An Interview with Mona Jennings - Painting

Mona Jennings is an Ottawa-based artist originally from Toronto, where her family relocated during her childhood. A self-taught painter who discovered her passion for drawing early in life, she pursued a design degree that ignited her love for fine arts. While developing her design career, Mona continued painting through dedicated self-study and is now transitioning to full-time artistic practice. 

Working primarily with acrylic, oil, pencil, and ink, Mona creates vividly colored, expressive pieces characterized by bold forms and meaningful details. Her imagined scenes explore the equilibrium between nature and human forms while capturing deeply moving moments and emotions with lasting impact. These works reflect her appreciation for life's inherent beauty and complexity, inviting viewers to emotional connection and collective reflection. 

Central to Mona's practice are themes of unity, inclusion, and the richness of our shared world – concepts rooted in her belief that art has the power to bring people together and highlight universal connections. Through striking colour palettes and thoughtful compositions, her paintings serve as visual storytelling that sparks thought, emotion, and conversation about our collective human experience. 

Mona shares her art through multiple channels: commissioned works for private collectors, gallery exhibitions, occasional private showings, and Instagram. Digital prints of her work are available on her website, mjrtistry.com, where she continues to develop her distinctive artistic voice that blends her design background with fine art sensibilities. 

What does community and cultural expression mean to you, particularly within this multicultural event? 

To me, community and cultural expression are about the world we live in and the people and places that shape it. 

For this multicultural event, I think of Ottawa—our community and all the diverse people and spaces that make it special. 

It means a lot to be able to share the work I’ve created alongside other artists and with the wider community here. 

I love that this city brings together so many different cultures and individuals, each finding unique ways to express creativity. 

Concept sketch for "Unity Tree" 2020. Digital ink

Do you favor storytelling or abstraction, and why? 

I currently favor storytelling. I’ve always had a vivid imagination, and I love using it to create artwork that captures a specific mood or moment—almost like letting the piece tell its own story. 

What inspired the shift from design to fine art? 

I’d say the freedom to create in my own way is what really inspired my transition to fine art. 

Design was a great starting point for exploring my creativity, but I’d always wanted to try expressing myself without the limitations that often come with design work. 

When I finally took a painting class and experienced that freedom, I was hooked. 

Painting lets me create moments, scenes, and images that follow my own instincts, without the restrictions of a commercial brief.

Can a single image carry a complete emotional story, or do you rely on series?  

I think a single image can absolutely carry a full emotional story. I do work in series at times, but I often rely on individual pieces to capture a feeling or moment on their own. 

Is there a memory or moment you recently revisited artistically, and how did it change in the retelling?  

Recently, I painted a waterfall scene that I used to visit often, and it brought back memories of joy and fun with both friends and family. 

When I recreated it digitally, I exaggerated the colors and simplified the scene to make it feel even more joyful and bright. 

Looking at the painting now, it brings back the same sense of fun and beauty that this place has always inspired in me. 

Has your perspective ever been challenged by someone interpreting your work in an unexpected way? 

Yes, my work has been interpreted in ways I didn’t expect. One example is a piece I created during COVID called The Unity Tree. It shows a large tree with bare branches holding teenagers—some alone, some talking with friends. For me, it represented the high school environment my kids were missing out on—diverse, connected, and full of energy. 

When I shared it with a friend, though, they focused on the social media references in the piece. That wasn’t my main intent, but it made me realize how central social media is in teenagers’ lives. I valued that perspective because it reminded me that people bring their own experiences to art, and those interpretations can broaden the way I see my own work. 

What’s your preferred medium? Acrylic, oil, or…? 

My preferred painting medium is acrylics, though I’ve also worked with oils a few times. 

I’ve explored digital painting as well, starting with a tablet to sketch and play with ideas. 

Over time, I created a lot of work digitally, and I’ve found that all that practice has added more depth to my acrylic and oil paintings on canvas. 

I also enjoy sketching with graphite and charcoal—something I’ve done since I was a teenager—so drawing still feels like an important part of my process. 

Meet Mona at the Threads of Belonging ART+ Fall 2025 Exhibition on 3rd and 4th October at the Arts Court Atelier, 2 Daly Avenue, Ottawa. Grab your tickets on our website.