Born and raised in New York, Jen Gilroy, aka ‘Jenny Ink’, began drawing and painting at a very young age alongside her nana; a semi-professional artist. She went on to study Communications with a concentration in Fine Arts at SUNY Buffalo simultaneously working as a paid intern for NPR. Jen then moved to NYC to participate in a one year intensive Advertising Design program at FIT acquiring an Associates Degree while holding an internship at Mizerek Advertising. Jen was hired as the Development Director for KUNV Radio based out of UNLV. Working for the top Alternative College Station in the country throughout the early to mid 90’s she developed a special affection for punk rock & hosted ‘The Jennifah-Oh-Jenny Show’ A popular segment of the Rock Avenue. While in Las Vegas, she worked as a freelance illustrator and was a featured artist participating in First Arts Fridays. Her first juried Art show was at the Las Vegas Art Museum.
Since then she’s gone on to form Painted Lady Studio LLC., giving her time to develop her painting style and devote herself to pursuing her dream working as a full time artist. Jen formed a collaboration with The Set NYC when she moved back to NY and was featured in POP UP galleries throughout Hell’s Kitchen. She has experimented with large works and has a three wall mural at Fedora Salon in Port Jefferson. Jen has exhibited work in galleries in Buffalo, Long Island, Las Vegas, and NYC. She has shown virtually at the Holy Art in London. Her work has also been published in the ’Face of Pop Art’ feature n Bougie Art Gallery Magazine (Issue 9, December 2021) as well as featured in the Exhibition Catalogue showcasing her work as part of the International Juried POP Art Virtual Exhibition also presented by Bougie Art Gallery. In her off hours she finds time to gallery sit for Patchogue Arts MoCa and is an active Board member for South Bay Arts Association.
Currently the streets of NYC and the surrounds, the neighborhoods and the people within are her muse. Her work conveys an element of tension that creates an ‘almost-but-not-quite-real’ disorientation of traditional spaces or views utilizing bold color choices and experimenting with shapes and lighting to visualize things in a space somewhere between authentic and imagined. Sliding in & out of reality.