The Artist Portrait Project

After five years' absence from San Diego's art community, Jennifer G. Spencer returned and began to photograph the artists she became acquainted with during her thirteen-year stint as an executive director of a visual arts organization—a project that became a ten-year journey. In The Artist Portrait Project, Spencer reveals the results of her adventure in portraiture after her retirement, and shares how this endeavor enlightened and shaped her opinion of these fifty artists and her art community. Engaging and visually stunning, The Artist Portrait Project is a book about self-discovery and the persistence of the creative spirit.

Jennifer G. Spencer is a painter/photographer who creates images using alternative photographic processes and digital imagery. Her career began as a painter back East in Massachusetts. After moving to California in the mid 1970s, her painting began to change—and during her brief business adventure in painting backdrops for photographers, her interest in photography emerged. Spencer's curiosity and creative interests blossomed after attending Grossmont Community College, where she acquired an Associate Degree in Digital Art Media and Fine Art Photography. Her attention was drawn to photographic portraiture after her retirement from a visual arts non-profit and return to school.