Jill Steenhuis

Artful Painter Podcast

May 26

Written By Carl Olson

Dance With Nature

Episode 34

Episode length: 1 hour, 11 minutes

Also available on:
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Jill Steenhuis is an American Impressionist painter – originally from Atlanta, Georgia, who now lives in Aix-en-Provence, France. It’s been her home for over three decades. Her unexpected journey there is a fascinating story.

When she was just eight years old, her mother died. Her mother’s death left an enormous void in her life. Being creative helped fill part of that void. When Jill turned sixteen, her father gave her a book of the paintings of Paul Cézanne. At first, she was disappointed in getting the book. Like many young teens, she had hoped for a car. However, with the gentle encouragement of her father she began to appreciate the beautiful paintings within. The inspiration from that book began an extraordinary journey that leads to her living in Aix-en-Provence in France, falling in love with a young Frenchman, studying at The Leo Marchutz School of Painting and Drawing, and following Cézanne’s footsteps to his studio at Chateau Noir, and Mont Sainte-Victoire.

Jill’s paintings are vibrant and colorful. Her loose brushstrokes invite the viewer into an intimate dance. Most of her paintings are created outdoors – en plein air. Each painting session begins with a warm-up: she carefully prepares and lays out her colors on a large, white palette that she likens to a piano. Using her “unlimited palette” of colors, she has access to all 88 keys of her piano. With a large canvas set in place on her easel, her eye seeks out the nature that surrounds her. And then, she lifts up a paintbrush and without hesitation, Jill Steenhuis begins her exuberant Dance with Nature.

“Nature is my dancing partner and we are waltzing together to bring in a new poetry… one of sound and movement and wild brush strokes and freedom of spirit! One that speaks of eternity.”

— Jill Steenhuis