscovering myself through the process of getting sober.

The hazy, dreamlike quality of Impressionism captures the early days. Fragmented memories, like Monet's water lilies, shimmer on the surface, beautiful yet elusive. Post-Impressionism, with its bolder brushstrokes and vibrant colors of Van Gogh, reflects the initial surge of raw emotions – the anger, the fear, the desperate yearning for clarity.

Fauvism explodes onto the canvas, mirroring the intensity of the initial struggle. The distorted perspectives and unnatural colors of this movement echo the distorted reality I once inhabited. Expressionism takes over, Munch's "The Scream," raw and visceral, a depiction of the internal battles I waged.

Futurism, with its fragmented forms and dynamic energy, portrays the disorientation and constant motion of early recovery. The world seemed to move at a different pace, and I struggled to find my place within it. Constructivism, with its geometric shapes and focus on building something new, represents the slow process of rebuilding my life. Each brushstroke, each recycled canvas, becomes a brick in a new foundation.

Abstract Expressionism dominates the final chapters. The swirling colors and gestural marks of a Pollock or a Rothko portray the messy beauty of growth. The lack of concrete form reflects the ever-evolving nature of sobriety, a journey without a defined destination.

Oil paints, with their rich textures and slow drying times, symbolize the deep, layered work of healing. Acrylics, fast-drying and vibrant, represent moments of sudden clarity and joy. Recycled canvases become a metaphor for the transformation itself – taking fragments of the past and weaving them into a new creation.

This is not a story of before and after. It's a continuous narrative, a constant dance between vulnerability and strength. My art is a testament to the transformative power of getting sober, a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, filtered through the lens of various artistic movements. It's a journey painted not just on canvas, but on the very fabric of my being.